Just wow on the rude Passover remark!
Kind of reminds me of when years ago, my now-husband, who was raised as a Lutheran with a Catholic father, remarked with surprise that a Jewish member of his lab didn’t know when Passover was. I asked him if he knew when Easter is. He said, “of course, second Sunday in April.”
That was really funny.
A resounding YEA for the Thai coconut pancakes (kanom krok). We served them recently for dessert after a hot pot meal we hosted. They weren’t much to look at, but the coconut custard inside was creamy & not cloyingly sweet, and a nice counterpoint to the crispy outside.
We made them in the air-fryer.
I have an opportunity to stop at a Trader Joe’s on the way to an evening meeting (so frozen or refrigerated items are out). Does anyone have any yeas for things like canned soups, shelf-stable meal kits, etc. (I’m also not looking for sweets, snacks, or condiments.)
I realize this is pretty specific, but I live in hope.
Not canned, but the creamy tomato soup and the tomato & red pepper soup are both very good.
I’m afraid I’m no help with shelf-table meals, however.
Most of what I like from TJs either are frozen or are snacks, so my suggestions will be limited too. I do think some of their prepared salad kits are not bad. Technically you’ll want to keep them refrigerated, but they might be a little more forgiving if your meeting is not too long. I would just avoid anything with a creamy dressing, as many of them do come pre-packed with dressing.
Personally, I don’t love many of their dressings because they run too sweet for me. I would rather just toss in my own favorite dressing when I’m ready to eat.
Also adding: This pasta sauce isn’t bad either. Once again, runs a tad sweeter than I’d like, but it’s not as spicy as the name sounds.
Well, the soups don’t have to be canned–pouches, mixes, anything that doesn’t need refrigeration is what I’m looking for.
The canned gigante beans in tomato sauce are pretty good.
The “Squiggly” hand-cut noodles are also good.
Tinned fish? I like the mackerel.
Yes! The gigantes are awesome, as are their dolma. The eggplant in tomato sauce is bland AF, tho.
I also agree on the tinned fish they have.
Their yellow can corn is the BEST.
And several coworkers love the roasted red pepper and tomato soup.
This sounds good, especially since the recommended spicy sauce at Aldi doesn’t seem to be available at my local store
You might also like the bomba sauce, which is basically Calabrian chili peppers in oil.
And delicious.
I love the canned rice stuffed Dolmas. I drain it, place in glass container, add lemon juice and olive oil.
I can’t resist the glass jars of cheese stuffed Picanté red peppers, not spicy.
Turns out that according to their web site, the Calabrian Chili Spicy Pasta Sauce isn’t available at my local Trader Joe’s.
Great prices on cheese. Do you like endive? It’s refrigerated but can stay out a while and it’s a great price.
I also like the smoked oysters, I drain then squeeze on fresh lime juice.
In tinned fish, I like the smoked trout, and the sardines in the purple tin are a real staple for me, good quality at a very low price.
Some of the shelf-stable Indian dishes in pouches (along the lines of Tasty Bite) are pretty decent, and priced well, but not at all unique to TJ’s. I find the tomato and tomato-red pepper soups (in tetra packs) a bit too sweet, but they’re easily doctored to counteract that. Again, not unique to TJ’s (similar to Pacific and Imagine products), but less expensive and handy in a pinch or if you like a low-effort grilled cheese and tomato soup meal.
You said no condiments, but the calabrian chile paste that goes into the pasta sauce is an always-available condiment, so you may want to revisit that section.
I don’t eat shelf-stable meals, but I’ve heard the Indian pouches are decent (lentils, vegetables). They have the A-sha / momofuku squiggly noodle packs, and occasionally some other interesting ones.
Boxed soups, gigantes beans, canned fish, coconut cream. I don’t buy the Thai curry sauces but I know folks who use them and like them.
Re frozen or refrigerated, maybe a cooler or insulated bag would help on that front.
If you bake or cook with nuts, they have a good selection and pretty good pricing, we like their oregano a lot and some of their other spices are well priced. And rice, we like the basmati and grab a couple bags at a time.
They do have some good inexpensive spice blends, including stuff like chile lime (a Tajin dupe). I regularly buy the aglio e olio.
And cheese can stand a few hours out of refrigeration, if it’s not hot out.
Take a cooler and a block or bag of cube ice for perishables?
That’s what I do.
