J-E-L-L-O!

It's not just for omnivores and lazy vegetarians anymore!

Trader Joe's has started selling 2 flavors of vegan jello. My friend Anna Corbett informed me a couple weeks ago of this news and i think she more excited than i was or am. She was using expletives and many exclamation marks. What's strange was that i had *just* been dreaming about jello. Not literally. I had seen a commercial for Jello on tv and i was jealous of those people eating cool, wiggly boiled-horsehoove gelatin. 

Trader Joe's sells it in Black Cherry or Peach Mango flavors, both of which are delicious. I don't think i have a favorite, they both have their place in my world. I also found out that Food Fight! just started selling it. They sell it in an additional flavor, Orange, which doesn't really speak to me so i probably will never try it. They sell it individually for $0.83 (i think that's what i was charged, i think the tag said $0.85...i don't ask questions, i just hand over the money...) instead of the 4 packs at TJ's. 

This is the firmest vegan jello i've had. I have had vegan jello before at places like Todai Japanese sushi buffet. The Japanese use agar to make a jello type product. This jello product uses no agar, to my surprise. Only carrageenan, which will freak some people out. I've been told it's used to de-ice roads for airplanes. But you know what i gotta say to that? Salt is used too! Am i wrong? Should i be scared? Does someone know something i don't? I have heard people say they only drink soymilks without the stuff. Have you ever looked at soymilk labels? Almost all of them use carrageenan. 

Everything in moderation, right? Right?? Tell me i'm right...

Edited to say: I did know that carrageenan is derived from seaweed (thanks though, jeff!)

Spicy Hummus

ok, so i feel i kinda talk about the same things over and over again on here. ice cream and sausage and trader joe's all get mentioned pretty frequently....i just can't help it, i suppose.
i discovered TJ's Spicy Hummus a couple months ago when my roommate and i were doing some shopping and i was wanting something to snack on right away. i also picked up some of the multi-colored tortilla chips (that are great) to dip with. after about 3 chips, i was in love. it's got just enough kick to it and great texture. it's not one of those dense hummus's, like Emerald Valley. you know, the kind that breaks your chips when you dip them in? my only problem with it is that it comes in such a damn small container. it usually only lasts me 2 snacktimes....really more like 1 1/2 snack times. it seems wasteful to go through those little containers all the time. maybe we should all write TJ's and let them know how we/i feel about that...at least twice the size would be nice!
of course, because it's a TJ's product, there are no pictures to be found. i'll try to remember to take some and post an update.....

an update

So i got another box of Trader Joe's Meatless Soy Nuggets and i'm now officially addicted. I've found that when i eat them dipped in vegenaise/yellow mustard/ketchup they totally remind me of the fish sticks of my youth, which i LOVED!
If anyone bought any and didn't like them (and lives here in Portland), your truely will take them off your hands....

Soy Nuggets.....

Trader Joe's is probably the weirdest grocery store. They carry some random stuff and they never have sales. Did you notice that? I didn't until my sister mentioned it. They carry the cheapest best wine you can get ("Two Buck Chuck" which is actually a whole 3 bucks up here in Portland). They recently started carrying (these were available in other locations for awhile now but it seems like they just got them here) Soy Nuggets, a vegan chicken nugget. I was *so* excited when i came across these at TJ's. I had heard tale of them but never found them in the store before. The first time i made them, my excitement level dropped tremendously. Alas, they were crisp on the outside but so mush on the inside. Ketchup couldn't help them....The next time i made them i accidently toaster ovened them longer and, whaddayaknow, it improved the mush! I dipped them in a mix of ketchup and mustard and i enjoyed them. The next time i made "special sauce" using vegenaise, mustard and ketchup. I'm not sure if they're worth the price ($3 or something like that), but they fill that chicken nugget craving. Now if only they would make them in that drumstick shape.....

No picture because i didn't take one and apparently nobody else does either....

another ice cream rave....

UPDATE: Trader Joe's now sells this as their own brand, still the same ice cream, but cuter packaging..

i don't think i've talked about this ice cream yet. i'm starting to lose track of what ice cream i have blogged about and, of course, i'm too lazy to look it up.
This here is the Double Rainbow Very Cherry Chip that seems to only be sold at Trader Joe's in these here parts. I think it's $3 something? all's i know is that it's cheap in comparison with the pints you can buy (this is the bigger "pint"...a quart, right?).
so this stuff reminds me of when my dad and i used to drive near our house to a drive-through Farm Store (pretty much a convenient store that has their own brand of ice cream) and he would buy the Cherry Vanilla 1/2 gallon. But this here stuff has chocolate bits in it, which makes it even better. also there's no animal products in it, so less guilt for me (the dairy industry is a bitch, in case you didn't know. Read Meat Market or The Food Revolution to find out what i'm talking about) so i can truely enjoy the ice cream. the ice cream itself is of the most love-a-lee consistency. almost chewy. which sounds gross, i know, but you'll have to try it to know what i'm talking about. then there's the dark cherry halves that are delicious and makes you eat more ice cream than you intended (because i don't scoop out into a dish, i eat out of the container, b/c heck, i live alone, i can drink straight out of a carton if i want to...and the less dishes the better) because you're digging around trying to find more cherry halves...
go get you some!