Hey guys, salut, it's Alex,
So this is part 2 of the Trader Joe's challenge.
In the first episode, we listed all the ingredients.
It was some kind of a food haul,
but this one will be all about cooking a 5 courses menu.
Yes, in a hotel room.
[nervous laugh]
It was challenging.
Okay guys, okay guys, okay guys, okay guys,
so we are back in my hotel room right now.
I've made some room on the table, and this is
all the ingredients we have.
Let me give you some specific information
because sometimes, it's not what you expect.
Butter will definitely be used as a fat,
just to grease the pan, thicken things, deep fry.
I swear to God I wanted to take some oil,
but I couldn't find some.
I mean, it was too expensive. It wasn't fitting in my budget,
so I went for butter.
Poor little French man.
Nacho cheese tortillas.
I'm sure many of you might be surprised that
I took those cheap, very salty and cheesy tortilla chips,
but that's precisely the reason why I chose them.
Well, the salt was very expensive in that place,
so I thought to myself
what if I pound them to a powder, for example?
I would get the cheese taste, the corn taste,
of course the salt 'cuz it's very salty,
and then I would even get some crispiness.
It's a win-win-win-win.
Ginger cider.
This is not exactly my favorite kind of booze,
however this can be used like vinegar, for example,
'cuz it's quite dry and it has lots of freshness to it.
For example, if you pair it with some fat,
then you've got some kind of a dressing.
And of course, along the way, you can drink one glass or two.
You know, it's never bad.
A sweet onion is very interesting 'cuz you can use it
for savory dish, but you can use it for sweet dishes as well.
A small squash.
Quite cheap, this one, I know it's very good.
I had those in the past.
You can use it for savory dish, you can use it for
sweet dishes, you can even use the flesh to thicken a sauce.
Cinnamon grahams biscuits.
So, the reason why I took this is because I wanted the
cinnamon flavor and also I needed some sugar,
so instead of buying cinnamon and sugar,
I'm gonna pound them to a powder.
Whole wheat, fresh pizza dough.
Very useful, very convenient.
Flatbread, dumplings, turnover, pizzas,
you can make so much stuff with it.
Before we move onto the actual action,
let me just clarify the budget, the total budget.
It's $30.08
and some of you were very close.
I've also asked you guys about the menu I was gonna make.
Uhh, I guess you were quite inspired 'cuz many of you have found
the pizza, the soup, uh, just wait a moment for the
motorcycle to stop.
But some of you deserve some special mentions.
Alright, let's go.
[music: Midnight by Peter Kuli]
Okay
All the squash seeds floats in water,
so, that's an easy way to separate them from the flesh.
[music continues]
Super salty
So this one, I did not scoop all the flesh out
because we're gonne use it afterwards.
Aaah, forgot the seeds.
Sometimes it happens, you just forget and it burns.
Let's move on.
So this is a small coleslaw of apples, shredded cabbage,
carrots, cranberries, green onions,
and it's tossed in coconut and apple cider ginger dressing.
So that is the second dish,
this is a squash soup with coconut and chicken stock.
So there is some squash flesh, so it's funny to eat,
and also there's some cinnamon sugar and green onions.
Whole wheat pan fried pizza with mozzarella cheese
and a bit too much green onions.
[humming and eating chips]
So you've got two apple, pears, and onions and cinnamon turnover,
and you've got two cabbage and carrots and onions
and mozzarella turnovers.
And now I realize that I completely forgot about
the banana and the chocolate-covered almonds.
It's not that I did not want to include them in the recipe,
it would have been easy, like...
I would...
Just scoop out the flesh.
The bowl is edible.
Pizza, might be a bit cold though.
Pizza is always good.
It's lacking some heat.
This is bringing some freshness to the game.
Super sweet, super delicate.
You don't feel the onions at all.
Aaaah
so at the end of the day, is it really worth it?
I mean, in real life, is it something you can do in a hotel room?
So, I would say, like, for the pizza,
for the dumplings, and the turnovers,
the flavors are great, but it's way too much work.
Uh, on the other hand you've got the soup
and the coleslaw, which are, in my opinion,
way more manageable, but still quick, easy, and flavorful.
[humming]
So guys, that's it, I hope you enjoyed this
Trader Joe's challenge.
For me, it was super fun to make ,
very challenging,
and also, super exhausting,
but I really did like it and I learned many things from it.
Ahhh
If you like this video, then give it a thumbs up, like it,
and share that over your social media,
spread it like butter.
But, so, people, click subscribe
'cuz I make new videos every week,
and it's, you know, most of the time about
sharing my passion for food, but in different shape,
'cuz it's always a different format.
I know I'm a nightmare,
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you might just unsubscribe now.
I mean, it's better, but if you do love surprises then
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In the meantime, take care, bye bye, salut.