My cheese of the month club

Image via Wikipedia

Manchego is a sheep milk's cheese from Spain.

From among the more than 50 cheeses at Costco in Hackensack, I brought home a big chunk of Manchego from Spain today. Last month, I tried a buffalo-milk mozzarella from Italy -- a container with four soft, delicious orbs in water.

Manchego is a buttery, sheep's milk cheese. I just tried a few small slices with an apple, and they pair beautifully. The Villacenteno-brand cheese is aged 3 months and costs $8.29 a pound. I found a wedge that weighs just under 1 and three-quarters of a pound.

I remember visiting Spain in the mid-1980s, and enjoying a dessert of Manchego and membrillo or quince at a restaurant in Madrid, where my entree was rabo de toro (tail of the bull). Author James Michener wrote about the dessert in his book "Iberia."

The inedible rind of the cheese I bought today is stamped with the word "Baquero."

I also picked up Old Farmhouse Vegetable Stew, which I tried recently and loved. Two 20-ounce portions were $7.99. Kirkland Signature frozen Alaskan wild sockeye salmon fillets were $27.89 for 3 pounds.

Image via Wikipedia

H Mart puts fish on sale

The Korean supermarket chain is featuring whole pollock, a cod-like fish, for $2.49 a pound and Spanish mackerel for $1.49 a pound. The sale dates are today through March 10, 2011.

Unfortunately, fresh tuna steaks also are on sale -- for $12.99 a pound. Tuna is a fish high in harmful mercury. However, the sales circular doesn't specify what kind of tuna is being sold.

There are H Marts in Ridgefield, Fort Lee, Little Ferry and Englewood.