Elisa's Eye on the World

Some T.J. Favorites

One of my runs today was to the nearby Trader Joe's - below are some of my favorites, all under $4.00/each:

• TJ Honey Graham cracker $2.99
• Barb's Shredded Oat Ceral (bigger than other stores) $3.99
• TJ's sliced muenster $3.99
• Sliced Jarlsberg $3.99
• Sliced Colby Jack $3.99
• Dried pasta (Italian import) $.99
• TJ's 5lb. flour $2.99
• TJ Irish breakfast 100 bag box $2.99
• Clif Bars $.99
• TJ 1 liter canola $3.79
• TJ "wheat thin-like" crakers $1.99

I stay away from their produce , odd wine lots, most of the frozen and super snack sections - but for these items, TJ's is the best and all their staff are sincerely helpful and nice.

Thai Food Ingredients for the Fridge

Last weekend Elisa's Eye Guest Chef T. was here to dazzle us with her authentic Thai cooking. We've made due before with ingredients from our "well stocked groccery store" but she stopped at the large Asian / International grocery as a special treat.

I took a close up so you can see the labels, most are preservative and free of other additives. :Thai Kitchen" is the brand in most non-Asian stores. These are better.

Fish Sauce; Sweet (not to be confused with regular or dark) Soy Sauce, Tom Yum Paste (hot and sour) and Green Curry Paste, which I learned is hotter than the Red variety.

See if you can find them. It makes a real difference and now I am excited about trying more receipes in the Quick and Easy Thai recommended by G.

Wonderful Indian Foods from B.C.

I'm not one for processed or frozen foods, but I have found the products from "Indianlife" based in beautiful British Columbia worth noting. They are more supplements to meals, than prepared meals.

Naan, or flatbread was my first discovery in the bread aisle near the Pita. Warmed up these take on an incredible texture to add to soup, make a pocket sandwich or to top as a pizza.

Samosa, or tiny calzones were discovered in the freezer case and met with rave reviews. The sauce is actually the coolant as the samosas themselves are spicy at least to me. So beware! We've tried the mixed vegetable variety because that's what was available.

Pakoras, or appetizers! are very similar to Samosas: tasty and filled with vegetables. After working a few hours in the yard last weekend and popped these in the oven. Twenty minutes later we were sitting in the sun with cold beers and hot and delicious appetizers. Again, I found these spicy and needed the sause to cool it down.

That's what we have tried so far! Look for this brand in better grocery stores and add some reasonably priced exotic to your menu.

Preferred Brands: Food and Beverage

Thinking about the foods I missed the most when traveling inspired this first in a series of lists:

• My favorite cereal are the Shredded Oats from Barbara's Cereals
• A preferred sandwich spread is strangely named Tofu Pate (original variety), with the consistency of egg salad without the eggs
• A regular bread favorite in loaf and English Muffins varieties comes from Rudy's Bakery
• Yogurt and cottage cheese from Nancy's is especially cool since it is produced by members of (Ken) Kesey's family in Orgeon
• Ever since Odwalla was purchased by Coke (or was it Pepsi?) we switched to Organic Valley for orange juice
• Pie crust without too much fat or any disgusting ingredients from Wholly Wholesome is a great choice for all occassion