Little toddler L. and I had a disappointing meal from the grocery store tonight. Mark was staying late at work. When Mark is home, I try to make something ok, or at least have nice leftovers – a meal that is the outcome of chopping, stirring, heat, and some amount of time. But when it’s just me and L., I stick to scrambled eggs and sautéed zucchini on toast. Tonight, though, I just could not stand the thought of another evening of eggs and zucchini on toast, and on the way home from daycare pickup I succumbed to the cheap package of ravioli at Trader Joe’s. The package promised burrata mozzarella and tomato, yum! But the final flavor gave off a distinct airplane food flavor and texture that I had no idea was possible this far from cruising altitude. The ravioli were mushy, technically editable, but not enjoyable.
To make matters worse, I made roasted broccoli with olive oil. Typically, this is food that the whole family can get behind with pleasure. But tonight I was distracted, and I made the horrible mistake of going too light on the olive oil. So instead of delicious roasted vegetables, we had sad little virtuous singed shrubs, that were only moderately better than the ravioli because they had some texture.
Leo has not had exposure to airplane food yet, so is not yet jaded. He consumed about a ravioli and a half before realizing that they were becoming increasingly gross as the cheese began to congeal at room temperature. He tried and discarded the broccoli. Soon he declared himself “all done” and descended from his chair, asking for milk.
I felt guilty about food waste, and ate some ravioli and some broccoli.
My deep love for Trader Joe’s remains intact, and there are many wonderful products that I could tell you try, starting with their whole wheat toaster waffles. (Try them with almond butter for the ideal fast breakfast or snack!) But I am braking my blogging silence for this very important public service announcement: do not buy Trader Joe’s burrata ravioli. At the end of your dinner, your stomach will be full of nothing but regret.