I can’t explain the satisfaction that it means to me to enter a Trader Joe’s. Do you know what a liminal space is? Well, it’s quite the opposite: it’s a place full of satisfying colors and smells, with an order and cleanliness that bring me peace of mind, and I’m sure it does to you as well.
In the fall, entering a TJ’s is to be embraced by aromas of cinnamon, anise, pumpkin… it’s like walking in my grandmother’s kitchen in Wisconsin and being served a slice of pie, with a hot chocolate cup.
Six bestseller Trader Joe’s fall items
Fall is my favorite season, and I always look forward to Trader Joe’s announcing the returning products as well as the new arrivals. From an Alfredo sauce to a pumpkin-based liqueur: we share our selection of the five best products that are already on the shelves around the country.
Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce
If you love Alfredo sauce, you’re going to love this little twist from Trader Joe’s, made with Grana Padana cheese and Pecorino Romano, combined with 100% natural pumpkin puree. You also feel the presence of garlic, onion and sage and, in the background, the very slight itch of black pepper.
It is an exclusive Trader Joe’s product made by an Italian company. Try it with fettuccini, orecchiette or classic spaghetti.
Well, this is new and interesting: Cracked Olive Salad
These are not like the regular olives you’ve eaten all your life: these are different, and I’ll tell you why.
After harvest, olives must be submerged in solutions, mostly brine, to remove oleuropein, that bitter-tasting compound that’s naturally integrated in the fruit. Some olive farmers prefer to “crack” their olives prior to curing, by smashing them for the pit to be removed.
These are called cracked olives, or olive schiacciate, in Italian. They absorb more brine and it makes them be more soft and apt to use in different dishes, like this cracked olives salad.
Along the green and black olives, contains a mix of pickled cauliflower, carrots, celery, and red peppers suspended in a beautifully crafted olive oil seasone with herbs like oregano and parsley.
Cinnamon Rolls Blondie Bars
This limited edition boxed mix takes you a little out of the pumpkin comfort zone and takes you by the hand to another of the flavors that America loves so much: cinnamon rolls. On the next trip to Trader Joe’s, don’t forget to throw a couple of boxes of Cinnamon Rolls Blondie Bars into the shopping cart, a tribute to the beloved dynamite dessert of our childhoods.
Inside each box, you will find everything you need to be happy: the ingredients for a good blondie and the powdered sugar frosting ready to prepare and cover with love your blondie pictures. You just need to add eggs, butter, water and labor. You didn’t expect it to be all figured out, did you? Work rewards!
Salted Maple Ice Cream: We meet again!
Yes, yes and yes! That’s my answer if you ask me three times if I want TJ’s Salted Maple Ice Cream. God know that this is of the the chain’s fall superstar for me.
It is a product that appears only in autumn, and I usually buy several jars to last me until December. It’s gloriously thick, creamy and of balanced sweetness, without being heavy or invasive. It is made by real maple syrup, balanced with a pinch of sea salt.
By itself, it is simply sublime, but I recommend adding some crunchy ingredient such as sliced pecans or crushed almonds. You can also serve it over a warm pumpkin pie so that it melts gently and they blend into an autumnal embrace.
Vegan Maple Oat Beverage
The Maple Oat Beverage offers the same creamy and comforting taste experience of any similar milk-based beverage. It is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and lactose-free. But the best of all is its subtle but happy taste of natural maple syrup harvested in the USA (God bless America!)
You can drink it hot with a pinch of cinnamon powder, or use it to eat your morning cereal. For vegan people, it is a great bulwark because it provides vitamin B12, the one that gives so many problems to people with diets free of animal products. A single cup provides 35% of the daily requirement!
Pumpkin Spice Cream Liqueur
Another seasonal product that makes its arrival on the shelves of Trader Joe’s, and that your family is going to love at Thanksgiving dinner, is the Pumpkin Spice Cream Liqueur, which can be taken alone with a couple of ice cubes, or that can be added to a cup of coffee with milk.
They usually release a few thousands of bottles, so it runs out quickly. If you’ve never tried it, go running to find it before it disappears: it will easily make a space in your heart.
Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Tortilla Chips (and his best friend: salsa)
Bringing together the American and Mexican cultures for Thanksgiving, TJ’s is displaying in its stores this interesting and audacious pumpkin tortilla chips, that makes a beautiful couple with the so-damn-good Fall Harvest Salsa.
I was not that sure since they have cinnamon and nutmeg on them, but now I love’em! Dipping the chips in the salsa – one of my findings this year so far – is a one way trip. Will definitely get more of this salsa this fall, and not only for tortilla chips, but for avocado toasts, tacos, or even nacho platters.