Breakfast: “Go Rah” Bar Come … and Gone

I’m a big fan of Trader Joe’s raw nut-and-raisin mix called “Go Raw Trek Mix,” so I was kind of excited about the discovery of a Trader Joe’s “Go Rah” bar in the cabinet this morning: Same-ish sounding name, same blue color packaging, could this be the bar form of my favorite nut mix?

Answer: Nope. Not entirely sure what the correlation between the two product lines (or if there even is one), but the Go Rah bar is a pretty straightforward granola-nut bar … That, according to TraderJoesFan.com, was discontinued early April. Odd to discover I’ve been blogging about a food postmortem.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

How to make soup from a can taste better than soup from a can (also known as a riff on classic combination of tomato soup and grilled cheese):

Pick a good soup base to begin with. In this case, Trader Joe’s Organic Tomato Bisque. 

Plate in beautiful bowl. 

Re-add salt (if low sodium).

Drizzle with olive oil — I’m working my way through a fantastic bottle of Fairway Market’s Novello Olive Oil (1L, $19.95) at the moment. 

Add fresh herbs. I’ve got flat-leaf parsley in the fridge; basil is beautiful for tomato soup. 

For tomato soup, accompany with cheese. Cheese toast, grilled cheese, even blue cheese on water crackers will do. 

COST: >$5
PREP TIME: 10 minutes

Dinner: Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Trader Joe’s isn’t the end-all be-all, but when it’s good … damn. It’s good.

Take this meal: Start with one TJ’s Pizza Olympiad (2-pack, $3.99), which is not so much an attempt at an authentic, cheesy slice as a tasty, Greek-inspired flatbread (kalamata olives, roasted red peppers, feta and mozzarella cheese).

Pair it  with some fresh mesculn greens — tossed in olive oil, squeeze of lemon juice, sea salt and pepper — and Villa Maria Private Bin Chardonnay (unoaked out of New Zealand, vintage 2006), which goes for $8.99/bottle at the adjacent TJ’s Wine Shop.

Like I said, when it’s good … damn, it’s brilliant. 

COST: >$10, incl. 1/2 bottle wine
PREP TIME: 12 minutes