Cooking with organic eggs, pesto and Mixed 7 Grains

Three organic eggs from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack fried sunny side up with shaved Parmigiano Reggiano, also from Costco, and Aleppo pepper. I served them with leftover Chinese broccoli and Mixed 7 Grains, a yummy Korean blend of brown rices and beans that requires at least three hours of soaking.

Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto from Costco dressing fat, mouth-filling ribbons of Garofalo Whole Wheat Pappardelle from Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood. The refrigerated pesto requires no heating, but I return the drained pasta to the warm pot, add the pesto and mix them with a fork and spoon. The Italian pasta takes several minutes longer to cook al dente than what is listed on the package. I drank a red wine from Sicily with my meal and finished with a simply dressed salad of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix.

For a sweet, savory and spicy breakfast, I plated and reheated smoky mashed skin-on sweet potatoes; a frittata wedge with chopped garlic, cheese and Mexican green salsa, and store-bought Korean stewed tofu. The sweet potatoes were seasoned with Kirkland Signature Sweet Mesquite Seasoning, which has spices, sea salt, sugar and "natural mesquite smoke flavoring." 

A few ounces of bottled Mexican green salsa, available in supermarkets and at Trader Joe's, went into the egg mixture and was spooned over the top of the frittata after it was removed from the oven. 

For breakfast today, I plated and reheated more sweet potatoes, sauteed baby spinach, store-bought Korean stewed pollock, top left, and mackerel with ackee, a Jamaican fruit, all leftovers.

During cooking, I grabbed for the Kirkland Signature Crushed Red Pepper, right, but added Sweet Mesquite Seasoning instead, giving mashed sweet potatoes and Chinese broccoli a pleasant, smoky taste. The first ingredient listed on the label of the Sweet Mesquite Seasoning is sea salt; a little goes a long way.