Day 232 - Authentic Greek Feta in Brine

 I’ve said it before and I will say it again – I am not ashamed.

I LOVE ME SOME FETA.

I am home alone – I had to come home and work a few days and leave my main man in Indianapolis.  So tonight I decided to splurge and treat myself with some really nice feta.

Here is the packaging for this fancy feta

At least, what I presumed would be nice feta.  I fell for the “it’s expensive so it must be good” trick (I like to think I do not usually fall for that…).  The feta we normally purchase at Trader Joe’s is $2.99 for 8 oz.  This feta was $6.49 for 10.5 oz – see – comparatively it was PRICEY!  (You can see the review of our normal TJ’s feta on day 105 of this blog.)

What the hell- put it on a credit card!

So this afternoon I was craving feta.  I neeeeeeeeeeeeded feta.  And really, as far as cravings go, if you are going to crave something, I think FETA is a mighty healthy craving, don’t you?  So I went straight to Trader Joe’s in Clarendon, VA to hook myself up!

Now, earlier in the day I was stuck in traffic.  Like, BAD Washington DC traffic.  So I had time to hear the news on NPR not once but two or three times.  So I kept hearing about the Prime Minister of Greece resigning today.  And you know, Greece is in a boat load of financial trouble.  That poor country is a messy mess!  So I guess what I am saying is, yes, I splurged and spent way more on feta than a girl needs to spend, but it was AUTHENTIC GREEK FETA from GREEEEEEEECE for heaven’s sake!  And if anyone needs my money, it is Greece, right?  So there.  Not only did I satisfy my craving, I helped out an entire economy with my purchase.  (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.)

David taking the plunge in Koufonisia, Greece (2007)

Me swimming in Koufonisia, Greece - isn't the water beautiful???

So, was my splurge on this feta worth it?

Uh-huh.

This cheese is amazing!  It is a kick ass feta.  It comes in brine, which seems to ensure it is not dry and blecky like some fetas are.  However, the brine also means it can be MESSY, as evidenced by when I tried to pick it up after “closing” it (oops, it was not closed) to read the bottom of the container…  I splashed brine all over the counter. 

It has 2 chunks of feta in it - here I stood them up for you to see

This is what it is like when you open the tub

The thing I need to ding the rating on a bit for this product is the packaging.  It is super hard to OPEN.  You pull off a little hard plastic bit, then theoretically you can pull the lid off.  Maybe it is because I currently have long nails and need to cut them, but I had a really hard time getting the lid off.  I resorted to jamming a fork around until I could squeeze it open a bit.  And of course the whole time I was trying to rip the lid off, I was afraid the lid would POP off and give me a brine shower.

This totally satisfied my craving for feta.  Ahhhhh....  

I am glad I splurged.  Greece needs our help – go buy this feta.  J  Just be really careful opening and closing it. 

Price - $6.49

Rating – 4.75

Day 231 - Villa Borghetti Grigio Luna Pinot Grigio

This Pinot Grigio is okay, but not great.  It’s not all that fruity.  It is somehow sort of acidic maybe? 

We paired it with pasta served with pesto, fresh veggies, and mozzarella balls (review on day 166 of this blog).  Sadly, the food overpowered the wine and we felt that the Grigio Luna Pinot Grigio just didn’t hold up its end of the bargain in this meal. 

Beautiful name.  Pretty label.  Doesn't make you barf.

I gotta say, this wine just brought nuttin’ to the table.  It didn’t make me barf, but it didn’t leave me wanting more.  And really, is “Didn’t make me barf” a good enough reason to purchase this one again when there are so many good (and cheap) wines to choose from at Trader Joe’s?

Looks pretty in the glass!

The best part of this wine is the NAME.  Grigio Luna.  Doesn’t it just sound fancy and pretty?  It means “moon”.  We like the singer Mary Chapin Carpenter and she has a great song about her cat Luna.  You can listen to it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6_0SCtczyc

We saw her sing it in concert outdoors in Northern Virginia.  It was so funny – she explained it is about her cat, Luna, who went missing and they were really upset.  So she wrote and recorded this song about it.  Then Luna returned J.  And the song was already recorded.  So when she sang it she smiled a bit – especially when she sang, “Nothing to give us one thin clue…” and “Guess it’s part of the plan to know we’ll never FIND her…”. 

Try it if you would like to, but it is not our favorite.

So to summarize – we normally like Pinot Grigios but this one is not repeat worthy.

Price – $5.99

Rating – 2.75

Day 230 - Mango 100% Juice Smoothie

We are still at the Indy Fringe Festival.  David is performing his solo show “A Little Business at the Big Top” (I directed it).  We travel to festivals all around and all of them have one thing in common – the people involved with productions do not eat healthy and are exhausted.

So on our trip to Trader Joe’s, I picked up this Mango 100% Juice Smoothie, thinking it would be a healthy addition to our diet.

Not cheap, but chock full of health

And it was!  As soon as I took the first sip I felt a jolt of HEALTH coursing through my veins!  (Even though, technically, the juice was in my MOUTH and my esophagus, not my veins, but you know what I mean…)  It felt like I was pouring a whole mango into my body!  And mangos are both TASTY and HEALTHY. 

Mango is definitely the strongest flavor in this juice, but the label tells me it also contains banana puree, apple juice, orange juice, and lemon juice.  And it is an excellent source of vitamin A and a good source of vitamin C. 

Ahhh - a chug of health

I sort of feel like I should invest in a case of these juices and hand them out to weary performers at the Fringe Beer Tent.  They would do everyone a world of good!  David doesn’t like this smoothie and so wouldn’t drink one, but that would just leave more for other performers. 

This is David in the Indianapolis Trader Joe's PRETENDING he is going to like this Mango Smoothie.  He had already decided he thought it looked yucky, but we liked the CLOUDS they have hanging up so he was being all angelic or something...

I wish the juice was a litttttle less thick, but it IS a smoothie and not a juice, so I guess I cannot rightfully complain.  It comes in a one pint plastic recyclable bottle. 

If I had a Trader Joe’s smoothie competition, I would say this one beats the Very Green Smoothie (reviewed on day 156 of this blog) and the Strawberry Chia Smoothie (reviewed on day 145 of this blog).  This one does the best to balance YUMMY TASTE with GOOD FOR YOU.

Price - $2.99

Rating - 4

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 228 - Rail Splitter IPA (Triton Brewing Company)

If you have read other beer reviews on this blog, you know that I in no way profess to be a beer guru.  I am not a beer snob.  I know almost nothing about beer.  But when I travel to a new city and go to a new Trader Joe’s, I always check and see if they have local beer and/or wine.

Well, when I asked about local wine at the Trader Joe’s in Indianapolis, not one but TWO employees basically steered me away from it.  They both were clear to say that the local wine is SWEET, and the particular varieties that TJ’s carries are the really sweet ones, which apparently are the ones the locals like.  But we are not locals…  So I trusted their “unspoken advice” to skip the wine and went over to the beer section.

Local beer!!

Unlike our beer experience in Chicago where they would only sell us a six pack (it was the law – the store people were totally kind about it but couldn’t break the law, of course), the guys in Indy were more than happy to sell us however many beers we wanted!  So we chose 3 different local beers and one local cider. 

Rail Splitter IPA

This review is about Rail Splitter IPA.  Uncharacteristically for me, I am drinking it without food and at 6:30 pm.  We normally don’t bust out the alcohol until there is a plate of food in front of us and that usually happens sometime after 9:30 pm.  But we are at a Fringe Festival (see http://indyfringe.org/fringe15/little-business-big-top and that means schedules are NUTTY and life is turned on it’s head.  So, here I am post-show drinking this IPA!  (I directed a show in the festival, my partner David’s “A Little Business at the Big Top”!  It’s great, if I do say so myself, but of course I am a tad bit biased…).

"A Little Business at the Big Top" - coming soon to a theatre near you!
(That is, if you live near a theatre in Indianapolis or Cincinnati...) 

Back to the beer.

Yes!  This is good!  If you like IPA and you live in the Indiana area you should try this for sure.  We learned from TJ’s employees that on the TV show “Parks and Rec”, which took place in Pawnee, Indiana, a fictitious town, they always drank Rail Splitter beer!  As non-Hoosiers* we never noticed that, but I guess the locals really dig it (as would I if I had a local connection!).  Here is an article I found recapping the awesome (and certainly missed) TV show” Parks and Rec” - http://www.indianapolismonthly.com/arts-culture/parks-recreation-recap-one-last-ride/

David’s take is that this is not a “day drankin’” beer but would be good with stilton cheese!”.  Note – this is the second time lately in reviews that David has said “day drankin’”.  I think this is because a place we drive by often has it on their marquee and it makes us giggle. 

Anyway, try this beer.  It is good.

*I do not know what a Hoosier is…  I do not think I should need to Google this.  If people here call themselves something, I want them to tell me what that something means, ya know?  So far I have asked two people and they didn’t really know, they said something like, “It means a person from Indiana…”.  Yeah, but WHAT IS A HOOSIER?  Like, why is a person from Indiana called that?

Price – $1.67 per bottle

Rating – 3.75

Day 227 - Villa Cerrina Italia Chardonnay Pinot Grigio (2013)

We served this wine (a blend of Chardonnay (60%) and Pinot Grigio (40%) with take-out pad thai from our local Thai restaurant.  Don’t judge – we were tired and I didn’t feel well…  It was just a “slap some pad thai on a plate, cover it with sriracha (which got a glowing review on day 45 of this blog), and pour some wine” kind of dinner.

And this wine was a good match for it.  It was light and fruity.  The label identifies the fruit notes as apples, peaches, and citrus but in my tired and stuffy nose state I identified them simply as FRUIT. 

Chardonnay Pinot Grigio blend - go for it

David’s (also sleepy) take on this wine was “Nice, light, but with a good body.  Good for day drankin’…”.  J 

The bottle tells us it would be a good aperitif or good to serve with an appetizer, light seafood or salad.  I say - it’s FIVE BUCKS.  Serve it with whatever the heck you want!  It is cheap but tastes good.  It may not be a winner of any fancy schmancy wine awards, but it is an acceptable white wine to serve at your table.  (Unless your table is super fancy schmancy, in which case, you should shop at Wegman’s or Whole Foods and not Trader Joe’s…  But if you do go to one of those other pricier grocery stores you will not find this wine, because it is exclusive to Trader Joe’s.  So there.) 

Comes in just under $5 bucks.  Cheap, cheap, cheap.

A blog called "The Winey Mom" (see what she did there?  Clever...) says, "I can see why this wine is so popular.  It's got a bargain price and the folks at Trader Joe's recommend it!  It's a great party wine too because you can't really go wrong serving it to a large crowd.  It's the best of both worlds: Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio.  I'd definitely get a few bottles to have on hand.  And in mouth!".  So there - if winey mom likes it you might well like it, too!

Price - $4.99

Rating – 4

Day 226 - Smoked Paprika

This is the second spice to be reviewed in this blog (the first was the amazing 21 Seasoning Salute which you can read about on day 184).  We don’t buy spices very often – does anyone??  A jar lasts us forever it seems.  But we needed some Trader Joe’s products that were not perishable to come with us on a month long adventure where we would not have easy access to TJ’s, but would have a kitchen to cook, so spices seemed to fit right in!

This smoked paprika is really nice!  We have had it on yellow squash and it was delish (squash, olive oil, smoked paprika, freshly ground salt, and fresh Meyer lemon juice (reviewed on day 3 of this blog, and I think NOT in stock at the moment at TJ’s but we got this one at another store) (total side note:  we are now trying to grow our OWN Meyer lemons!  More news on that if it works…). 

Look at all the fruits we are hoping to get!

SEE!  Meyer Lemon is one of the fruits on our new FRUIT COCKTAIL TREE

We also had this paprika on top of a cottage cheese that David makes just like his mamma used to make (my mom, may she rest in peace, “made” cottage cheese by opening a container of Robert’s Brand Cottage Cheese and PLOPPING some on a plate.  Maybe she added salt and pepper, I can’t remember.  But I thought THAT was cottage cheese until I started hanging out with David!  His mamma’s version is muuuuch better – veggies chopped up into small pieces (celery, carrots, green pepper, tomato, whatever is on hand I think!) and all mixed in with the cottage cheese, topped with paprika. 

Here you have it - from the Spices of the World Collection at Trader Joe's

Anyway, my point here is not meant to be cottage cheese, it is meant to be this Smoked Paprika.  If you are going to buy paprika, this one is fine.  I am not a spice snob so I cannot tell you if it is better or worse than another paprika, but I CAN tell you that the jar is big (1.6 oz) and the price tag is not.*

Now that we have this jar I am sure we will not need to buy another one in over a year, that is, unless David decides to make his mother’s cottage cheese every other day for the rest of the year.  And I might be able to support that idea. 

*DAMN!  I just Googled this product and I see it being sold on EBay for $5.99 PLUS $1.50 shipping???!!! http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/111583897007   That is highway robbery!  Man, if you do not live near a Trader Joe’s and you NEED this spice, let me know and I will hook you up for much less than that.  J

Price - $1.99

Rating - 4

Day 225 - Aloo Chaat

At the risk of being sacrilegious, this aloo chaat is like the Indian version of an American “Hot Pocket”.  Only it is better than a Hot Pocket.  J 

These were a tasty dinner and very quick.   Trader Joe’s says these are filled with, “potatoes, chick peas, chaat masala (an Indian spice blend), and a sweet-tangy tamarind chutney”.  I say they are filled with warm yum.  J

I am sorry, I only have a photo of this on the plate (not the original box).  Check the link below to see the box!  Here is aloo chaat served with radish, rice, and baby bok choy (with capers).  Nice meal.

The only problem was that they were a wee bit dry.  We wished we would have had some chutney in the fridge to serve with them, but we were unprepared.  Next time!

They are very reasonably priced, as are many things at Trader Joe’s.  At $2.29 for a box of 2, that is only $1.15 per piece.  These would make an easy and yummy lunch.

Trader Joe’s does quite a few Indian dishes.  Their Indian Fare series is a staple at our house, especially Punjab Eggplant (reviewed on day 151 of this blog). 

Here is a Trader Joe’s article about the aloo chaat:  http://traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/946

Price - $2.29

Rating – 3.75

Day 224 - Lamb Koftas

So, David and I split almost ALL of our food.  I mean, when we got out to eat at a restaurant, we order one appetizer, one salad, and one meal.  That is PLENTY for the both of us.  And when we shop for groceries, we buy food that both of us likes, cuz we cook one meal.

One result of this arrangement is that poor David never gets to at LAMB.  The reason for THAT is my moratorium on eating what I classify as “cute meat”.  Cute meat is anything that, when living, would be adorable.  Things in the cute meat category are lamb, veal, fish that you have seen while snorkeling the same day in Hawaii, deer (aka venison I think), bison (I know, I know, they are not cute, but yuck I won’t eat bison…), rabbits, frogs, and probably more than I cannot think of right now.  And DO NOT, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY, do not reply to this blog post and tell me that chickens are cute.  Or pigs are cute.  Or cows…  Cuz if you do it will limit my meat intake even more.  I am fine with my current “limitations” but do not want to add to them at this point, thank you very much.

Anyway, I sometimes feel guilty that my dislike of lamb means David never gets to eat it.  So when I see an opportunity for him to have it, I encourage him.  Like recently at Trader Joe’s when they were sampling these Lamb Kofta!  I made sure he knew they were serving them so he could get a taste.  He liked them, so when I left town for a professional conference, he bought himself a bag. 

So now, without further ado, may I present the first ever review fully written by a guest author!  (The other reviews that have guest opinions (including David’s) I transcribe as people say them.  This one he WROTE while I was in workshops in New Orleans all day!)

This is the only photo he took.  And he has an old, crappy phone so it was hard for him to send it to me.  Thanks David!  You did it!  I appreciate it.  :)

“These are delightful little meatballs, easy and quick to prepare (they’re frozen but fully cooked), and because of the lamb, more flavorful than regular meatballs.  Plus, they come with a pour-over or cook-in sauce that is smooth, rich, and a bit zingy to boot.  I was hooked in to these by a tasting at our local TJ’s, when it was offered with a dollop of cilantro-and-chive yoghurt dip, and the combination was great – the spicy Kofta and sauce, with the cooling yoghurt dip. 

For a quick meal just add rice or potatoes to compliment, and perhaps a green vegetable or salad.  Like any meatball, it’s not going to have a spectacular taste note of its own, but it is very satisfying as a comfort-food.  For ease of preparation, meatiness, and unusual flavor profile, I give this a 4.5.”

Price – $4.99 (2 servings)

Rating – (David’s, not mine, since I have never tasted these suckers) – 4.5

Day 223 - Hatch Valley Salsa

TWO THUMBS UP.  This salsa is delicious!!  It is not all that spicy but ohhhh so tasty.  We ate it with blue corn chips (read blue corn chip review here) after coming home from a late night rehearsal.  When I say late, I mean we were sitting on the couch watching “Catfish the TV Show” at 12:30 am chowing down on this salsa…  And we could.  Not.  Stop.  Eating it!

TWO BIG THUMBS UP (jar is larger than it appears here, weird camera angle)

I seriously think I could eat this stuff by the spoonfuls…  It has a good ZIP to it!  Is it vinegar making that zip??  I do not normally eat salsa from a jar – I like the fresh, chunky kind of salsa (review on day 25 of this blog).  But THIS jarred salsa is a y-e-s!  It reminds me of the green salsa at Moe’s (WELCOME TO MOE’S!) which is also crack-like. 

The serving size listed on the jar is laughable.  11 servings???  Give me a break.  I say FOUR servings max.  we ate more than half the jar last night!

This was like, the 4th or 5th time we filled the bowl up and as you can see, it is almost empty again...

It says it has “Fire Roasted Hot Green Chile Peppers from Hatch Valley”.  Well I do not know where hatch valley is, but it deserves to be visited!  (Wait – I turned the jar around and read the other side of the label – Hatch Valley is a village in New Mexico.  And guess what?  It is NOT vinegar that gives it that zip, it is LIME JUICE!  Lime juice and tomatillos.  Yum!

Here is what David thought – FABULOUS!   You just keep eating more and more.  It is mild, but “more-ish”.  It helps you get your daily does of corn chips, which is one of the 5 major food groups (along with coffee, cookies, Pepsi, and Cheetos).  I give it a 4.5

All of this deliciousness for under 3 bucks.  Get a jar.

Yummy yummy yummy

Susan here again.  This salsa is exclusive to Trader Joe’s.  I say it is worth a trip to a TJ’s to pick some up, even if you live in LaJolla and have to park in that crazy ass parking lot!  TRY THIS!

I give this product a 5.  Not a ton of things earn a coveted 5 star rating from me.  David rated it a bit lower, but this is not his blog.  And I am throwing his number o-u-t!  This deserves a 5 and dang it, it is getting a 5!

Price – $2.79

Rating - 5

Day 222 - Cripps Pink Apple

We are not hip.  I mean, if you could not figure that out from the fact that I take the time to write about a GROCERY STORE every day, or from looking at our photos on here…  We are in fact a bit quirky and dorky.  Ok, a lot quirky and a bit dorky. 

So, when I saw this CrippsPink Apple, a variety I had never seen before, I immediately thought of the Crips (is it Cripps?  Crips?  Krips? ) GANG.  I do not even know if the Crips are still a gang.  Are they??  Ok, I looked it up on Wikipedia.  It is spelled Crips, and yes, they are still a gang.  Here is the link if you would like to know more:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crips

All of this is to say, this apple made me think of a GANG, which might not be the best correlation for a piece of fruit.  But I asked David to throw a gang sign and here is what he came up with.  I think it looks more like Sue from “Glee” (“And THAT is how Sue sees it!”) than a gang member, but hey, it’s all good.

David, a faux member of the Cripps, a faux gang of produce lovers

Now, to the review.  We ate this apple with our breakfast and here is what we thought:

Susan – This apple has a good crunch.  What is LACKS is enough flavor.  The color of the outside is dull-ish and the flavor on the inside is dull-ish (so I guess it is consistent).  In a head to head battle the Cripps apple would lose to the Honeycrisp apple every single round.  I rate it a 2.5.

Dull.  Not juicy.  Not tasty.  No thanks.

David – It’s okay.  It has a lot of texture.  It’s pretty mild, not very juicy.  Not tart.  It is fairly sweet.  It is kind of unsatisfying.  I give it a 3.

This apple does not go on our imaginary list of favorite produce.  I doubt we will bother with it again.

Price - .79 piece

Rating (average of 2 raters) – 2.75

Day 221 - Vegetable Panang Curry

When I was a kid, sometimes we got lucky and were served a TV dinner for supper.  Now that I am an adult, I realize those nights were probably times my mom was exhausted and not in the mood to cook meat loaf or cheesey chicken (which was her specialty).  But at the time, it felt a bit like hitting the jack pot to get that metal tray, piping hot, placed in front of me.  Oh that metal tray…  With the separate areas for the turkey with gravy and piping hot mashed “potatoes”.  Ahhhh…  Fancy!

Now I am an adult.  At least age-wise I am an adult.  And I do not find instant potatoes with a thin layer of crust on the top appealing anymore. 

BUT I HAVE FOUND A TV DINNER REPLACEMENT.  Trader Joe’s has an amazing assortment of frozen foods.  You could spend an hour just strolling down the frozen section, filling your cart with boxes and bags.  And one box you should put in that cart is VEGETABLE PANANG CURRY with Jasmine Rice.  It’s great!

Put this box in your shopping cart, stat!

It takes a total of 4 minutes in the microwave to cook (as opposed to God knows how long my mom had to leave our TV dinners in the oven way back in prehistoric before microwave times…).  The box has one serving so it was perfect when I gobbled it up just now for a very late 5:15 PM lunch. 

The Jasmine Rice is wonderful.  It is steamy, fluffy, with just the right amount of “stick”.  Veggies include zucchini, onion, asparagus, kale, green beans, snow peas, baby corn, and spinach.  See – it’s a far cry from the watery fake potatoes in the TV dinners of my youth!  And the curry sauce is fantastic.  The only bit of negativity is that the asparagus in this dish is sometimes “woody”. 

Here it is on a plate - I was a bit messy when I dumped it out cuz I was starving

Overall this is a terrific saucy, ricey dish and should be eaten by YOU (unless you are not a fan of slightly spicy stuff, then skip this and eat something boring).

Note – this is VEGAN, so if that’s your thing they gotcha covered.

Price – $2.69 (I think…)

Rating – 4.75

Day 220 - Spiral Cellers Sauvignon Blanc

We totally picked this wine because of the signage.  As soon as we notice that “Hey-Wee the Wine Guy” picked this one, we were in.  Not cuz he was the wine guy, but because someone wrote that he pronounced his name “Hey-Wee”.  Is this true??  Is this someone punking him???  We do not know.  But we endorse the signage.

Hey, if Hey-Wee likes it, we will buy it

This wine was good.  We had it with our garden pasta reviewed yesterday (and with dinner the following night).  It was fresh.  It was summery.  It was “Sauvignon Blanc-y” (if a wine can be described that way). 

LIMITED?  Oh my, better stock up :) (not to worry, I am joking, we did not buy 12 cases)

But seriously, don’t take my word or even Hey-Wee’s word.  Look at what some dude named Mike Kopanski, who perhaps has more experience rating wine than I do, had to say about it:

11/15/2013 - MIKE KOPANSKI WROTE:87 Points

Napa Valley seems to have it's own style of Sauvignon Blanc. Often they have seen considerable lees treatment, or even some neutral oak. This one seem to be unaffected by those techniques. This is not a New Zealand, of French Sauvignon Blanc. The fruit is very ripe, showing little or no grassiness. There is a bit of glycerine and lanolin on the palate. There is also a steely minerality. Golden yellowish color. Slightly herbaceous nose. Grapefruit, lemon, guava and white apple fruit. Ypongish, raw acidity. Sweet tart and lemon finish.

(Review found at http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1734656)

See, Mike uses words like “herbaceous”, which I am sure beats my useage of “Sauvignon Blanc-y” all to hell… by the way, he also uses “ypongish”.  This was a new word for me, and odd in that it has a “y” and a “p” right next to each other.  I know some words with a “p” then a “y” (ex. Happy) but I can’t think of any with the “yp” combination.  This might be some fancy wine word that even dictionary.com doesn’t know about, or Mike might have fat fingered his keyboard…

Simple, clean label for a simple, clean wine

I will say THIS – do not leave a half drunk glass of this wine out on the table and expect it to be good the next day.  BLECK.  Of course, that is true of all wines, so I cannot hold it against this one.  J  I am just sayin’, don’t think you can sip it on day 2 if it hasn’t been in the corked bottle…

Price - $6.99

Rating - 4

Day 219 - Spaghetti (Spiga di Pugua)

Did someone say “spaghetti”??  If there was EVER a staple food that should always be in a cupboard, it would be spaghetti (or some other shape of pasta).  You can boil up some water, heat up some sauce, and have dinner on your plate in minutes! 

We make PESTO out of the basil in our garden at the end of every summer and freeze tons of it.  Then we can just unfreeze a packet and put it on pasta whenever we want something super tasty!!  So even in the middle of winter, our garden is bringing us love.  J

Pesto making 2011

Can you say "PESTO PARTY"??

 Anyway, this review is not about our pesto (which would OF COURSE get 5 stars…) it is about this TJ’s spaghetti.  It is GOOD!  At only .99 cents I also think it is a bargain.  It cooked up perfectly and was a good base for our recent garden creation:  this spaghetti, a bit of extra virgin olive oil, garlic, green and red peppers from the garden, garden tomatoes, and garden basil – served with a side of grilled egg plant straight out of the garden!!!  It takes a hearty pasta to stand up to all that garden goodness, and this one did it!!

This is the BEFORE photo of what went on our pasta...

TADA - the AFTER!!!  There is pasta under that pile of produce, trust me...

The only suggestion I have is that somehow pasta makers get better packaging.  We cannot be the only 2 person family in this country that does not use a whole bag of pasta for one meal…  Once it is opened it is kind of hard to store in the cupboard.  I do not worry about it going stale (since it is a dried product) but I put this bag back a tiny bit incorrectly in the cupboard and the next thing  you know PASTA seemed to be falling from the sky onto my head, the counter, and the floor!  It is raining dried pasta!!!!  If the bag had a little Ziploc type closure on it that could be prevented.  Something to consider, corporate office.

See - only .99 cents!

Good pasta.  Good price.  Get it.

Price - .99

Rating – 4.25