50 YEAR CELEBRATION!!!

Get.  Out.

You guys - TRADER JOE'S IS 50 YEARS OLD!!!!!!!

Celebration sign at our local Trader Joe's (they also had balloons!)

Honestly, we had no idea.  I am just so thrilled to be back in the land of TJ's (home in Virginia after a long time away), so we went to the store closest to home, in Clarendon, VA.  Look what we saw before we even got on the elevator in the parking garage:

Party at Trader Joe's??  That elevator couldn't come fast enough!!!

PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I tell you, Trader Joe's Clarendon knows how to party!  For starters, they have a guy named GARY who works there who is a musician and he performs!  Like, IN THE STORE!!!  We were lucky enough to see him singing one other time and it was great.  Sadly, today we were there at the wrong time, but he was setting up as we left and he gave us a sneak peek at his set list:  all songs from 1967!!!  (Get it??  50 year anniversary, songs from 50 years ago...  Gary is clever that way!!) We are going to try and go back tomorrow and see him play.

They also are having a drawing where we miiiight win a great give bag full of TJ's merch or a gift card (fingers crossed...).

Also super cool, the employees all had 50 year TJ's t-shirts.  But ULTRA COOL was Kara, who went out of her way to totally bedazzle the hell out of her shirt!

Each letter is BEDAZZELED!  Seriously, I love it.  Adorable!

She even blinged up the BACK!

Seriously, the shininess of the shirt helped with the party vibe!!!

















And guess what??  There are items on sale for .50 cents!!!  I mean, wowsa!!!

2 days only - 50 cent stuff!

 

For .50 cents each we got:

A baguette (which we are taking with us for a pre-show picnic when we see the remarkable David Sedaris perform tonight!).

Ooooh lala - a cheap baguette!

Get it while you can!

A mango.

Now that's CHEAP!

Spaghetti.

You HAVE to have spaghetti in the cupboard at all times, right?
Get some while it is on sale!

3 avocados (.50 cents each) which David was so psyched about that he juggled them.

Wheeeee!  AVOCADOS!

Corn.

And, get this, we got a dozen eggs, normally $1.29, BUT TODAY AND TOMORROW FIFTY CENTS!

Looks like we were not the only ones grabbing eggs

BARGAIN!

Now, I can't promise you that YOUR Trader Joe's will have these same items on sale.  Apparently each store is having special deals on different things.

And I certainly can't promise you the dulcet tones of Gary (cuz there is only one Gary...) or the blingy shirt of Kara (again, only one Kara...).  But I still say - YOU NEED TO GO TO YOUR TRADER JOE'S TONIGHT OR TOMORROW (August 19th and 20th, 2017) TO CELEBRATE 50 YEARS OF JOE.

Cuz you know as well as I do, that deserves a party.

Barrel Ax Red (California)

Our bottle of Barrel Ax was a 2013 vintage (was that a good year for wine?).  This bottle was recommended by a super friendly and informative TJ’s employee at the Clarendon, VA store.  We asked if Emma Pearl wine (Emma Pearl Pinot Noir Review here) might be coming back (sadly, he thinks it is not, as it was a limited supply, sigh).  But since he knew we like Emma Pearl, he suggested we try this Barrel Ax (it is in the “super cheap wine” category, as was dear ol’ Emma).  It is only $3.99 a bottle, so we grabbed one.  I mean, how horrible can it be, it is not a huge investment, right?

Simple, cool label

Newsflash:  I REALLY LIKE BARREL AX!!

It is a pretty good substitute for Emma Pearl (which we hoarded a case of, but the case is almost gone).  Barrel Ax has a nice, balanced taste.  It is not too strong.  We drank it with a beef dinner (and had a second glass with brownies!).  It is a California wine, and the label says it has flavors of raspberry and strawberry and is aged in oak up to 5 months.  It also says that this is the perfect wine to enjoy with BBQ or PIZZA!  This is perfect, because David just scored us FREE PIZZA FOR A YEAR from a new local pizza place!!!!  I know, right???   (Story about the big pizza win here:  Pizza Kindness )

Whaaaat??  Free pizza for a YEAR?  

Barrel Ax is a good table wine.  It is simple, seems like it would pair well with about anything. 

David says, “I like it.  it is very deep and earthy and red table wine-y.  But not table wine-y in the sense that it tastes cheap and nasty, but rather that it is RICH and full bodied.  It goes well with a hearty meal, a beef or something.  It has a lot of tannin going on.”

David being tough with a bottle of wine

Susan:  Funnily enough, I think this wine tastes neither rich nor full bodied, the descriptions David gave it.  I don’t think it would over-power any meal.  It holds its own but it is not “rich” to me.

I think I might stock up on a case of this stuff!  Heck, we can just put it in the case that the Emma Pearl was in.  

Price:  $3.99

Rating:  4.25

TJ's Neighbor Share Program - It's AMAZING!

Once again, my world's of KINDNESS and TRADER JOE'S collide midstream!!

Have you ever noticed a store hanging at your local Trader Joe's that talks about DONATIONS?  I saw them as we traveled around and popped into Trader Joe's all over the country last year.  I SAW the signs, but I didn't really PAY ATTENTION to them...

Most stores have these signs, but I never paid attention to them.  Until now!

So recently I decided to ask some questions and figure out what in the world TJ's donates.  I was very happy I asked, because it turns out they not only have cool employees, great food at good prices, and awesome wine - they also are SUPER KIND TO THEIR COMMUNITIES!!

Seriously, next time you shop at TJ's just take a second to thank them.  Not all stores bother to give back to the neighbors, but TJ's sure does.

Read about their Neighbor Share program at the link below and be inspired!

Donating Kindness

Thank You note hanging in the Clarendon store from a thankful artist.  :)

Day 340 - Autumnal Harvest Pasta Sauce

First of all, I am so excited because TODAY I get to meet one of the readers of this blog!!!! TTrockwood often comments on posts, and because we are going to New York City (where TTrockwood lives) we arranged a MEET UP!  Guess where???  :)  Duh - AT A TRADER JOE'S, of course!  I will report on our meeting soon!

In the meantime, here is a review of Autumnal Harvest Pasta Sauce.

Look - it is tomato based but made with PUMPKIN and BUTTERNUT SQUASH!

David: “It’s ok.  it is like general tomato sauce but more squash-y.  It gives some flavor to the pasta, but pretty much you gotta like the taste of PASTA cuz there’s not a lotta taste in it.  I give it a 3.5.”

Editor’s note:  I suspect someone is cranky.  Look – he barely said anything!  He is rarely this quiet or downbeat about a food item. 

Here is David at a happier moment - talking with the ASK ME MAN at Clarendon Trader Joe's!  There was a super long line and he was standing at the end of it to show people where to go.  Doesn't he look kind?  He was.  :)

Me:  I like this pasta sauce.  It is light and CREAMY.  To me it is not too tomato-y. I don’t really taste the squash in it, but I like that it lets the flavor of the pasta to come through. 

It is also a pretty color.  It is not as red as some tomato sauces.  I think this is really nice.  It is not too heavy.  It is not overpowering.  We served it on tubular pasta shapes and it was a good fit.  It is clean and simple.  To me, the name is right because somehow it does taste a bit like AUTUMN (if seasons can have a flavor…).   (David disagreed that it tastes like autumn, but see note above.  Can you say “cranky-pants”???)

See, isn't it a pretty color??  Served with baby brocolli and a salad.

David OD-ed on tomato sauce last month when he made an eggplant parmesan and stuffed it with tooooo much tomato sauce.  Ever since then he has been ardently anti tomato sauce.  But even HE agreed that this Autumnal Harvest Pasta Sauce is not TOO tomato-y.  I think this is a good alternative to “traditional” pasta sauces.

This is, as the name suggests, only available seasonally.  So if you want to taste autumn poured over a plate of pasta, get some soon.

Find it on the shelf with the other pasta sauces.

I give this one a 4.  I will average our two scores together below.

Price – $3.49

Rating - 3.75

Day 337 - Ultra Moisturizing Hand Cream Trio

I ran into TJ’s the other afternoon while David waited in the car for me (the parking lot was FULL at the Clarendon store and the attendant was telling everyone to leave, that was a first!).  Anyway, I was supposed to just be running in for a bouquet of flowers for our friend’s birthday (happy birthday, Irma!) but man oh man – they had tons of new holiday products!  Like – GIFT products!  I was, as you may have guessed, more than a  little excited… 

One cool product on the table of amazing stuff was a box of 3 silver tubes of hand cream.  One is Argan Oil, one is Olive Oil, and one is Kukui Oil.  ONE of those is part of a Christmas present for a relative – I will not disclose WHO at the moment in case he/she reads this blog (I am not too worried, I do not think this particular person follows it). 

Such a sweet little gift box of hand creams - how could I NOT stand around in TJ's and drool over them while
 David waited patiently in the car outside??

Each tube is 1 oz and they all contain 20% shea butter.  I grabbed a box and then packed one of the tubes for my recent trip to Omaha.  I busted it out and shared with my nephew Jordan, who was happy to be a guest reviewer.  Thanks, J!

Let me first tell you what I thought of the Olive Oil hand cream – ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.  It was moisturizing without being greasy, easy to dispense from the tube, stayed closed in my purse, and smelled light and fresh.  The lady at the store told me she thought it was a little oily for her but I disagree.  Especially during the cold winter months my hands need cream like this.  An sometimes with hand creams or lotions the scent is so strong that you can’t wear a perfume without feeling “clash-y” but with this light fresh scent you can.  It is a gender neutral scent which I like, too.   it doesn’t make you smell too “girly” or too “manly” – you just smell nice.  I LIKE IT!  I give it a 4.75.

My hands love lotions and creams.

Now let’s get Jordan’s take on it:  “I think this is very nice.  It is creamy, but not too oily.  The scent is something that I am a big fan of.  It is not too feminine, but not too manly either.  It is a nice fresh scent.  It seems to be soaking into my skin quite well.  I would give it a 4.25.”

Jordan examining his hand after applying the Olive Oil Hand Cream.  You can tell by his shirt that the Huskers were playing that day.  But don't mention it to anyone from Nebraska, it was quite a sucky game I am told.

At $7.99 for the trio of hand creams, these work out to only $2.67 per tube.  I think that is WELL worth it.  They remind me of hand creams at L’Occitaine – same sort of packaging and quality, but much cheaper! 

Yes - if your TJ's has these you should grab a box.  Or two.

I believe these gift sets are just for the holiday season, so if you want to GIFT them (or keep them for yourself!) you best rush out and pick up a box soon!!  I am gifting one tube (not Olive Oil, obviously, since I have already used some of that one…) and keeping two.  Oh my, does that not fit the holiday spirit??

Price - $7.99 (for 3 tubes)

Rating – 4.5 (average of 2 raters)

Day 322 - Scallops Wrapped in Uncured Bacon with Brown Sugar Glaze

I am sorry I keep bragging about our  local Trader Joe’s (Clarendon, VA), but guys, they had an ANNIVERSARY PARTY recently for their 4^th anniversary!  Isn’t that sweet??  They had a raffle for 3 TJ’s bags stuffed with goodies, some samples (HELL-O – a whole candy cane Joe Joe instead of a broken up one like you might normally get at a TJ’s sample station) and they even had MUSIC!  This employee was playing guitar and singing and was great!  TJ’s always has fun music playing over the speakers, but it was cool to have live music while grocery shopping.

Raffle and sample!

This was the "invite" to the party!

And live music!  :)  Thanks TJ's - happy anniversary. We are glad you came to our hood.

Anyway, while we were there for the party, we picked up a box of Scallops Wrapped in Uncured Bacon with Brown Sugar Glaze.  I had been wanting to try them (David not as much as me).  We busted them out around 6:00 pm because we hadn’t eaten lunch but were hitting the road to do a few things and needed something warm in our bellies before taking off.  Just needed something to hold us over until we got back and made “real dinner”.

These could be messy to cook. The instructions say to cook these on a baking tray.  I think that means a cookie sheet looking device that has small sides.  We do not own one of those (and our cupboard is full and messy enough) so my choices were a baking dish or a cookie sheet.  I chose the cookie sheet, but put foil on the oven under it expecting that some bacon fat miiiight roll off.

They come on little skewers, which were a problem for us recently with the Chicken Parmesan Lollipops (to be reviewed soon) but in this case the skewers worked great.  They held the food securely and made for an easy way to eat it.

Aren't they cute???

The box says a serving size is 3 pieces.  There are 10 pieces in the pack.  I am not a math major, but it is gonna be tough to divide these evenly if we follow the serving size recommendation, isn’t it?

Now onto the TASTE.  I like them, they are really good.  The first bite worried me that the scallops might taste a little too “fishy” but all subsequent bites were yummy.  They hold together well – the bacon is a lovely little wrapping. 

While I was baking these I thought, “I bet these would work great as party appetizers”.  Then I wondered to myself, “WHY do I mention “party food” so often in this blog?  We almost never throw parties and are honestly not party guests very often, either.  I must imagine that the rest of the world, all of YOU, are out to or hosting parties 4 nights of the week!  I am living my life vicariously through the fabulous cocktail parties that I imagine you throw for all of your well-dressed friends.  At your next soiree, these bacon scallops would be good to serve.  When you set them out on your fancy crystal platter (that I am imagining) I would plan on each guest eating 4.

These are not as expensive as I would expect (scallops can be pricey sometimes).  I give these a rating of 4.

Now for David’s opinion.  His is less glowing than mine…

It looks like he likes 'em

David:  “Scallops are the tofu of the sea.  They are pretty much flavorless.  They have a delightful texture, but unless you have some kinda SAUCE goin’ on to give them flavor – herbs, spices, something – they are really just sort of Styrofoam wrapped in bacon.

However – the bacon is great!  The overall taste is not bad.  The skewer-age is perfectly designed and the bacon is delicious.  I poured some soy sauce over the scallop (in the inside) and it made it more palatable.  It gave it this thing that I tend to like, I don’t know about you, it is a thing called ‘TASTE’.  (Note:  as if there wasn’t enough sodium already, he goes and adds soy sauce…)  The bacon disguises the fact that the scallop isn’t really pulling its’ weight taste-wise.  I would give these a 3.75.”

There you have it!  I am gonna go with a 4 for the final review, because David also recommends them for a party.  We both think people would say, “Oh fannnncy” when they see these and think you went to a lot of work to skewer each little scallop and wrap it gingerly in bacon.  They will never know that you just opened the package and heated them.  Shhh – I’ll never tell…

Here is a link to TJ's archived article on this product:  Fearless Flyer - Scallops w/ bacon

Price – $6.99

Rating - 4