Picture Trader Joe’s like it’s the set from the show Cheers, when you walk into the store and you immediately see people you know, some of the cashiers are yoga students of yours and the wine selection is so off the hook that it’s enough to make you giddy and you smile, proceeding to pick up your favorites and trying all the yummy samples along the way! This is enough to put me in a good mood and with the exception of produce and fish, I can get just about anything from there. Who would’t love a place like this? 

Exactly five weeks before Andy and I moved from Chicago, Trader Joe’s finally opened up a store in our neighborhood, East Lakeview. Although three other stores existed in the city already, when you don’t have a car and an extra arm or two to carry the bags, it gets tricky. It’s why I carted one of these bad boys around for years and yes, my friends would make fun of me. I was dubbed “Nana Niccola” but the cart worked just fine and in my advantage since my friend’s would often take two trips to the market just to get what they needed. Sometimes it’s about functionality and not all about appearances! Speaking of appearances, I love how the TJ’s crew all dress in wild Hawaiian prints and they are unafraid of making a bold fashion statement!

Nana Niccola’s Cart.

I almost begged Andy to let us stay in Chicago, that’s how long and how badly I had waited and wanted a TJ’s in my hood too. No more riding two separate buses and an L train to get the products I had grown to love and need in my life! I simply had to step out my front door, walk two blocks and I was there! No more dealing with the stupid TJ’s parking lots when I drove with friends. I didn’t really need the Granny Shopping Cart anymore for I could pop in and out of TJ’s whenever I wanted. A dream come true! Oh! And for those of you without a TJ’s nearby, like my Ma all the way down there in The Villages in Florida, then you can go to Amazon and buy most of the products online… and don’t forget if you have Amazon Prime they ship for free!

So, why am I telling you about my love for this store? Because right now, during the month of October, is the best time to shop there. The products for the fall season are incredible and I found myself circling almost every product in their Fearless Flyer! Last night for dinner, we had a HUGE spaghetti squash that cost $1.99 each! EACH! Can you believe this? Obviously I’m streeeeetching my budget so I got the biggest one I could find. Score! Everything is pumpkin themed currently, right to this body butter that I buy three of each year when they come out… it’s gotta last me until the next October! Oh! And don’t forget to try the Pumpkin Brittle, the Honey Crisp Apple Cider, the Pumpkin Butter, the Pumpkin Ice Cream (raves my friend Lori), the Pumpkin Chai Tea, and these Pumpkin O’s which I am currently obsessed with and I am NOT a cereal person at all! But they are so good!

What I appreciate most of all are the hard to find products and the value of them. I like that there are no sales, no coupons to cut, no stupid cards to put on my keychain (who needs another?) and no gimmicks. I also like that the staff is super friendly and they are willing to help me find anything I can’t locate… which is a rarity since I’m in there three times a week and know the floor layout like the back of my hand! And since they have been opened since 1967, they really are your local “neighborhood” grocery store! I want to know your favorite products… and not the Cookie Butter because that’s the number one selling product and everyone’s fav!

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 I’m going to leave you today with my favorite Spaghetti Squash recipe. It’s an easy peesy one, of course!

Spaghetti Squash Carbonara- serves two 

Ingredients:

-1 spaghetti squash, de-seeded and cut in half

-2 cups mushrooms

-8 cloves of garlic

-6 shallots

-1/2 cup white white

-1 egg

-cherry tomatoes (from my garden!)

-olive oil

-salt and pepper

-basil, scallions for garnish (from my garden too!)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450.

2. Slice the spaghetti squash in half and de-seed. Drizzle some olive oil, salt and pepper on the squash and pace cut-side down on a baking sheet for 20-25 minutes or until soft.

3. Chop up the garlic, shallots and mushrooms and place them in a sauté pan with some olive oil. Stir well. When the shallots begin to brown, add the white wine and continue stirring. Set aside.

4. In a small pot, bring 2 cups of water to a boil and add an egg. Wait 2 minutes until the egg is poached.

5. Scoop the spaghetti out of the squash shell, and add that and the veggie mixture into a large bowl.

6. Add the poached egg on top and the cherry tomatoes, scallions and basil as a garnish. Mangia!

Tastes as good as it looks!

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