You all know me. I'm a trooper. I'll try just about anything once. There are pumpkin products I love and pumpkin products I dislike, and everything in between. But this right here is pretty gross. I imagine it's about as close as I'll ever get to drinking a pumpkin spice candle.
I mean, we don't even have pumpkin spice cow's milk. Sure, I've had some killer pumpkin pie milkshakes in my day. And there are pumpkin coffee beverages galore, some of which are okay and some of which are not. But there's not really just plain pumpkin milk. So...just maybe the world doesn't need a dairy-free version of pumpkin milk..?
We tried the pumpkin almond beverage a few years back, and it wasn't good. It might have passed as a coffee creamer, but even that was pushing it. This stuff is an even paler shade of unnatural orange—not unlike orange cream milk or an orange creamsicle milkshake. Oh how I wish to God it tasted like an orange creamsicle.
It tastes like the dirty dishwater used to clean out several bowls of plain oatmeal...mixed with potpourri and a dash of pureed squash. The aftertaste is appalling. I just barely managed to down a couple swigs of it for this review. Never again.
Sonia, predictably, isn't nearly as disgusted as I am, although even she says she can't really taste pumpkin spices exactly. She thinks it needs more cinnamon. Yes. Okay. I'll agree with that. It definitely doesn't taste like cinnamon, and the taste of cinnamon is much less vile than the taste of this beverage, ergo, it could use some cinnamon I guess.
Sonia will finish the carton using it as a coffee creamer or to make her own potpourri lattes. $2.99 for the candle. Three out of five stars from the beautiful wifey. One star from me for Trader Joe's Non-Dairy Pumpkin Oat Beverage.
Eleven years ago, Sonia and I did our very first video review on Trader Joe's Mexicaine Quiche, a comparable product to this one with similar packaging and preparation instructions. The dish didn't exactly wow us, so for the most part, we've avoided Trader Joe's quiche offerings for the past decade.
Although, I must admit, I had completely forgotten about odd little items like this one, which were similarly underwhelming and unmemorable. But even so, at long last, it is time to give TJ's quiche another whirl. This time, it's the broccoli and cheddar variety.
There's plenty of egg and cheese here. The crust is nice and crumbly. It's slightly buttery and supple. Somehow, I feel this product flaunts a tastier spice blend than some of its predecessors. It certainly isn't spicy per se, but there's a nice overall flavor, which some of the other quiches lacked. There's onion in there, which helps, but as far as actual herbs and spices, all I'm seeing is garlic, salt, and pepper. In my humble opinion, it's enough—although, a few dabs of hot sauce can't hurt, either.
There are large chunks of broccoli here and there, which can be a little stringy. The bites that contained very small bits of broccoli were better texture-wise, and I think more finely-chopped veggies would have helped distribute the greens around the dish more evenly.
$2.99 for the single serving quiche. It's nothing to write home about, but I definitely don't hate it, either. It makes a more interesting breakfast than toaster pastries or cereal, I suppose. I don't know if I'd seek this product out again, but if I found it in the back of my freezer, I'd happily fire up the oven and eat it without complaint. Three and a half stars a piece from Sonia and me for Trader Joe's Broccoli & Cheddar Cheese Quiche.
Calling this cheese "ricotta" threw me off a little at first. This is nothing like any other ricotta I've tried. We reviewed a cow's milk version on here not too long ago. I'm hardly a cheese expert—surprise, surprise—but this stuff reminds me of buffalo mozzarella way more than ricotta.
By itself, the cheese would be super clean and fresh but not very flavorful at all. The herbs de provence provide nearly all of the taste. It's fairly rosemary-forward to my palate. What else do I detect? Salt and some oregano, maybe..? There's also thyme and basil listed in the ingredients. Sure, I can tell they're there now that I read the list. There's also an herb called "savory" that I was unfamiliar with prior to this product. Apparently it's common in herbs de provence.
It's a nice blend of herbs. Placing thin slices of the cheese on a toasted baguette seems to be the best way to consume this product. It didn't really do much for pasta, and dessert-ish applications don't seem appropriate here at all. The simple pairing of this cheese with bread allows the herbs to shine and makes a more toothsome snack than cheese alone. I suppose water crackers would provide a similarly neutral pairing.
Sonia made the astute observation that it would go quite well with a balsamic glaze or something similar. I'd have to agree. We tried it with this grape must glaze and bread and it worked surprisingly well.
We paid $5.11 for our little circle of cheese. I think it was $12 per pound. It's definitely not what we expected, but it's quite good for what it is. And it's a little on the pricey side, but all gourmet cheeses tend to be that way.
Four stars from Sonia. Three and a half from me for Trader Joe's Baked Sheep's Milk Ricotta Cheese with Herbs de Provence.
