I love Trader Joe’s because they have such great products that seem to be made just for you. As someone who is not at all good at cooking, I will rely on them a lot when I am feeding myself. Even the cooking class that I go to uses ingredients from TJ’s. I think it’s like faux-cooking where you are opening packages and mixing things together, but the result is that you still have a really good and filling meal and that’s all that matters. I compiled links to some recipes based on TJ’s products!

• 3-Ingredient Trader Joe’s Dinners
  • Shawarma chicken hummus bowls – Mediterranean food is just delicious.
  • Mediterranean falafel salad – See above.
• Mozzarella + Tomato Salad – This is one of my favorite salads. It’s a salad with no leaves but it’s so tasty!
• TJ’s meals for new parents
  • I’m not a new parent but I’m stealing this because EVERY ONE can spend less time cooking or doing dishes so that they have more free time.
  • This butternut squash soup just looks delicious! I love soba, ginger, and fried pork crumble. Yum!
• TJ’s recipes!
  • Master the art of semi-cooking!!! ❤
• Opinion: Barriers to cooking from scratch

For some food gurus, the decision to simmer homemade spaghetti and meatballs on the stove rather than heat up a can of ravioli in the microwave is evidence of a person’s moral fortitude.

My food might not taste great but I do find cooking to be meditative. I love rolling, rationing things out, combining, cutting (even though I’m not great at it yet), and even doing dishes. I am excellent at doing dishes from all my time assisting at Hipcooks! All in all, I’m excited to move out because I love having my own kitchen to play in.

PS. It sounds crazy but during some truly hopeless and dark times in my life, the thought of the life I might someday lead has kept me going, and cooking is one of them. You could say it’s a fantasy. I want to keep living and even live a long life so that I might someday bring all those tutorial videos that I watch into practice.

PPS. I thought about my mentor teacher Ann Wilson today and even though I’m no longer teaching, she has inspired me to live a good, “well-revised” life. I will write more on her later!