HWAET! I come to inform you of the wonders of TJ Melodious
Blend.
If you are a Trader Joe’s fan, or even an occasional
shopper, you almost certainly have a wagon-load of favorite, staple items that you’ve
come to love, depend on and feel bereft of when out of stock or out of season.
I have a couple of dozen such favorites in my pantry and freezer.*
Melodious Blend is in the frozen foods, and like many TJ
packaged goods it is a godsend when you don’t know what the f-word else to
cook, want a leguminous meatless or nearly meatless meal that isn’t just
opening a can of beans again. Not that I lack for recipes that include opening
a can of beans of pretty much any variety. (Note: Spouse and I Do. Not. Like.
Tofu. It is not part of our diet. It is not something we’ll ever heartily
embrace unless every mammal, bird and fish on the planet goes extinct in our
lifetimes—in which case soybeans and humans are probably doomed as well.)
(Well, we are probably doomed, but it’s my fervent hope that enough vertebrates
outlast us to kickstart evolutionary diversity again in a few hundred years.)
Anyway. Melodious Blend. As you see from the package, it’s
pre-cooked and only needs heating to make it savory and delicious. You COULD
choose to believe the TJ copywriters, or you could believe me instead. Without
a bit of additional fuss, MB is tasty but bland. Not that some people don’t
enjoy that. But it’s pretty easy to make it a bit more interesting. I will use today’s
dinner as an example in several easy steps, as today was nasty and cold outside
and I decided that cooking from the freezer and fridge veggie bin was better
than going to the store. I mean, this is WHY I even have MB in the freezer.
First step: note that the ingredients of MB are primarily green lentils, red lentils and green chickpeas (which are just regular chickpeas cooked before being dried). It also includes olive
oil and some tomato. This last part is technically accurate but honestly, a
bit misleading. Cooked by itself, MB’s seasoning is barely barely detectable. Legumes
are tasty but they do need significant seasoning--witness pretty much the entire world's cookery. So while I ordinarily go along with the vaguely Italian seasoning, you could in fact concoct Indian, Middle Eastern, French or pretty much any other flavoring you enjoy. Plan accordingly.
Second step: decide which fresh or frozen veggies need to be
used up. Canned are OK too if that’s what you have. Pretty much anything goes,
at this step. Choose any two or up to six, at which point this becomes too much
work and doesn’t get any tastier.
Possibilities: Bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, summer squash/zucchini,
winter squash/butternut squash, cauliflower, broccoli, kohlrabi, bok choy, cabbage, kale, spinach or similar greens, carrot, turnip, parsnip, peas, potato,
green beans, okra, leeks, fresh or sun-dried tomatoes, olives…you get the idea. The legumes in MB are bland enough to go
with pretty much ANYTHING. Mix up whatever combo you like. Precook or parboil
whatever you feel needs it, though my methodology includes that step and will work for most root veggies.
Third step: heat a large pan with a good glug of (olive) oil,
and chop a medium-sized onion into coarse dice, and fling it into the pan. Add
some smashed or minced garlic too. Add salt to get things started. Meanwhile,
prep and chop your chosen veggies, and begin adding them in order of necessary
cooking time. Tonight, I added the zucchini, butternut squash and eldritch (Romanesco)
broccoli as the onions were starting to color a bit, along with some water, and
covered the pan to get those veggies good and steamed.
I also sometimes add diced sausage of one type or another. Picture above is a single link of (frozen) Aidell's Andouille. Pretty much anything goes. Crumbled Italian sausage is really good, as is BACON I mean, bacon, or ham. Any plant-based sausage you might prefer would also be good, or tofu, or tempeh.
I have a jar of Mystery Hotter than We Thought herb/spice seasoning (from an upstate NY supermarket no less) and it went great with the veggies and Andouille sausage. The vague ingredient mix has only the obvious items; someday I'll figure out what the heck else is in that mix. Hasn't killed us yet, though.
I haven't tried it yet, but I'm pretty sure MB would be a good coconut curry base. Use coconut oil for sauteing, use Indian (curry powder, cumin, coriander, turmeric, etc.) or Thai (lemongrass, cilantro, lime, fish sauce) seasonings and add coconut milk to make a nice gooey sauce.
Fourth step: it is optional but conventional to prepare a starchy side and turn your effort towards the Rice and Beans spectrum. We always do this, but you needn't. Pretty much any grain or pasta you like will go, with whatever veggies you've chosen: rice of any kind, bulgur wheat, quinoa, couscous, etc. You could also incorporate your starch into the dish and turn it into a kind of pilaf. Your dinner, your choice.
Fifth step: Once the veggies are nearly cooked, add the MB. DO NOT THAW IT FIRST. DO NOT RINSE IT FIRST. Just open the package and dump the contents into the pan. There will be ice crystals. Don't worry. Just break up the lumps, add a bit of water (depending on how much liquid is already in the pan with the veggies), stir it all a bit, and cover. Stir it again after about 3-4 minutes. Add another glug of oil if you want, maybe more liquid. (Doesn't have to be water, could be broth or even a bit of wine.) Cover and cook another couple of minutes. Done!
We added more hot sauce anyway. Hot sauce is yummy with legumes; there's a REASON most cultures that have both always combine them. Anyway, a nice Gewurtztraminer was also a nice accompaniment.
Hope you're feeling more inspired on your What Do I Cook days!
*Dark Chocolate Covered Cherries, Dark Chocolate Covered Blueberries, Almond Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Chocolate Almond Spread, frozen Vegetable Masala burger patties, frozen Sweet Potato Gnocchi, frozen Palak Paneer and Vegetable Biryani, frozen Paratha bread, frozen Scallion Pancakes, various granola bars, Greek yogurt with almond butter, Greek yogurt with coconut, quick-cooking brown Basmati Rice, Inner Peas, Movie Popcorn, organic raisins...ETCETERA.
