I was misremembering the color - it’s more a latte brown.
Big YAY for the mini marshmallows- the melt more evenly and are more snackable! Same great flavor as the larger ones but i’m afraid they are seasonal
MEH- almond butter granola, i usually make my own granola but life is really insane so that hasn’t happened- this was fine but considering the calories/fat per serving i want something more memorable. Nice almond butter flavor but won’t re purchase.
YAY! The smoked olive oil is great as a condiment, not overwhelming smoke flavor and i’m loving it dribbled over the top of soup , and it was great on roasted sweet potatoes
3 Likes
Thanks for the report on the smoked olive oil. Was tempted, but dubious…sounds like I should definitely get some.
1 Like
Totally worth the $5 or so, i suspect it won’t be around long and it’s not like you would use it to saute stuff so it will last a while
Anyone tried this? My wife tasted it today and said it was very good. I’m not much for ore-prepared meat, but… sorry fur the sideways.
I have not tried that, but I have had a couple of their pre-marinated meats and they were pretty good. Tri-tip and carne asada, IIRC.
How does one smoke olive oil? Would seem any smoke would not penetrate to far from the surface of the oil?
Are they using a small amount of liquid smoke in the product?
Apparently they actually smoke it in a smokehouse…! Their blahblah here explains it. I dribbled a bit over my roasted baby potatoes the other night and that was really yummy. I use the smoked salt from Maldon frequently and the oil has a slightly different kind of smoked flavor so I’m having fun with it lately. Going to pick up a bottle for my dad, i get my condiment enthusiasm from him 
http://www.traderjoes.com/digin/post/smoked-extra-virgin-olive-oil
2 Likes
Yeah, blah blah blah
I’m going to put a tray of olive oil in my smoker and use my cold smoke generator to see how much smoke the oil will take. Sounds like BS but you never know. For some reason I don’t envision smoke penetrating oil well. We’ll see
1 Like
I bought it yesterday, on your recommendation, and I’ll second the YAY. I mixed a little bit into some mayonnaise with lemon juice and a bit of garlic, and it made a really nice dip for artichokes.
Speaking of last night’s dinner, YAY for the porchetta. Despite some technical problems on our end (oven temperature is impossible to regulate…long story), it turned out tender, juicy, and flavorful.
1 Like
YAY for the big square jars of Blue Cheese stuffed Chalkidiki Olives! I have stocked up as they are a seasonal item.
YAY for the gift boxes of Seven Salts of the Earth ($8.99). At my TJs these just went on the shelf a couple of days ago. Nice packaging, tall tubes containing Kalahari Desert Salt, Hawaiian Back Lava Salt, Hawaiian Red Salt, Inca Sun Salt, Blue Persian Salt, Himalayan Pink Salt, South African Oak Smoked Salt.
2 Likes
Speaking of last night’s dinner, YAY for the porchetta.
I’ll just add that it’s a lot of food for two people. We had porchetta panini Monday night, and last night we had porchetta and roasted-potato frittata, and there are still leftovers. It’s the gift that keeps on giving!
2 Likes
Big Yay for me for the Tabouli. I don’t know if it’s new but I’ve been buying it regularly for several months. I’m biased because I think tabouli is one of the greatest culinary inventions of all time and I can’t get enough of the stuff. This certainly beats any store-bought version I have had.
Qualified Yay for the Balela, another middle Eastern salad that I noticed for the first time (right next to the Tabouli - it might have been there all the time but I never noticed it). I’m finding it interesting but too acidic for my taste. I’ll give it another try and maybe try making it myself.
Big YAY too for the Vegetable Root Chips which I’ve also been getting every trip for several months. The only similar product I’ve had is from Aldi and TJ’s is better. I avoid the chips aisle at regular grocery stores - can’t pig out on junk food if you don’t have any in the house - but you can’t avoid the chips aisle at either TJ’s or Aldi and I always wind up with some.
YAY for the Pita Pal hummus, too. I don’t remember seeing this before at TJ’s; I’m sure I would have bought some if it was there. The company is based in Houston so may not be available elsewhere. I discovered it at an HEB a few months ago and it has replaced Sabra as my go-to store-bought hummus.
They were demo-ing the Spanakopita along with several other items. None were as good. I bought a tray but haven’t tried it yet. I’m thinking of it mostly to take to a New Year’s reception so I may be going back to get several trays.
I bought the Sticky Toffee Pudding last trip then forgot about it for Christmas but I had the Sticky Pumpkin Pudding for Thanksgiving and it was good.
I looked for this but didn’t find it. Should have asked but I already had too much in the basket.
The big pot of split pea soup I made with a TJ ham bone was a little weak on flavor but had I reduced the volume, the peas would have thickened too much.
So I added umami paste in increments to make up the difference, which it did.
It was probably about 3" of paste for 5 pints of soup.
NAY to the O Tannenbaum Crispy Potato Snacks. These are waffled pine-tree-shaped crisps, extruded Pringle-like. The flavor is similar. This would be okay in theory, but they scotched the deal by adding spinach powder. The idea was undoubtedly to tint them green without a marked change in flavor, but what they settled on is the color of the bilious pool surrounding the hairball just produced by your aunt’s tabby.
2 Likes
Yay - TJ’s Steamed Mussels in White Wine Sauce. (Frozen) Had this as an appetizer early in Christmas Week, and both of us enjoyed them. Honestly could have downed another box–at least. We’ll buy them again.
I found it in the area of pre-marinated roasts and such. But I have no idea what supplies are like, or whether it’s available at all or most stores.
Crispy Crunchy Mochi Rice Nuggets are rice cakes for people who don’t have cupboard space. The texture is like a stiff, dense, gritty Styrofoam and the flavor a combination of wheat toast and rice cakes with a light application of sea salt.
There’s something odd, but addictive about these but I think I will pass next time and get my standby, the giant Peruvian Inca corn, which has half the fat, more fiber, and a bolder flavor.
1 Like
That’s where I thought it would be so I looked at every package in that area but it wasn’t there. I don’t know if it was just out of stock or maybe never available here but I will keep an eye out for it. Thanks.
Didn’t see it today at the Masonic (San Francisco) store. Don’t know if it’s seasonal or anything.
1 Like
