Trader Joe’s

Sign of Spring

~ MaryG ~ 8 Comments

Spring is springing here in Greater Boston. Hallelujah!

I took a shot at drawing and painting these purple crocuses in my neighborhood.
I tried a bunch of different techniques and colors. Some worked. Some didn’t.

I’m realizing now you really just have to paint a lot to truly improve. Watercolors require a great deal of trial and error. And now that good weather has returned, I’m not sure how much I’ll keep painting outside of the class I’m taking.

Honestly, I’m still not sure what my life is actually going to look like longterm in retirement. We are still in a transitional period. My husband’s knee surgeries have been such a huge feature of the past year. We don’t know how much he’ll continue to work once he’s fully recovered.

I feel like my retirement travel budget is not going to be as significant as I had hoped (thanks Trump) but who knows…maybe we’ll become road trip people.

I’m trying to focus on Good Things today:

  1. It’s 73 degrees F and sunny here 😎
  2. I have a screen porch, which I just cleaned.
  3. Hungary dumped Trump & Putin’s buddy Viktor Orbán.
  4. I get to see my cutie 🥰 tomorrow.
  5. Dessert – last night I had the genius idea to sprinkle flaked coconut on two Salted Caramel Mochi from Trader Joe’s. So good.

Dessert invention

~ MaryG ~ 4 Comments

As people who read my blog may know, I am a big fan of dessert. I take flavor combinations seriously and I think I know when one is extra special.

Through endless trial and error, I have stumbled across a real winner in the ice cream mix-in department. It’s SO good.

If you have a Trader Joe’s near you, you gotta try this:

Take three Trader’s Joe’s Soft-baked Snickerdoodles (no substitutes!) and microwave them in a small bowl for 15-20 seconds. Top them with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream and top that with about a quarter cup of Grape-Nuts cereal.

Next: mix them together thoroughly, breaking up the cookies as you go.

Oh my god. So delicious. If you’re in mood for a satisfying, cinnamony dessert, give it a try.

What are your favorite ice cream mix-in combos?

Short cuts

~ MaryG ~ 2 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What food would you say is your specialty?
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I am not a great cook, but I am in possession of several good and reliable recipes that I make a lot and sometimes get asked to make. These include my swiss & mushroom quiche, my carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, and my blueberry muffins. Even with those, I will use short cuts like pre-made pie crusts. Let’s face it, those Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts (in the long red box) are really good!

Speaking of short cuts, I have discovered what I think is the single best cake mix in the world. I had read about it somewhere and put it on my grocery list, where it stayed for many months annoying my husband. He kept wanting to cross it off, but I would not let him. I had heard it was really good and wanted to try it. I asked the staff at Trader Joe’s about it and they said it was “seasonal,” but the season never seemed to arrive. Was it a holiday item? A summer item?

Finally, one day, there it was on the shelf: Trader Joe’s Meyer Lemon Cake Mix with Lemon Icing. There were two boxes left. I bought both. It did not disappoint. If you like lemon cake, you really need to try this. It smells so lemony and is so moist and delicous. It’s both very easy to make and very “special” looking when it’s done and glazed. It’s good for company or family, breakfast or dessert, summer or Christmas. Be sure to use an 8 x 4 loaf pan, like it says on the box. My only additional recommendation would be to lightly flour the pan, after you grease it, to be sure the cake comes out easily. After it’s on your cake plate and completely cooled, drizzle on the lemon glaze. Trader’s Joe’s also makes a “Blood Orange Cake Mix with Icing,” which I’ve tried. It’s also very good, but not quite as good as the Meyer Lemon. So, don’t pass this up if you see it on the shelf at TJs. It may not be “in season” again for a very long time.