Trader Joe's

People of a certain socioeconomic class and background eventually become exposed to Trader Joe's. After yoga class they hear about it. At their daughters dance recital party it comes up in the conversation. "You must try Trader Joe's" we are told again and again. Finally, I gave in yesterday and went to this most discussed grocery chain. I do say the prices are fairly low. And there are lots of prepared foods, which surprised me. Some of them are a little weird I'll admit, like the Quinoa Duo instant cereal. The Trader Joe's cranberry juice is sour and should be diluted with water and mixed with something sweet. The breads look good and are cheap. I did like the "Trader Giotto's bruschetta". They have beer and wine too. Methinks they make a lot of their profits from liquor sales.

At any rate, it's a fun place to shop. The checkout man didn't like the way I packed my bag so he repacked it for me. They never did that at Shop-Rite.

Editor's note: This morning I was asked to join a recipe club. Here is the recipe I submitted  To think that yesterday I didn't know what bruschetta was and now I'm tossing it around like an expert:

Bruschetta Spanish style chilli

Ingredients:

A smidgen of salad oil

For a more Mediterranean flavor you can substitute olive oil

1 garlic clove    sliced

¼ cup onions   sliced

2 sliced cayenne peppers

Enough chilli powder and cumin to coat meat

¾ lb. ground turkey

½ a bottle Trader Giotto’s Bruschetta (bought at Trader Joe’s)

A smidgen of ground pepper

½ a cup dried garbanzo beans aka chick peas

Salt to taste (actually the bruschetta has a lot of salt)

Wash beans and place in water. Microwave until soft.

Pour oil into iron skillet. Heat. Add onions and garlic and stir a minute or two.

Add ground turkey. You can strain after a couple of minutes. I don’t.

Dump and stir in cayenne, cumin, chilli peppers. Sear meat.

After a couple of minutes you can stir in the bruschetta.

Add ground pepper.

Strain beans and add (a little bit of bean water can be added too).

Reduce temperature.

Stir occasionally. Make sure meat is cooked before eating.