With kitchen-sink whole wheat pasta, almost anything goes

Organic whole wheat pasta shells from Whole Foods Market in Paramus are perfect for catching such ingredients as salted cod fish, chopped garlic, fresh baby spinach and organic diced tomatoes.

A serving of kitchen-sink pasta dusted with bread crumbs. Most of the ingredients are available at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss a pasta dish that can include as many or as few ingredients as you have on hand; shopping at Costco Wholesale and ShopRite, and waiting for the first fillets of fresh Alaskan wild salmon.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

With kitchen-sink pasta, almost anything goes:

Cook lots of chopped garlic in oil until fragrant, then add three cups of organic chicken stock and Italian white wine; and a can of rinsed anchovies, and bring to a boil to reduce and thicken.

Next, add big flakes of salted cod fish that was boiled in water and drained three times; a can of organic diced tomatoes with juice, and capers.

A full pound of imported organic whole wheat shells should be cooked in more water until al dente, drained and then added to the sauce along with as much as a half-pound of organic baby spinach.

If you have a large colander, put the fresh spinach in it, then pour the hot water and pasta over it, blanching the leaves.

Transfer everything to the pot with the sauce, and mix well.

Serve with grated cheese and bread crumbs on the side.

  

A couple of handfuls of Christopher Ranch peeled garlic from Costco Wholesale goes into the dish, made with a 1-pound box of made-in-Italy 365 Everyday Value Organic Whole Wheat Shells, which are $1.39 at Whole Foods Market.

Costco cod, berries

I went into Costco Wholesale in Hackenack on Wednesday, hoping the first fresh, wild Alaskan sockeye salmon fillets had arrived, but took home a consolation prize, Atlantic Cod.

Fresh Atlantic Cod Fillets are $7.99 a pound at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack. I cooked them in about 10 minutes in two kinds of bottled Mexican salsa that I brought to a boil, and I served the wild-caught fish with a baked sweet potato, also from Costco.

On Wednesday, the Hackensack Costco was selling 32-ounce containers of Georgia blueberries for $6.99 next to 18-ounce containers of the same blueberries for $5.99.

ShopRite celery

Today, I picked up a Pacific-brand Celery Stalk at ShopRite in Paramus for $1.49, but in handling the plastic bags noticed some weighed more than others.

The one I bought weighed about a quarter-pound more than others on the shelf.

ShopRite also was selling 16-ounce cartons of 100% liquid egg whites for $3.29 each (see photo below), compared to six 16-ounce cartons of pure egg whites from Costco for only $8.79.