New Love...Trader Joe's

How can I count the possibilities...by way of choices that I love among the selections at Trader Joe's and why-in-all-that-is-holly did I not figure out sooner when I first saw one of their chain stores, that it is not a restaurant! "I mean, really!" Even after I knew it, I still kinda blew it off; never went into the store. It just is one of those thing that go under the radar never to be seen again...or is it?

I am already in town, took a ride with my sister to a local plaza or to some, depending on where you are from or your viewpoint, a small mall, so she could look for a product in a pharmacy. Low and behold there it stood in all its glory calling to me, "Come...come...come and see the mysteries that lie within."
"Okay", I thought. It is time to bite the bullet and see what all the hollah-ba-loo is about in the store known as Trader Joe's.

"Who-knew!" The place is awesome and in spite of being located in an otherwise and often consider higher living standard town of Cambridge, the prices are amazingly affordable; they are for most items but not all. But hey, that is a given no matter where you shop, right? "Right you are!" So...moving on.
This blog is for reviews and other cool stuff like cooking dishes.

Today's spotlight is Trader Joe's Pumpkin Caramel Sauce. The caramel taste like pumpkin pie in a jar.
But like any pumpkin pie; grandma's pumpkin pie where you can taste spices like nutmeg swelling around your taste bud. The nutmeg, pumpkin, and sweet caramel flavor create a marriage of combine flavors that really work. Like most first encounters, it can be awkward at first. The flavors stands out from one another and they are not sure if they should what to do...they linger, get closer, than mingle together into something nice. Checkout what I did with a jar Trader Joe's Pumpkin Caramel Sauce...

The star of the show

My "Cheat-sheet-easy-bake caramel popcorn

My childhood sweetheart; caramel popcorn

Please comment if you'd like the recipe; its easy

Go head, give it a try

Darn That Jack Frost!...one up em'

You may not know this but I live on the East Coast of the United States where from the Midwest all the way across to the shores of the East Coast, Jack Frost is doing a whole more than nipping at our noses...the little bugger.

To combat the cold, I too have a strong, warm and reliable one; my new best friend...is this guy!

Ta-da! This hunk of pottery is amazing. I love, love, love it! It is a find at thrift store that I can just add some milk too, put in the microwave, and the milk is warmed up....add the cocoa of choice, push the bottom on top where the battery operated spinner whip up a nice froth of creamy smooth greatness that warms the heart and soul; its a good match. We live together forever. "Take that! Jack Frost." Chill the air to your hearts content; this top rate item-love-of-mine will fend you off and protect me from you. So there!  Seriously though, if you can find one these (new or secondhand like mine and it still works) grab it. You will not regret it. The frother of course, cannot go in the microwave, at least I do not put in there because it might be metal. I cannot confirm this because as state previously, I purchase mine at thrift store. It does not include operating instructions. I watch a how-to on YouTube on to use it. The video is vague on the specifics on how to use it but I got the jist of it. If you would like to search for one to own. The one pictured here is an older model but you might still be able to find one on Ebay for around ten dollars or less. The name of it is the Chocolate Pot made by Chef'n.

That's it for today's review. The Chef'n, Chocolate Pot with battery operated frothier. It it where not for the fact that entire unit cannot go into the microwave, it might have gotten a perfect 10. It convenient, portable, easy to use and a durable item that can last a long time. It is a ceramic pot that is microwave and dishwasher safe. However, in order to preserve the quality of the product. It is better to hand wash ceramic dishes or other pottery type items. Dishwasher detergents are not good for ceramic materials.

Have a good one. I am off to enjoy my cocoa. :-)