Cooking and other observations

Mustard!

Yes, Adam, I've been away again, distracted from blogging by my lingering upper respiratory infection and my switch to the night shift. I promise I'm not dead. (I like the night shift, by the way. Unlike most people, I got my life back by working when I'd otherwise be sleeping.)

So the other night when I was stocking the grocery aisle, I screamed with delight when I opened a box and pulled out a short jar with a green lid. The Garlic Aioli Mustard Sauce is back on Trader Joe's shelves. I *heart* mustard, and I was mad as hell at Corporate for axing my two favorites. (No word on the also-departed Sake Wasabi Mustard, which found itself disco'd after getting a great write-up in the New York Times.)

The other guys on the night crew were not impressed at my gushing over the wonder that is the aioli mustard--"crazy white girl"-- but I think I convinced at least one of them to try it.

Other new stuff at TJ's includes a fantastic flourless chocolate cake, perfect for when you have to bring a dessert, or when a friend breaks up with her mate, priced at $6.99. The new Tarte Chocolate d'Amande is larger, but not as purely perfect as the plain chocolate. If I loved almonds, I'd probably like it more.

And then there's the frozen Mac and Cheese. Now, this doesn't sound like a good idea, but it really is. No crossing-guard orange powder to get all over the place when you open the packet, and if you're out of milk, you can still have your mac and cheese. It's not quite up to my homemade, but I use whatever cheese I happen to have, and sometimes that results in greatness. The frozen mac and cheese heats up in the microwave in about five minutes; put some pepper on it and go to town. I'm pretty sure it gives the most satisfaction $3.29 can buy.

A Clunker from TJ's, and soon to be discontnued items

The Ginger Peanut Noodle Salad isn't new, but I hadn't tried it before. It sells for $2.99, if I remember correctly, and it's located in the refrigerated section, but not the one with the milk.

This dish looks fine in its little clear plastic carton, and I figured it'd be tasty, if maybe a little salty. I was wrong; the noodles are bland and the peanuts are mushy. Ginger? What ginger?

I topped half of mine with stir fry the other night and gave up after a few bites. Just not into it. Tonight I used chopped fresh veggies (carrot, red pepper, onion and parsley) along with about a cup of frozen snap peas and made a new dressing with garlic, fresh ginger, white balsamic vinegar and sesame oil plus a bit of teryaki sauce that I needed to use up. Dressed like that, the whole thing was better, though I could have done the same thing with buckwheat noodles and come out way ahead on price.

At three bucks, it's not a bad base for a cold noodle salad, but when you could do better by cooking your own noodles and chopping up some peanuts, this product kind of doesn't make sense.

The only thing from the latest disco list that might interest you is the mango salsa. It's way too sweet for me, but some people like that kind of thing. If you're a fan, you might want to stock up now. Also, if you like the bargain Cafe Duran at $3.99 a pound, it's going away. This should come as no surprise.

If you get your Scharffen Berger chocolate at TJ's for the bargain price of $1.99 per bar, the 80 percent and 72 percent cocoa bars are going away, which is too bad. I've done my damnest to sell the 80 percent bars; that's some good chocolate.