Kris Holechek Peters - The I Love Trader Joes Vegetarian Cookbook: 150 Delicious and Healthy Recipes Using Foods from the Worlds Greatest Grocery Store

TRADER JOES is a registered trademark of Trader Joes Company and is used here for informational purposes only. This book is independently authored and published and is not affiliated or associated with Trader Joes Company in any way. Trader Joes Company does not authorize, sponsor, or endorse this book or any of the information contained herein.

Copyright text 2012 by Kris Holechek Peters. Copyright concept and design 2012 by Ulysses Press and its licensors. All Rights Reserved. Any unauthorized duplication in whole or in part or dissemination of this edition by any means (including but not limited to photocopying, electronic bulletin boards, and the Internet) will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Published by

Ulysses Press

P.O. Box 3440

Berkeley, CA 94703

www.ulyssespress.com

ISBN: 978-1-61243-140-6

Library of Congress Catalog Number 2012940424

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Acquisitions Editor: Kelly Reed

Managing Editor: Claire Chun

Editors: Lauren Harrison, Elyce Berrigan-Dunlop

Editorial Assistant: Caety Klingman

Production: Judith Metzener

Proofreader: Barbara Schultz

Cover design: what!design @ whatweb.com

Front cover artwork: rabbit and tractor RetroClipArt/shutterstock.com; flower PinkPueblo/shutterstock.com; asparagus deepbluephotographer/shutterstock.com; pita bite, sandwich Kris Holechek Peters

Back cover artwork: food photos Kris Holechek Peters; pear Morphart Creations inc./shutterstock.com

TRADER JOES is a registered trademark of Trader Joes Company and is used here for informational purposes only. This book is independently authored and published and is not affiliated or associated with Trader Joes Company in any way. Trader Joes Company does not authorize, sponsor, or endorse this book or any of the information contained herein.

This book was a long time coming. Now, after spreading lots of TJs love and being asked to write a cook book for years, here it is. To all of my blog and book readers, my thanks is endless!

Many thanks to my friends and family for your love and supportand for not unfriending me after months of food-related updates with varying levels of panic and joy. A special thanks to Ted Schatz for allowing me to take over his kitchen (and fridge), to Ben Schatz for being my sounding board and human garbage disposal, to Dylan Norcross for keeping me company during epic cooking sessions, and to Alec Gaige for enduring many trips to Trader Joes.

A giant thanks to all of my recipe testers: Jeannie Barnes, Emma Bates, Courtney Blair, Tiffany Cadiz, Marlene and Bobby Gaige, Niki Jay, Jessica Auxier, Jennifer Katz, Susan Kaufman, Abby Ledford, Sara Leier Horwath, Clea Mahoney, Romina Martucci, Chrissy Mills, Jenni Mischel, Brenda Monteleone, Christina and Ken Mott, Karen and Brian Reiter, Leigh Saluzzi, and Jennifer Stacie. A very special thanks goes out to super-tester Ana Lucas, who is a goddess among foodies.

Thanks to the good folks at Ulysses Press for believing in me and for making this project happen. And I would be remiss if I didnt thank all of the Hawaiian shirts at all of the TJs stores that I have frequented over the years.

W hen you say the words Trader Joes to a TJs lover, theres a consistent reaction. Their eyes go soft, the corners of their mouth creep up into an unconscious smile, and they will, undoubtedly, make a contented noise of happiness laced with yum. Smaller than a traditional grocery store, with oddly packaged food and an off-beat aesthetic, Trader Joes is truly an experiencean experience that has won the hearts of millions of faithful shoppers.

What is it about Joes that makes it so magical? First off, the prices cant be beat. You dont need coupons or sales to get the best price at TJstheres a no-haggling policy. The best price is presented up-front with no clubs to join or hoops to jump throughits a nice change. Trader Joes works off of a unique model: The company purchases products youre likely familiar with from other retailers, except it buys them directly from producers, rather than going through a distributor, like other retailers do. Cutting out the middleman lets TJs build a relationship with these producers and lowers the cost of the items because the producers can now offer larger quantities of their product. As a result of this direct relationship and the cost-savings, most of the products are repackaged in TJs quirky packaging. By using the TJs packaging, the producers have the benefit of offering their goods to a greater audience, but lessen their risk of competing against themselves at the other stores. There are even some items that are distributed exclusively by Trader Joes, typically seasonal and imported items that have limited runs.

Despite being a chain, Trader Joes is a privately held company. Because they dont have stockholders to appease, theyre able to do things a little differently. Although they arent franchised, the company recognizes how important it is to connect to the community. With their well-trained and caring staff, they work to be a neighborhood market. In your local Trader Joes, youre likely to see murals of local points of interest painted on the walls. Additionally, TJs builds relationships with local farms and bakeries in their respective neighborhoods, bringing business to the community and also bringing you fresh, quality food.

Im a longtime lover of Joes and my praises of the store on my blog have, over the years, garnered some disbelief. Ive even been asked if I was being paid to advertise for themI wish! While it can seem too good to be true, this sort of fervent passion is just what happens to Trader Joes customers. The stores unique products, high-quality standards, and happy staff create the perfect recipe for an exceptional shopping experience. When you have that sort of dynamic, no bribery is neededthe love it instills in its customers inspires them to willingly, and happily, preach the good word.

Trader Joes is known for its quality standards, which far surpass anything youve seen at most any other grocery store. No GMOs, no added hydrogenated fats, no food coloring...its quite impressive and assures you that youre feeding your family quality food.

In addition to the general quality standards, TJs also has some wonderful labeling practices. Many house products are labeled with easy-to-read symbols, denoting which products are vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, low sodium, or fall under a host of other categories.

One thing to note, however, is that items are not always marked with all the categories they fall into. For example, the semi-sweet chocolate chips are vegan, but are only marked as being gluten-free. This is why I recommended grabbing one of their handy product guides. Available both in-store and online, they list all of the items that are vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free.

If you have dietary restrictions, always be sure to read the label. Distributors, manufacturing processes, and recipes change, and regional differences occurall important things to consider, regardless of where you shop.

There are differing standards when it comes to determining whether a product is truly vegan. Some things that are important to strict vegans are not as important to other vegans. In that light, I want to be clear about some of the products used in this book and their relationship to vegan dietary guidelines.

For many vegans, the source of sugar in an item is a key determinant because most sugar is refined using a charcoal filter, and charcoal can be considered an animal by-product. Not all vegans observe this and for the purposes of this book, the source of sugar is not something that I concerned myself with. There are certain things used in this book (such as pre-boxed baking mixes) that, when prepared in the way I instruct, become vegan baked goods, but the source of the sugar in the mix is not determined.