Trader Joe's Quinoa Duo with Vegetable Melange

If you looked inside my freezer at any given time, you'd likely find two bags of Trader Joe's Quinoa Duo with Vegetable Melange. I discovered it about six months ago, and have been eating it ever since. I have to say, quinoa is something I enjoy eating, but only if it's cooked right. And by "right," I mean "not by me." I don't know what I'm doing wrong when cooking quinoa, but most of the time it just doesn't taste very good. But I know it's supposed to be quite nutritious, and when other people prepare it well, I actually enjoy the grain. So I decided to try this particular pre-made quinoa from the freezer section of Trader Joe's, and it was love at first bite. It's absolutely full of flavor, color, texture and warmth. If you're looking for something new in your meal repertoire, I'd definitely give this a try.

 

Favorite Product of the Week: Tangelos

There was a period of my life when I’d all but given up on oranges. They take a long time to peel, they turn your fingernails orange-yellow and after all that, they are usually dried out or completely tasteless. What’s the point? The only exception to my orange-aversion was at sushi restaurants because a) all the work of peeling was done for you, and b) they are always sweet. Always. My husband and I were beginning to wonder if sushi restaurants injected their after-dinner oranges with sugar because they were sweet every time.

I must say that I remember enjoying oranges after soccer games as a kid, and half the fun was getting juice all over my face on the sidelines, but it wasn’t just the juiciness. They also tasted good. Thirst-quenching good. Anyway, I was sort of convinced that I just didn’t know how to pick a good orange. That was, until I met the tangelo.

I am lucky enough to work and live near a number of good-quality farmers markets, and there is one fruit vendor that puts out samples of oranges with a description next to each one. Some say “sweet,” some say “juicy,” and I can’t remember what the blood orange sign says other than “beautiful red color.”  Anyway, I was walking through one of my favorite farmers markets one day and decided to give these samples a try. To be honest, the samples never appealed to me before because I just assumed I’d pick tasteless, dried out slices. But for whatever reason on that sunny day, I reached out and grabbed a sample from the tangelo bin, which was labeled “juicy.”

OMG, OMG, OMG!

It was amazing!!!!! “Juicy” was right, as was “delicious,” “tangy,” “sweet” and “totally yummy”! I was sold. I bought 3 tangelos on the spot and I’ve been going back to that fruit vendor ever since. I was actually so excited about the tangelo that I wrote to my mom and my husband about it. I think they both did the email equivalent of smile-and-nod because after all, what’s so great about a piece of fruit. Well, the smile-and-nod turned into a personal shopper request from both parties, as I am now buying two bags of these things a week to dole out to various family members.

I’ve since researched the tangelo (very quickly), and it appears to be a hybrid of a tangerine and either a pomelo or a grapefruit. I have no idea what a pomelo is, but I am very familiar with grapefruit, which would explain both the juiciness and tanginess of the tangelo. It’s actually not overly sweet (just subtly sweet), but the super-juicy and delightful tanginess of it make it utterly enjoyable for me (and for the rest of my family, it seems).

One word of warning, especially when eating this fruit in the office: eat tangelos with a napkin (or 3) nearby.