Taking small bites out of the Garden State

Imported from Italy, Organic Whole Wheat Shells from Whole Foods Market's 365 Everyday Value brand are $1.39 a pound at the Paramus store. They are thick and shaped to catch the sauce, in this case bottled marinara with sweet pepper, onion, garlic, anchovies and sardines.

Fresh Icelandic haddock fillets were $8.99 a pound at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack. Here, we prepared the wild fish in coconut milk with organic diced tomatoes, sweet pepper, onion and garlic, and served it with a baked sweet potato. Haddock, a member of the cod family, cooks in about 5 to 8 minutes, and flakes beautifully.

I went looking for Kirkland Signature fruit, seed and nut bars and found this: Nature's Bakery Fig Bar in three flavors. They are non-GMO, kosher and dairy free. A 3-pound box with 24 twin packs was $8.59 at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack. I carry snack bars with me so I can skip lunch.

A cart full of favorites from Costco: smoked wild sockeye salmon ($15.59 for 1 pound), Jarlsberg Lite Reduced Fat Swiss Cheese ($8.59 for 2 pounds), sodium-free almonds ($12.99 for a 3-pound bag), fat Persian Limes from Mexico ($4.99 for a 5-pound bag), and Sunset-brand hothouse cucumbers from Canada (2 pounds for $3.49).  

I cooked Japanese buckwheat noodles in Kirkland Signature Organic Chicken Stock, and topped them with chopped kimchi from H&Y Marketplace in Ridgefield and Kirkland Signature Roasted Seasoned Seaweed.