Tuscan Cantaloupe IN SEASON Again!

GUYS - IT IS TUSCAN CANTALOUPE SEASON!  

Tuscan Cantaloupe - it's what's for breakfast

(Let me be honest with you - I cannot spell cantaloupe without really thinking!  It's a tough one to spell, eh?)

Cantaloupe is not normally my favorite fruit.  David brought one home last week and I noticed it was really making the kitchen smell "canteloupe-y" (perhaps I am trying to break my habit of spelling cantaloupe wrong by spelling it as many times as possible in this post...).  When we ate it, it was super tasty.  And that's when it hit me:  THIS WAS NOT A REGULAR-RUN-OF-THE-MILL-BORING-CANTALOUPE, it must be TUSCAN CANTALOUPE SEASON!!

We found these gems at Trader Joe's last year and they got a coveted 5 star review!  I re-read the review today and it made me giggle - I wrote it when I was a bit ticked at David for grocery shopping without me (we both really like grocery shopping...).  Here is the review from back on day 164 of this project:

Tuscan Cantaloupe Review

You need a Tuscan Cantaloupe.  Get one now, while they are in season.  Once they are gone, the shelves will once again be stocked with little melon sized balls of sorta bland tasting orange stuff. But for now, grab a bit of delicious!

P.S. - I noticed that the original review talked about how David's dad, who I called Mr. Gaines, ate the same breakfast Every.  Single.  Morning.  I can't believe I neglected to include a PHOTO of Mr. Gaines!  He was such a sweeeet man - wise, funny, loving, and smart.  So here he is - MR. GAINES!

David and his DAD
My mom was losing her hair while on chemo, so we shaved our heads in solidarity.
Well, Mr. Gaines didn't shave, he was already bald...  

Mr. Gaines LOVED ice cream.  Actually, he liked all things chocolate...
Here we are after eating ice cream with him (circa 1995)

Day 229 - Aprium

We are in a new city, which means visiting a NEW TRADER JOE’S!  Yippee!  We went to the TJ’s on West 86^th Street in Indianapolis.  It is a pretty store!

Yah - Indianapolis Trader Joe's!!

The employees were all super nice.  One woman asked us right off the bat if we needed help finding anything.  Other employees were super helpful when we DID need help, especially the guy with the beard who knew a lot about beer (sorry, I wish I remembered his name!).  And Amy was our cashier.  Here is a photo of Amy and me.

Here's Amy and me showing a couple of our purchases!

Amy writes the local news for their Trader Joe’s newsletter!  So Amy and I are like sisters from a different mister – we both write about Trader Joe’s stuff a lot!  She was really knowledgeable and friendly.  It was cool to meet you Amy!

Now, on to the review.  We bought an APRIUM.  “A WHAT??” you say???  Well, I assume it is a cross between an apricot and a plum.  I am surprised the signage didn’t explain more about it.  There MUST be something fun you could do with a Frankenstein fruit like an aprium, no?  I am curious what other stores have on their aprium signs.

Don't they look pretty?  But I think more creative signage is needed.  :)

We liked this fruit.  It was much more PLUM than apricot.  It was firm without being hard – it had a lovely firm fleshy texture.  There was no mush factor, which was good.  It had a tiny bit of sourness (from the skin).  The flesh was sweet.  It was meaty and tasty.  It was not dry, but not so juicy that you got a sticky chin from juice trickling down as you ate it.  The stone was difficult to get out – you need to cut or chew that puppy out.

David chomping on an aprium

Here is an aprium cut open on a plate

All in all, the aprium is a nice fruit when you need something new.  If you are tired of regular plums, and a traditional apricot just won’t do, why not try their love child, an aprium?

Price - .59 cents each

Rating – 4.25

Day 196 - Golden Plum

This golden plum was purchased at a visit to TRADER JOE’S in Chicago!  Specifically, the SOUTH LOOP Trader Joe’s!  

David and the lovely GOLDEN PLUM

We were in Chicago this month for my partner David to participate in the Physical Festival, so of course while we were there we tried out a new TJ’s!  It was a really nice store.  Bright, open, with friendly staff.  We TRIED to buy 2 local beers, but the cashier told us we had to get either 4 or 6 L.  She was super sweet about it – I mean, it obviously is not HER rule.  She even walked us over to the beer section to see if there were any more we wanted to try.  But we were only there for a couple of days and so we decided to forego the local beer but got other stuff.

South Loop Chicago TRADER JOE'S!

Once such thing we got was a golden plum.  And we had a GUEST REVIEWER review it with us – David’s brother Ted!  We sat outside at a little café for brunch and ate this plum as our appetizer.  

David and his brother Ted.  They have not lived near one another for a long time so don't see each other very often.

Here is what we thought:

Susan: 

o   Sticks quite a bit to the pit (I know this because I am the one who cut it into pieces to share)

o   Tart

o   Pretty color – like a sunny day

o   Fruity

o   Yummy

o   Rating - 4

David:

o   Flavorful

o   Tart, but you want that in a plum really

o   The skin has it’s own little tartness to it, which I like

o   Satisfying

o   Ample

o   Delicious

o   Rating - 4.75

Ted (guest reviewer):

o   Tart

o   It doesn’t smush in the hand when it is cut

o   How do you rate a FRUIT?

o   Rating – 4

After tasting it, we had a lively debate over what one could PAIR this plum with.  I went with BLUE CHEESE, which then led to a discussion on how blue cheese goes with everything.  Other ideas were pears, cherries, strawberries, Manchego cheese…  Ted, a tech guy, then GOOGLED what to pair this plum with and ended up on a site of “stone fruit pairings”, which recommended washed rind cheeses.

Price per PIECE, not by the pound.  Makes checking out faster!

I will give the final review by averaging all 3 reviewers’ ratings.  I will also add that, like with other produce, I like the fact that TJ’s priced these plums per piece and not by the pound. 

Price – .59 cents each

Rating – 4.25 (average of all 3 ratings)

Day164 - Tuscan Cantaloupe

 If ever a fruit deserved a 5 star rating, this is it. 

My partner David came home from Trader Joe’s raving about the “Tuscan Cantaloupe” he had sampled in the store.  Personally, I was skeptical.  I mean, a CANTALOUPE is a CANTALOUPE, right??  And if you think of all the fruits you could possibly eat, cantaloupe would not normally make my top 5 list.  (Maybe I was also skeptical because I was ticked at him…  I had to work all day and I THOUGHT we were going grocery shopping TOGETHER, after I was off work, and here he just went without me…  Ok yeah, that was part of my negativity, I confess…)

Anyway, he brought one of these cantaloupes home with him.  Even before it was cut it sort of stunk up our kitchen with cantaloupe smell (oh my, “stunk up”, my crankiness at being left behind while he gallivanted around is really showing, isn’t it???).  I guess a little piece of me might have also thought, “Here it is, the moment David turns into his father.”  You see, David’s dad (Stanley) ate cantaloupe for breakfast EVERY SINGLE DAY.  When we lived with him to take care of him the last couple months of his life, we cut cantaloupe every morning (plus prepared a bowl of the same cereal (Special K), a banana, and Entenmann’s – now that I write that out I realize that was a HUGE breakfast!).   You can see why my brain went, “Wow, David is now in love with cantaloupe, could this be the final conversion where he BECOMES his father???”.  J

Here it is, amoung the pineapples, the TUSCAN CANTALOUPE

But the next morning David sliced that melon open and served it up for breakfast.  YES.  It is a GOOD CANTALOUPE!  I am not sure what it is about “Tuscan” cantaloupe that makes it different from, say, Tallahassee cantaloupe, but whatever it is, I say YES.  This is a really tasty melon!  There is no mushiness, yet it is not too firm either.  Often with cantaloupe I put on a bit of salt to give it some flavor, but this melon needs nothing added.  Well, if I was going to add anything, it would be very thinly sliced prosciutto.  Oh now my mouth is watering at the thought of that…  We are going to an outdoor party tomorrow evening, maybe that is what we will bring!  It sounds perfect!

All prepared and ready to E A T

We were at Trader Joe’s last night (yes, we went together this time J ) and I did a price comparison between melons to see if the prized TUSCAN one was more expensive than the others.  It turns out it is exactly the same price as an organic cantaloupe ($3.49) but more than a conventional cantaloupe ($2.99).  Trust me, it is worth the extra .50 cents. 

Traditional cantaloupe is cheaper, but not as good

Organic - same price as Tuscan.  GET TUSCAN!

My advice is:  TRY ONE!  They are a flyer item this month, and I am not sure how long they will carry them.  The signage at our Trader Joe’s (so nice to be back home and get to go to our local store!) said, “One taste and no other melon will do!”.  I agree!  Get one now while you can!

Very honest sign - trust it.

Price - $3.49

Rating - 5

Day 159 - Pineapple Spears

Pineapples are tasty.  But they are HARD to cut and serve (in my humble opinion).

Canned pineapple tastes so, so, oh, I don’t know, so elementary school cafeteria to me.

So what’s a person to do when they want a bit of fresh pineapple?? 

Why, buy these pineapple spears from Trader Joe’s of course!  You get the tastiness of FRESH pineapple without the messy mess of trying to cut it yourself.  (And no tin can taste!!)

Pineapple, ready for you to EAT

As you see on the label, these are Del Monte pineapples, so basically they are the same thing you would get if you bought one whole or in a can.  Only, they are in a little plastic container all ready for you to munch on.

Sure, they are a bit pricey, but they are a tasty, healthy thing to eat.  As the sign says, you could also use them in a smoothie. 

Whoever wrote this sign has great handwriting

If you are tired of run of the mill bananas and apples, spice up your life a bit with fresh pineapple.  It tastes summery and juicy.  Go for it.

Obviously this is an OLD photo, best by December 3, 2014!!  I just got more this week and I must say I enjoy them more in hot summer weather.

Price - $3.49

Rating – 4.25

Day 66 - Cara Cara Naval Oranges

GO TO TRADER JOE’S NOW AND GET THESE CARA CARA NAVAL ORANGES.  Seriously – today!  They are a “seasonal product”, meaning the store will only carry (or should I say, “carry carry” J ) them a short time.  And you need to taste them!

This is the bag you are looking for - go get one!

They are delicious!  They are juicy, sweet, PINK inside, and amazing!  David picked up a bag and it didn’t take us long to get through it.  We do not EAT many oranges, normally we buy them for squeezing into fresh orange juice.  But these cara caras are ideal to cut into slices and enjoooooy.  They will put a smile on your face and a bit of summer in your heart.  They just taste GOOD! 

Aren't they pretty?

 Go to Trader Joe’s and get some before the season is over and they are gone.

Cara Cara Naval Oranges will make you smile - they do me!

Price - $3.49 per 3 lb. bag

Rating - 5

Day 51 - Blackberries

Blackberries are luscious little fruits.  Seedy boogers, to be sure, but tasty.  And if you do not grow your own, well then, you are going to have to pay someone else to grow them for you. 

Like any fruit, they are hit and miss.  You can get super juicy tasty ones, and sometimes you run into the hard, dry, not-so-good variety.  No matter where you choose to pick them up it is a gamble really.  The best advice I can give is wash them right before you eat (instead of washing them when you buy and then storing them) and eat them shortly after you bring them home.  Many a poor blackberry has turned into a hard little rock by getting lost in the back of our refrigerator and forgotten.  Sigh. 

Blackberries - tasty and healthy treats

If blackberries are on your shopping list, Trader Joe’s is a fine place to pick them up.  They are fresh, well packed, and usually very good.  We eat them on their own, in yogurt, on cereal, and everyone once in a while on a fancy treat like this!!!!

A chocolate cookie (half a Whoopie pie) topped with freshly whipped cream, blackberries, and a single blueberry!  Valentines gift from my love!  Blackberries = love! 

You might find them cheaper every once in a while on sale somewhere else, but Trader Joe’s are pretty consistently good.

Price - $3.99

Rating – 4