Vitamin E Oil, Silver Spring Store, and Skin Cancer

Ok, this review is may be a bit all over the place, because I have not one but THREE topics to cover:

-          Vitamin E Oil

-          A new (to me) Trader Joe’s that I visited today in Silver Spring, Maryland

-          And a medical issue I have been dealing with for the last couple of months but haven’t mentioned here, skin cancer

Which topic shall I start with??  Maybe the biggest – the skin cancer.  Let’s discuss that quickly and get it out of the way!!

Yeah.  So.  I had basal cell carcinoma.  The GOOD parts about this kind of skin cancer are:  it is the most common form of skin cancer and super treatable if caught early.  The BAD parts about it in my case were:  it wasn’t caught early (yes, I knew I had it and delayed going to the doctor) AND it was in a hard to cut out place – the top/side corner of my nose – RIGHT BY MY EYE…  And the fact that it was THERE is why I had put off going to the doctor.  It was a spooky location to imagine someone coming at with a knife!!!

I won't show the grossest photo here, but let's peek at a shot just 24 hours after closing surgery shall we??

 But come at it with a knife they did.  I had the cancer cut out with a surgery known as MOHS earlier this month.  It ended up being a bigger “hole in my face” than they had expected, but I actually went home with said hole covered with a bandage and waited until day 2 of surgery – the CLOSE.  The MOHS doctor did not want to CLOSE, due to the close proximity to my eye…  So, she referred me to an ocular plastic surgeon to close, which turned out to be just the right thing to do since it was a tricky hole to sew up!!

Look!  96 hours after they sewed the hole up...

And here is right after they took the stitches out!

So, the long and the short of it is:  I had basal cell carcinoma on my face, one doctor cut that sucker out, and another doctor sewed me up!!  It has been 18 days since MOHS now and I am looking pretty good (if I do say so myself!).  and it is now the VITAMIN E STAGE!  This means that I am to put Vitamin E oil on the scar, with the intention of making the scar less visible.  I am supposed to apply it twice daily until I go back to the surgeon in four weeks. 

Still the same price it was when I reviewed it 2 years ago - only $3.99

And where did I get the Vitamin E Oil??  Why, at TRADER JOE’S of course!!!  I had a tiny bit at home, but bought a new bottle today.  So that leads to part 2 of this piece – VITAMIN E OIL!  It is great for your skin.  It can be found in most drug stores.  And it is expensive.  That is, unless you but it at TJ’s!  I wrote a review of it way back on day 77 of this blog (in 2015), and I still stand by it today.  Here you go:  Vitamin E Oil Review link

Now part 3 – A NEW (to me) TRADER JOE’S!!

Believe it or not there are still Trader Joe’s stores in my vicinity that I have not ever visited!  CRAZY, eh??  Last night I passed one in Silver Spring, Maryland but did not have time to stop and check it out.  So you know where I was today!  Yup, right back at that Trader Joe’s to see how it fared compared to the 27 other Trader Joe’s locations I have visited!

The way the parking lot is set up makes it hard to get a good photo of the outside of this store.

First and foremost – the parking is NOT GOOD!!!  Oh man, parking at this store is sooooo hard!  Granted, it was a Saturday morning when I was there, which is a busy time.  But still!!  NOT enough parking spots.  I even witnessed a PARKING SPOT FIGHT!!  It never got to actually throwing blows, but it was a yelling fight!  Here is what happened:  when I got there I couldn’t find a spot to park in the front, so I followed the “more parking” signs around to the back and eventually found a tight spot.  I did my shopping, and on the way back to my car I heard a honk.  I looked up to see what had happened:  a guy in an Acura mini-van/SUV sort of thing had been waiting in his vehicle for someone to pull out of a spot.  As the person was pulling out, a guy driving a Lexus stepped on the gas and whipped into it from the other direction!!!  Oh, the Acura man was not happy….  He rolled down his window and yelled, “I WAS WAITING FOR THAT SPOT!!!  I WAS HERE FIRST!” to which Mr. Lexus replied, “No you weren’t…”.  Well that is a 3^rd grade response if I have ever heard one!!!  Mr. Acura would have none of it!!  “YES I WAS!!!!  I WAS WAITING!”.  And you can guess Mr. Grown-Up Lexus’ reply, “Nuh-uh….”.  Repeat, repeat…  Mr. Acura asked Mr. Lexus to leave the spot, and of course Mr. Lexus would not.  Mr. Acura ended up screaming something like, “You and your Lexus are jerks!!!”.  I stood around with my cart as the Lexus boys exited their car and sauntered into the store and the Acura guy found another spot.  I wondered if there might be a little “car scratching with a key” as he passed the offending vehicle, but he just kept walking.  Heaven knows what happened if they ran into each other in the produce aisle of the store!!!

While the parking is sparse, the cars parked there seem cool.  There were lots of hybrids, and some fun “hippy” bumper stickers, like this one (which I left a sticky note on):

Cool sticker!

And this was on another car was good, too!

The store itself is nice.  It is clean, has good lighting, and is well stocked.  The artwork is really good!  One thing they do NOT have is any alcohol.  I always feel sorry for grocery stores in Maryland because their regulations do not allow them to have even beer or wine.  What a rip off.  This TJ’s location still carries the smaller, double decker carts, which I really like to use.  But it is odd that some stores have them and others do not, because when I asked once why our usual store got rid of them, it was because many employees were getting BACK INJURIES because of bending down to take stuff out of the lower section!  That makes sense to me.  What doesn’t make sense is why some stores still have them?  Anyway, employees of the Silver Spring store were friendly.  One guy working a register was super happy and was saying loudly how he had his “swag” today 😊.  Way to bring your swag to work, friend!!

Artwork is fun

New Items sign with a stork.  Get it???  A stork!

This was my favorite artwork in the store.  The Silver Spring piece has the Maryland flag on it.  Cool!

I ended up having to go BACK to the store after I had left and park again because I got a text from David asking me to grab bananas, milk, and blueberries.  This time I had to drive all the way around the building, then still wait for a spot for a few minutes.  Ugh. 

There you have it! 

And remember friends – if you see something odd/funky/weird on your skin, go get it checked out!  Better to catch it early.  And if you need Vitamin E oil, Trader Joe’s sells it.  And if you are not an aggressive parker, don't go tot he Silver Spring, Maryland store during a busy time.  Just don't.

My scar as of yesterday (before I started the Vitamin E oil treatment!).  It is getting better!

Vitamin E oil:

Price:  still $3.99 2 years after the original review

Rating:  still 4.25

English Butter Fudge

If you have ever wondered if I am a Trader Joe’s employee, or are somehow getting compensated from Trader Joe’s for these reviews, you obviously haven’t read any of the “clunkers”.  Not all products we try get a rave review, that’s for sure.  And today’s happens to be one of those – let’s use “nice language” like our mothers taught us and just say, “It wasn’t one of our favorites…”.

My mom

David's mom - they taught us well :)

Here is what we thought of Trader Joe’s ENGLISH BUTTER FUDGE.

Let’s get David’s take first.  Remember, David is a man who loves him some desserts.  He eats cookies.  He eats cake.  He eats candy.  And he loves chocolate bars.  In fact, before trying the English Butter Fudge, he was eating a fancy candy bar I got him for Valentine’s Day from Harris Teeter (shhhh, it is another grocery store, a competitor of Trader Joe’s, and the fact that I went there is another dead giveaway that I am not on the TJ’s payroll!). 

It LOOKS tasty enough

David:  “I never thought I would say this, but it is TOOOOO SUGARY.  (Much laughter from me upon hearing this statement, as this may be the first time in my nearly 30 years of being with the man that I have heard these words come out of his mouth.)  This is probably what the English eat for FUDGE.  I think it needs more CREAM, rather than that glucose syrup condensed milk stuff.  I give this a 1.5 rating."

This is, of course, in the store BEFORE he tried this sugary fudge!  He looks happy, doesn't he??
Little does he know what he is in for....  

Susan:  The box says this is a product of England.  The first ingredient listed is, indeed, SUGAR.  However, the title of the product does not have the word SUGAR in it.  I expected more buttery-ness!  And some FUDGE-Y-NESS for heaven’s sake.  It is called English BUTTER FUDGE, is it not?  I think a more accurate title would be “Super Ass Sugar English Butter Fudge”!!

Other ingredients listed make your teeth hurt to read.  It is basically sugar, sugar, sugar with a little bit of butter.  It says a serving size is 4 pieces, but I defy anyone to stomach that.  David says, “You would have to be drinking a lot of unsweetened tea or coffee to eat 4 pieces of this...  I say no, no.  I think we should take it back.  I can’t imagine eating that!”.

This is what he looked like AFTER he tried this English Butter Fudge.

I like the packaging of this “fudge”, and I like that it was something we haven’t had before.  It looked interesting.  I also was probably also attracted to the fact that it was from another country.  David adds, “Of course, not remembering when we saw it was from ENGLAND that English people at the highest amount of sugar per capita of any people in the world!” (editor’s note: I did not fact check this statement J ). 

Susan:  I had one piece.  The best thing I can say about it is that the pieces are too small.  If the good thing you have to say about a product is “the pieces are small”, then this is probably not the product for you.  David suggests dropping one piece of this in a cup of hot tea and you will be fine.

If you really, really like sugary stuff, you might like these.  We, however, did not like them.  I agree with David on the rating of 1.5.  We returned this product to Trader Joe’s and they happily took it back.  They are great about returns.  Thanks Joe!

Price:  $2.99

Rating:  1.5

Chicken Burrito Bowl

First, let me say right off, I have the flu.  It’s not the “throw up” type of flu, it is the fever, exhausted, and every inch of your body ache type of flu (it even hurt to COMB MY HAIR this morning…  Huh?)

Oh, I feel muuuuuch better than I felt yesterday, where I lie in bed ALL DAY and night long, freezing cold (with a fever) even though I was snuggled under the electric blanket.  I now have a super expensive ($117 after insurance???) prescription of TamiFlu to take (geez Louise, that works out to almost $12 per pill – I could buy 2 bottles of wine at Trader Joe’s for every pill I am taking!  Priorities, people…)

Not gonna lie...  I sat in the waiting room of the doctor's office for 45 minutes to get in to see her.  And the whole entire time I was wearing the ridiculous mask UPSIDE DOWN and INSIDE OUT.  And they never told me!  Can't they TELL I feel awful by looking at me??  When I finally got called back the nurse said, "Oh, put the PURPLE side out!  You are gonna suffocate!"  Gee, thanks.

So anyway, I am not feeling dapper.  Also, I am home alone.  David is at rehearsal for “Gogol’s Nose and Other Strange Tales From the City”, a show he is co-directing at George Mason University.  It opens March 29^th and YOU should come see it if you are in the Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC area J.  Here is a link to the university performance calendar so you can check it out:  link to Gogol's Nose!

David has been at rehearsal in the evenings quite a lot lately, which has meant a change in diet for me.  No longer are we doing “team cooking” – me focusing on veggies and him doing starch or meat…  No, now it is things like, I kid you not, a dinner of Girl Scout Cookie Thin Mints for me!  Oh yeah, steppin’ it up a notch in the cuisine department. 

So, tonight I pulled a little something out of the freezer that I purchased with the intention of eating for a LUNCH – a Trader Joe’s Chicken Burrito Bowl.  Since David wasn’t here, I ate that whole sucker myself.  And here is what I thought of it:

Here you have it: dinner in a box.  Just add wine!

This is the first time I have had this item.  I was imagining MOE’S (a chain restaurant) when I bought it.  it was super easy to prepare – I microwaved it for 4.5 minutes, stirred it, let it sit a minute, and it was ready to roll.  I topped it off with the last bit of Hatch Valley Salsa I had (which I am kinda sorta addicted to and reviewed here:  Hatch Valley Salsa link  ).  (It is garbage and recycling night, and using the salsa means I can get the jar out of the fridge and recycle it!  But don’t fret, I have my back-up jar in the cupboard!)

My first bite of chicken in this burrito bowl was way too big, it was like the size of 3 bites!  That put me off a bit, but subsequent bites were better sized.  Sadly though, the chicken was really bland.  The black beans, corn, and peppers were much tastier. 

Ahhh, fancy dinner!!

This burrito bowl is listed as one serving, and that seems right if you are hungry.  It would make a good lunch.  It is nothing that is going to knock your socks off – it is NOT like going to Moe’s.  For some reason this Trader Joe’s bowl is just not all that flavorful.  It needs much more spice. 

Reasonably priced and NEW
                                                                                                                                                           

So, while I would rather have a bowl or burrito from Moe’s (which ironically is right next to our usual Trader Joe’s!), this is not a bad substitute.  It’ll do if you wanna just sit on the sofa, eat, and watch CNN.  I might buy one of these again to keep in the freezer for a lunch or solo dinner – it was filling enough anyway. 

Price:  $3.49

Rating: 3.5

Tulip Time

In 2016 I reviewed Trader Joe’s tulips bulbs in a glass vase.  I loved them.  You can see that review here:  2016 review of Tulip Bulbs in Glass Vase

Looks like last year I scored PINK tulips!

Less than 2 weeks after I reviewed them, they BLOOMED, and I posted a reminder that life is, indeed, short, and you should just buy the damn tulip bulbs while Trader Joe’s has them briefly in stock.  You can see THAT review here:  2016 tulip reminder

And boy were they gorgeous when they bloomed!!

So, now it is 2017.

Have you figured out the pattern yet???

YES!  Trader Joe’s has once again started carrying their seasonal TULIP BULBS in a GLASS VASE!!  This is the time, friends!  This is when you need to treat yourself.  Maybe it is cold where you are (as it is right now in Washington DC where we are).  Maybe it is sunny and warm (like, if you live in Austin, Texas or something).  But whatever the weather, wherever your location, YOU DESERVE THESE TULIPS. 

I GOT YELLOW ONES THIS YEAR!!!  Picked them up at the Bailey's Crossroads, VA Trader Joe's.

Trader Joe's has not raised the price on these one penny, and they are worth the (almost) $9.00 they cost.

A sign that SPRING is on the way - the birds are checking out the backyard looking for ideal nesting spots!
Mrs. Dove is BACK!

Treat yourself.  Treat your friend.  Treat your neighbor or your lover.  GO GET SOME TULIP BULBS IN A GLASS VASE and marvel, like I am, as they come to life on your coffee table!

Price:  still $8.99

Rating:  still 4.75

Another sign that SPRING is coming - it was 70 degrees one day this week!  Look, David wore SHORT SLEEVES!
(The temperature later plummeted that same night...)

Mini Sugar Hearts

David and I normally review Trader Joe’s stuff TOGETHER, sitting at the same table, chomping on the same food, and then reviewing it.  Today was different…  David was working (teaching), and I was working from home.  I was tempted to open a package of Mini Sugar Heart Cookies we got at Trader Joe’s last night and have some for breakfast, but I felt bad doing that without David here…  But I NEEDED a cookie…  So let’s just say - my guilt didn’t last long, and I ripped that bag open and sat down to try these puppies out!

David looked like a fan of these cookies in the store,
but when it was time to OPEN them and EAT 'em he was no where to be found!

Boy was I surprised!!  First off, these cookies are teeny tiny!  I took a photo of them on a small plate next to half a kiwi so you could see their size.

Adorable little heart cookies!

I am not sure why I expected these cookies to be bigger.  I guess it was because of the picture on the packaging showing a big ol’ cookie getting dipped into a small tea cup.  Of course, when I look at the package now that I have eaten a cookie (or two or three…) I see that the drawing is totally out of proportion and was not meant to be an accurate representation of cookie size.  My bad.

Purple!  And see the BIG cookie in the tiiiiiny yellow tea cup ?  Subconsciously tricked me!

This bag of cookies caught my eye on the Trader Joe’s “New Products” end cap last night.  It does not look like most TJ’s packages – it is PURPLE, which is a color not often used in their palette I guess, because it really stood out.  The package describes these as “sugar sprinkled cookies”.  From the packaging, I expected these cookies to taste like a French cookie called a palmier.  We lived in Paris for a while, and I learned that French desserts are almost always gorgeous, but to my palate almost always bland tasting and unsatisfying.  French desserts (in my opinion) are rarely worth the energy to eat (and even more rarely they worth the expense of buying them…).   So, I THOUGHT, from the looks of the packaging pictures, that these would be palmiers and I wouldn’t really like them. 

Flashback Photo!!!  Us on the banks of the Seine in Paris.  Hey, neither of us had any grey hair back then...

I was wrong!  They are not palmiers and I DO like them!!

They are little, rather bland (in a good way!), heart shaped cookies.  The “sugar sprinkled” claim does not seem all that accurate to me, as they are not very sweet.  But not being sweet doesn’t mean not good!  The package emphasizes over and over that you want to eat these cookies with coffee or tea (I had mine with a double cappuccino).  As TJ’s puts it, “If coffee and tea could fall in love with a cookie, the romance would be with Trader Joe’s Mini Sugar Hearts”.   I think that is a good recommendation – these pair well with a hot beverage.  I didn’t dunk mine, but that would be a good thing to try with these.

A serving size is listed as 14 cookies!!!  I admit, had I read THAT in the store I would have KNOWN that these were going to be baby sized cookies!!  I am in favor of the size – to me they are one bite cookies.  I like these!  They are simple and plain.  I think BISCUIT is a better name for these than COOKIE, as they are not sweet. But they are good biscuits!  They would be nice any time of day: with an afternoon cup of tea or your morning coffee.

Very affordable Valentine's treat.

These are CUTE.  They are little hearts, which make them nice for upcoming Valentine’s Day.  I think you should give them a shot.  Heck, you should get some for your Valentine and surprise her/him.  They are more creative than your run-of-the-mill box of chocolate and will be more appreciated than one of those silly life sized stuffed bears that you see advertised this time of year.  (Note to men – just don’t on the expensive life sized teddy bears, ok?)  But hey – if you take me up on my suggestion to get your sweetie these cookies, get her/him a little somethin’ else to go along with them, ok?  Cuz they are only a buck 99….  And she/he is worth WAY more than that.

Price: $1.99

Rating: 4.25

Bonus flashback photo.  Ahhhh, memories.  This is a gentleman who we often smiled at in Gare du Nord train station in Paris.  He couldn't talk. and he lived in the station.  He had his knees wrapped with heavy cloth, then covered by RUBBER.  Hence, I am a bit embarrased to admit, our name for him was "Kneesie".  One time we talked to a homeless lady who was sitting by him and she told us his real name was Marcel.  He was VERY SWEET.  We sometimes brought him food.  Often he was asleep/passed out in this exact spot where he is sitting now, so we would just leave the food by him.  Things I love about this photo:  Kneesie's smile, the little Camembert cheese box next to him (typical!), his wheelchair covered in stuff, the fact that his fly is not all the way closed (also typical), and the fact that I held his hand.  His hands were not, how shall I say, clean...  He couldn't walk, so would pee in a water bottle and dump it RIGHT BEHIND HIM (which in this photo is right behind US...) in a little groove.  Kneesie's section of the train station was a bit smelly...
 But oh he was sweet!!  

La Granja Cava Brut

We bought a bottle of this La Granja Cava Brut at the Winter Park, Florida Trader Joe’s to drink for New Year’s Eve 2016 – HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 

David, already excited and we have not even popped the cork!

I picked it out because we really like another La Granja wine so this one caught my eye (oh my goodness, I don’t think I have reviewed the other one we like!!  Shame on me – add that to my increasingly long “to do” list…).  Anyway, I figured if La Granja makes one really good wine, maybe this one would be equally tasty.

We do not usually buy sparkling wines, but since it was NEW YEAR’S, I figured we should follow tradition.  Don’t wanna screw up the whole year just by drinking the wrong thing at the stroke of midnight, ya know???  Instead of champagne, we went with this.

Pop this in the fridge and wait until New Year's Eve....

First off – the label is ADORABLE.  David says, “It looks like a duck (with blue feathers) that has just exploded!” (In all honesty, he made that observation after he had already drunk a bit of the wine…).  We served it chilled with an omelet, hashbrowns, eggplant, and broccoli. 

Adorable exploding blue duck.  Or goose...  

Here is my take:  sparkling wines and champagnes are usually not my favorite, but this is very good!  It is not too dry and not too sweet.  It is not so bubbly that it “hurts your mouth”.  It is just a nice taste with a bit of fizz.  I like it!  it is good for a special occasion.  I give this a 4.5.

David’s opinion:  This actually has a fair bit of fizz – it is in the champagne zone.  Most “good champagne”, which I tend not to like, has lots of bubbles and very little taste.  It tries to be “ethereal” that way.  But this one has a lot of TASTE, and I like that in a wine.  So sue me – I like a little taste in my wine!  J  Susan is right on all accounts: the bubble-age is correct for us, the flavor quotient is fine (nicely balanced between brut and sweet), and so if you hate champagne, you will love this!  Champagne is so over-rated!  But if you would like a sparkling wine, have a sparkling wine!  I give this a 4. 

CHEERS! (And yes, I know the glass is the wrong shape for a sparkling wine.  Hey, we are rule-breakers!)

We both agreed that this is a good choice to drink for a special occasion and that it would be nice to drink while sitting outside on a hot summer night.  We drank it in FLORIDA, so while it was warm, it was not HOT and we were not sitting outside, we were sitting INSIDE on a sofa (watching Anderson Cooper giggle at Kathy Griffin on CNN).

Significantly cheaper than other "fancy" wines, but just as tasty (in our opinions)

I also want to tell let you in on a little New Year’s Eve tradition that we have: at the stroke of midnight (when the ball drops in Times Square), we each eat 12 grapes.  It is a tradition from Spain, and they say if you eat 12 green grapes at midnight and finish them within one minute, you will get 12 wishes in the New Year.  MY take on it is if you eat 12 grapes (either green or red, I don’t police the color) and finish them within one minute, you will have a good new year!!  (Cuz why limit the goodness to 12 wishes, right??)  It is a very fun tradition and I recommend you try it!  It makes me giggle every year (which makes gulping the grapes harder, but I haven’t choked on any yet (knock on wood).

Here you see my patented TWO HANDED GRAPE EATING technique.
I do not want to take any chances of not finishing all 12 grapes in one minute, folks!

And let me tell you about ONE MORE THING while we are here – look at my new shopping bag!  Isn’t it fabulous??  I ordered it online at http://emilymcdowell.com/ . I had seen some cool pins that she was selling and when I went to get one for my big sister Sherry (I got her the one that says “Kicked Cancer’s Ass”, it was a hit) I saw this shopping bag and, well, I had to have it.  I carried to Trader Joe’s last night (and secretly was disappointed that people didn’t notice it and chuckle). 

My new Emily McDowell tote bag!  You need one!  Website listed above

But back to La Granja Cava Brut:  if you are not normally a champagne drinker, but you want to pretend like something is “fancy” and therefore calls for bubbles, grab a bottle of this.  It will do the trick.

Price:  $6.99

Rating: 4.25

Billionaire Shortbread Truffles

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE AND HAPPY HANUKKAH from us in sunny, warm Florida to YOU, wherever you may be!!

Our Christmas tree!  (Honestly, it is a fire hazard...  Was pretty dead when we got it.  But isn't it pretty?
Handmade shell garland and topped with a STAR FISH!  Christmas Beach Style!

We just opened a sweet treat – Trader Joe’s Billionaire Shortbread Truffles.  So while the Trader Joe’s Brie en Croute is baking in the oven (do you sense a theme here?) I thought I would go ahead and put up the review of the sweets! 

Hmmm, wonder how these will taste???

The packaging says, “A truffled twist on a much loved treat.  Individually wrapped Billionaire Shortbread Truffles.  Buttery shortbread crumbles, gilded with sticky toffee, covered in a rich dark chocolate shell.”  That sounds like a lot to live up to, no??  It is a bit confusing, saying it is a “twist on a much loved treat”…  I do not know of a much loved billionaire treat, do you?  (I know of a certain billionaire I would rather not speak of, but that is beside the point…)  I checked the Trader Joe's article and apparently they are referring to "millionaire shortbread", which is something I do not know about (see more here ).  

Anyway, let’s see what David thought of this seasonal holiday treat:

“First off, the chocolate on the outside is very fragrant and smells delicious and quite rich.  I love that – like a really dark chocolate truffle.  Then, when you bite into it, it is delightfully not gooey, so it doesn’t run out the sides.  That is a plus for me.  It is tasty.  It’s not overly sweet but it is sweet enough.  The center is yielding and the truffle is tasty.  The shortbread cookie kind of gets overwhelmed by all of the other delicious flavors, but maybe it doesn’t mind that as shortbread is kind of the “middle of the range” in cookies.  I just ate one in about 4 bites.  It was a delicious experience from beginning to end.  I am sure you could get through 4 or 5 of these in a sitting.  I would give this a 4.75.”

Take the WRAPPER off first, David...  

Editor’s note:  I think you can tell how much David enjoyed these by his repetition of the word TASTY in his review.  J  Also, David mentioned he took 4 bites to eat 1 of these.  Just to clarify, David is likely one of the few human beings on the planet that would take 4 bites to eat 1 of these truffles.  Some would chomp them down in 1 bite, others 2, a few 3.  But 4 bites?  Oh 4 bites is David territory. 

My take on this treat:  This is the first time we have ever had these.  I am not sure if TJ’s carries them every year and we have just missed them before or if they are something new.  The packaging is what caught my eye in the store – it is very clever.  It looks like a CHRISTMAS CRACKER, which we like.  If you have not done a Christmas cracker before – they are a British tradition (I think).  They are a tube-like shape with twisted ends.  You hold one end of your cracker, your neighbor holds the other end.  You both tug and POP – your cracker opens with a small crack!  Inside you find a flimsy paper hat and a really cheap tacky toy (like, not even as cool as Cracker Jack toys…).  But even though the treats on the inside are typically not “amazing”, the Christmas cracker experience is very fun!  So, the packaging for these Billionaire Shortbread Truffles looks like a Christmas cracker!!!  And the printing on it is a lovely font – the reds and maroons used are really nice.  The DESIGN of the package gets an A+!!!  When you go to open it, you see that it is rather origami-like!  You twist and pull an end to open.  It’s super cool.  However, once you open it, you see that the truffles are sealed into 2 little plastic bags.  That part was odd to me – it felt like over-packaging. 

Made in IRELAND!  

But enough about the package – let’s talk about the truffles!!  Ooohh-la-la!!  These are delicious!  I really like them.  The chocolate is realllllly good dark chocolate – I love it!  My first bite spooked me a tiny bit – the texture felt a little gritty…  I think it was some shortbread, because after that first bite, the gritty factor was not a problem at all.  I think these are a big hit!! 

These would be a really nice gift – put them in someone’s stocking!  I am sorry that I did not review them in time for your gift giving 2016, but if Trader Joe’s has them again next year get some to give (and of course some to EAT).  And if your TJ’s still has some of these left when they re-open on December 26^th, grab some!  The “best by” date isn’t until September 2017, so you have plenty of time to enjoy them if you can still snag a box.

Happy holidays.  May this season find you eating amazing food, talking and laughing with the ones you love, and doing what you can to make the world a better place. 

Panoramic view of my beach walk - see my shadow in the center?  :) 

Price:  $4.49

Rating:  5.0     THIS IS UNPRECEDENTED!!!  We have been eating more of these delicious treats, and we realized that we scored them wrong.  I AM UPPING THE SCORE (it was a 4.75) to a 5.  They deserve it!  

Real Mistletoe - 2016 crop

The things we don't do for you readers...  :)

We purchased another Trader Joe's Real Mistletoe this year.  I mean, we HAD to test it and make sure that it held the same romantic powers as the two previous years' crops, right?  It is all for science, folks!

2016 Real Mistletoe crop - a winner!!

I am happy to report that Trader Joe's Real Mistletoe, 2016 crop is very effective.  It is full of holiday cheer and, most importantly, KISS power.

And it is still very cheap.

Friends Tracy and Vince testing the 2015 crop - 2 thumbs up!

You need it.  Again.  It is something you must renew annually.  (Full disclosure - we also have a silver mistletoe that stays up year round.  It never "goes off".  Cuz you never know when the need for a kiss might hit sometime outside of the holiday season, and you need to be prepared.  I guess you could call us preppers.)

We wholeheartedly recommend you rush out and grab one of these mistletoes at TJ's.  They are an excellent investment.  Here is the complete 2015 review:  Real Mistletoe

Simple package, simple product, great results

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

It worked in 2014, and it still works to this day (well, I mean this year's crop still works)

Price:  I think it is still $1.99 this year, but however much it is you should invest in one
Rating:  STILL A GLORIOUS 5 

Giant Chalkidiki Olives

I saw this jar of Chalkidiki Olives arrive at Trader Joe’s displayed near the holiday items.  

These olives are the pits.  :)  Not really.  Actually, these olives HAVE pits...

The sight of them reminded me of David’s great find last year – the Giant Greek Olives (review here ) which he adored so much that he stocked up on huge ass jars of them as if he were an end of the world prepper.  He still has one jar left!  The jar of Giant Chalkidikis (do you think if I type that word enough times I might actually learn how to spell it?) that I picked up this year is 17.6 oz (as opposed to David’s favorites last year which are 21.16 oz).  The olives DO have pits (which is how we like them, but I feel the need to warn you of this fact cuz I don’t want you to eagerly bite into one and bust your tooth J ). 

David hoarding olives - December 2015

When I saw these Giant Chalkidikis in the store, I thought they they might be the same olives as David’s beloveds and that just the packaging might have changed, but when I got them home and compared them I see that they are a different color.  The size of the olives and pits are about the same, so perhaps they are the same variety of olive, just processed differently?  Being only an olive FAN and not an olive EXPERT I cannot know for sure. 

A tale of two olives

To me, both varieties have the same “meaty” quality, but the Giant Chalkidikis seem to have a bit more FLAVOR.  I also prefer the color of these new ones, as the Giant Greek Olives are always a bit of a scary green hue to me…  Overall, I like these Giant Chalkidikis just as much as I like the Giant Greeks.  They are certainly priced right – the jar is only $2.29, which is really cheap compared to the olives that we often buy at the “olive bars” at other grocery stores.

David:  “These are very good.  I think they are almost as good as the GIANT COLOSSAL GREEK OLIVES.  I mean, I still say those big round jar ones are the “king”, but these guys are great.  They are an excellent green olive.  They are colossal…  I think the flesh comes away from the pit a little bit more easily than the kind of colossal green olives you get at other grocery stores.  They are fleshy.  They are well behaved.  And they are tasty!  What’s not to like??!”

New year, new olives.  Same discerning palate.

 David and I had a big debate over what to SCORE these olives.  For me, I decided I would give them a tying score to last year’s Giant Greek Olives.  David was unsure if he should also make his numbers a tie, or if these olives should get a teeny tiny bit lower number…  Rating things is hard work, folks!!!  It is an awesome responsibility!!  After trying several more olives (which I do believe was a ploy to be able to gorge on olives…) David decide that he would give these Giant Chalkidikis the same score he gave the Giant Greek Olives.

In the end, this olive is a big winner.

Overall, we recommend you get some.  And eat ‘em.

Price:  $2.29

Rating:  5

Chocolate Chai and Almond Bar

I snagged this product at the Annapolis, Maryland store.  I think it was made in Maryland – a kind Trader Joe’s employee was helping me hunt around the store to find some local products to try and, though the packaging doesn’t SAY this is made in the area, he thought he had been told it was.  So in my cart it went! 

The ingredients list a spice blend of cinnamon, ginger, lemon peel, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom.  My take on it:  it is TOO BIG for what it is.  If it was 1/3 of the size it would be a better product.  It is TOO THICK – it is not a chocolate bar you could just sit down and munch on.  And trust me, we munch on some chocolate bars (big non-American ones – Lindt and the like), but this Chocolate Chai Almond Bar one just didn’t do it for me.  This puppy is bigger than a Ritter Sport bar!  It is more like a hunk of BAKING CHOCOLATE (David correctly my language here and said it is not a HUNK, but rather a SLAB). 

See, it LOOKS good, doesn't it??

The packaging says it is milk and dark chocolate – but sadly the dark chocolate functions more as a decoration than a taste.  The best part in my opinion are the almonds, which are big hunks (slabs?) of almonds – like half almonds, as opposed to other chocolates that put in slivers of nuts.  Overall – the bar is just TOO THICK.  The chai taste is also too strong, as is the cinnamon.  Everything is competing for my taste buds and nothing ends up winning with this product.  The outer packaging is cool – it is a funky looking recycled cardboard looking cover, but inside of that is just a simple plastic bag (with the slab o’ chocolate).  I think this is Trader Joe’s attempt at making a good, artisanal, fancy chocolate.  But sadly, the attempt does not succeed.  I would give this product a 2.5.

It's new, but it is not tasty

David:  “When I first bit into this it tasted a bit like a gingerbread boy cookie.  I agree with Susan’s review above  – all of the specifics she mentioned are precisely correct.  I would say that the chocolate tastes like really good quality chocolate, but the CONCEPT itself…  The chai-ness…  And it is a bit GRITTY in the chai-ness, which is not good.  The almonds are great, and like I said the chocolate itself seems to be good.  But I am not a fan.  I will give this a 2.0.”  (Editor’s note: this is a shockingly low score from David for a chocolate bar.  He loves most any chocolate, but apparently not this chocolate…)

Never have I seen David less excited about chocolate.  Never.

When you see this on the shelf, you think it is going to be something special.  It is new!  It looks like it should special!  You think, “Oh, this would be a nice stocking stuffer!” or, “This would be a sweet gift for Larry in Accounting!”.  But don’t.  Don’t gift it.  Or be like David, who says, “YES!  Give it to someone!  That way YOU don’t have to eat it!”.  It looks like something special, but it is not.  It is not worth the calories, let alone the price.  The serving size listed is a third of a bar, but you would have to be a big ass person to get through a 1/3 chunk of that slab!  Plus, you would have to not have a lot of taste buds…

Give presents, for goodness sake GIVE PRESENTS!  Just don't give
THIS CHOCOLATE CHAI AND ALMOND BAR as a present

We do not take many things back to TJ’s, really we don’t.  But we took THIS one back.  I think more than getting your 3 bucks back, it is worth returning it to “vote” and let Trader Joe’s know that this one is not a winner.  I am glad the guy showed it to me, and I guess I am glad I tasted it, if only to let you know not to buy it for anyone on your holiday list.  (And if you have already bought it and wrapped it, well, I hope you don’t really like whoever you are giving it to…)

Price:  $2.99

Rating:  2.25

Fleur De Sel Caramel Sauce - REDISCOVERED!

Once in a while, I rediscover stuff.

Because of my short attention span, sometimes I rediscover stuff that we STILL HAVE in the fridge! I guess that is a bonus of short attention spans, eh?  You can be surprised and delighted without even having to go out and shop!  :)

Yesterday I found a jar of Trader Joe's Fleur De Sel Caramel Sauce buried in the condiment section of our fridge.  David and I have both been sick and not eating much for the last 10 days or so, but when I saw this jar I had a glimmer of a hunger pain and went for it.

A little jar packed full of awesome taste

Boy am I glad I found it!  I heated it up quickly in the microwave and served it over fresh blueberries. It was a great reminder of what an amazing product this sauce is!  Today I had some again, this time I dipped apple slices in it - ahhhh....

Breakfast fit for a queen.  A still recuperating queen, but a queen none-the-less.
See the adorable Picasso espresso cup?  Those are some of my favorites to drink out of.  

YOU NEED SOME OF THIS CARAMEL SAUCE.  It got a well deserved 5 star rating when it was reviewed (read that here:  Fleur De Sel Caramel Sauce review ) .

Pick yourself up a jar next time you are grocery shopping at TJ's.  You deserve it!

Price:  $3.49
Rating:  still a solid 5 stars