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.

Dinner: Thursday, May 14, 2009

I did it! I successfully moved, I ate, I am blogging, I have pretty damn near conquered.

Pictured: melty pepper jack cheese over genoa salami on top of a thick slice of white onion, which is on top of a hearty, nut-grain bread that’s been slathered in a spicy brown mustard. In the background, flax seed tortilla chips from Whole Foods, which aren’t as good as the ones from Trader Joe’s, if you were wondering. 

And now, I rest.

Bonus: Thursday, April 2, 2009

Taco sharks attack!

For some reason, “staying in” turned into “going out” with the promise that I would be tucked in by 1 a.m., which is in 0:14 minutes from now. Eventually I left my friends half-asleep on a large sectional couch to come home to Trader Joe’s Mini Chicken Tacos, which, at 190 calories for 5 (FIVE!!) of them, ain’t such a bad late-night snack.

I doctored them up with some lime-green secret sauce from a nearby Peruvian chicken place — I know of those who have been known to have such adoration for the lime-green secret sauce that they purchase it by the pint-sized take-out container — and also with some of my newest favorite store-bought lettuce mix, which I can’t stop raving about: Earthbound Farm‘s heirloom lettuce blend.

Maybe  it was the vaguely fin-shaped lettuce tidbit protruding from the mini taco shell, but suddenly the mini chicken tacos became sharks — taco sharks, to be exact — swarming, circling, on my small plate.

You know what comes next: the Jaws anthem. Duh-duh. Duhhh-duh. Duhhh duh de duh de duh (escalates until giant fish emerges from water with gaping jaws).

So this is where I close, with either a “Chicken of the Sea” Jessica Simpson joke (Newlyweds), or a self-to-Jaws analogy (’cause those tacos are history). Take your pick.

COST: >$5
PREP TIME: 3 minutes
DELIGHT FACTOR: Enormous

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