Trader Joe's Maple Ginger Cookie Swirl Ice Cream

If you're ever in the area of Waterbury, VT, you'll likely stop by the Ben & Jerry's Factory for at least a scoop of ice cream. Or...you can be like my family and attack a Vermonster as a gang tackle. But regardless, you're likely gonna stop, simply because it's Ben & Jerry's. It's ice cream. It's iconic. It's kinda just what you do without asking.

This doesn't mean that Ben & Jerry's is the best ice cream in Vermont.

Sure, it's the most famous....but you can also buy it anywhere. For an even better ice cream experience, and to miss the occasional hour long wait for a scoop, drive just a little further down Route 100 towards Stowe to Cold Hollow Cider Mill. Or make a quick jaunt to Morse Sugar House right outside Montpelier. Or stop at any other maple shack or cider mill or any cute little country store where you see the magic words "maple cremee," and extra bonus points if you get maple sugar sprinkled atop. Even my kids liked them more than Ben & Jerry's. Take that, Unilever.

It's not quite the same, but man, Trader Joe's Maple Ginger Cookie Swirl Ice Cream is pretty dang good in its own right.

How to begin? Oh man. Just rip off the lid and take a long, deep whiff. Mmmmm. Maple. *drool*. There's no mistaking the scent. It's like a Yankee Candle, but even better, it's okay to eat it!

And eat it you will. Don't even need a scoop and bowl. Just let your spoon slide into the soft ice cream base and navigate around the small ginger cookie dough nibbles interspersed here and there. Let it glide into your mouth and slowly melt over your tongue and let the maple flavor seep in. It's rich and creamy and unbelievably sweet but in an authentic manner. It's real maple syrup used here, probably Grade B as there's unmistakable deep maple taste and plenty enough sugar from the ice cream base to sweeten the whole deal. Ooooooooo.

My only really small nitpicky oh-goodness-why-am-I-even-mentioning-this comment is the ginger cookie swirl. There's plenty enough of it, don't get me wrong. But...it's not gingery enough. I really wanted a ginger bite to play off the maple sweetness and maybe just remind me a little of my favorite TJ's ice cream that has shuffled off this mortal coil. Surprisingly, it's triple ginger snap cookie dough listed on the ingredients...I see that but I don't taste it. There's still some of the pint to go, so maybe I just haven't mined the proper ginger ore quite yet.

The pint cost $3.99 which is about the going rate for a ice cream of this quality. Good thing they printed the nutritional facts for the whole shebang, otherwise I'd be tempted to just plow my way through. Absolutely delicious. No complaints at all from the Mrs, it's plenty enough maple even for her which says a lot. I'll stand by my ginger comment for now, but believe me, we'll be buying this as long as TJ's lets us.

Bottom line: Trader Joe's Maple Ginger Cookie Swirl Ice Cream: 9 out of 10 Golden Spoons

Trader Joe's Spicy Shrimp Appetizer Duo

Ah, nothing says "fall" like spicy shrimp appetizers. In fact, I think we might have a Chinese New Year theme going on here. That was only back in February, over seven months ago...but it feels like yesterday, doesn't it? Anyway, I found these in the back of our tiny freezer, covered in frost, which probably served as camouflage for those many months, which might help explain why they weren't reviewed long ago.

I cleared the frost off of the packaging and thought, what the heck? I remembered we had some frozen appetizers hidden away, but for some strange reason, I was thinking they were chicken. Spicy Chicken Appetizer Duo. Weird, huh? Maybe Trader Joe's should offer a box of those, too.

Shrimp appetizer duo it is. So we tried them. And they're definitely worthy of review. I shrimply couldn't resist. I promise it has nothing to do with the fact that we are in desperate need of a TJ's run and haven't purchased any of the new fall items yet. <readers can't see that my fingers are crossed.> Apologies if this item is discontinued or out of stock. Hopefully they'll have them back for the next Chinese New Year season, a mere four months away.

Both items in the duo are quite tasty and high-quality. Let's start with the kung pao shrimp spring rolls. There's a decent bit of shrimp in them—more than I was expecting. There are also veggies, a light, crispy wrapper, and some spicy kung pao flavors. I wouldn't call either of these overly spicy. I wouldn't have minded a great deal more heat, but the overall effect is pleasantly garlicky, salty, and savory, with just a hint of an Asian spice kick.  

You can actually taste the lemongrass in the wontons. It's not over-the-top, though. The wonton bread is nice and thick, yet it's supple and flaky. The meaty insides of the wontons are soft, and they flaunt a fair amount of real shrimp, like their spring roll counterparts.

Other than the lack of heat, our biggest complaint is the lack of dipping sauce. There's a pic of sweet Thai chili or something on the cover art, and as is typical, the words "serving suggestion" are printed in a tiny font right next to it. We didn't have any sauces on hand, but we enjoyed them enough plain that they'll still get thumbs up from both Sonia and I. Fifteen minutes at 450 degrees. $4.99 for package of 12 appetizers. We're looking at four stars from Sonia and three and a half from me.

Bottom line: 7.5 out of 10.