My wild salmon swims in a sea of green

Frozen wild salmon fillets cook quickly in bottled Mexican salsa verde.

Wild salmon with collard greens and leftover organic brown rice.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss preparing frozen and fresh wild salmon, using a no-calorie cooking spray instead of oil, and pass along a a couple of bargains I found at Costco Wholesale and H Mart.

If past years are any guide, fresh wild salmon will be available at Costco Wholesale for only a couple of more weeks.

But frozen Alaskan wild sockeye salmon fillets are sold year-round, and we made a quick dinner the other night with four pieces we found in the freezer.

We used a 16.7-ounce bottle of La Costena Green Mexican Salsa (medium spicy), a preservative-free combination of tomatillo, jalapeno pepper, iodized salt, corn starch and spices.

I partially thawed the fillets, seasoned them with lime juice and Aleppo red pepper; put them in the pre-heated sauce, and covered the pan.

They were ready in 10 minutes; from frozen, they usually cook in about 20 minutes.

I also blanched fresh collard greens from the Englewood H Mart (68 cents a pound), drained them and seasoned them with a little soy sauce and sesame oil. 

Fresh wild king salmon from Costco is veined with heart-healthy fat.

Ready for the oven with Aleppo pepper, lime juice and chopped fresh herbs.

On Tuesday, I found fresh wild king salmon at the Hackensack Costco for $12.99 a pound -- a dollar more than when it first appeared a few weeks ago.

At home, I chopped fresh oregano, basil and mint; sprinkled the fillets with a little salt, Aleppo red pepper and lime juice, and cooked them at 400 degrees (roast/convection oven setting).
 
I had placed the salmon in a pan with aluminum foil and cooking spray.

For medium rare, the inch-thick fillets cooked in about 10-12 minutes; they cooked through in about 15 minutes, but stayed moist.

The high heat setting toasted the fresh herbs.

I also picked up a 2-pound package of those incomparable Campari tomatoes for $3.49 after an instant $1 coupon (through Sept. 23).

Two organic eggs prepared with no-calorie cooking spray.

No-calorie cooking spray

We've been using the Kirkland Signature Canola Oil Cooking Spray I bought at Costco to cook eggs, sautee vegetables and prepare Jamaican ackee and saltfish.

We substitute the spray for extra-virgin or canola oil.

The Kirkland Signature top is on the left.

A better bottle top

Both Costco and Trader Joe's have terrific 100% Spanish extra-virgin olive oils, and they are about the same price.

But the slit in the top of Costco's Kirkland Signature oil is ideal for drizzling, while the round hole in the Trader Joe's top requires more attention to avoid using too much oil.

Kimbap rolls, foreground, were 50% off at the Englewood H Mart.

Surprising bargain

On Wednesdays, I usually stop at Jerry's Gourmet and More in Englewood to pick up restaurant-quality takeout dinners, which are reduced to $5.99 from $7.99 after 4 p.m.

But this week, I went to H Mart in Englewood for prepared Korean food, and found a bargain on kimbap -- those addictive seaweed-wrapped rolls with egg, vegetables and fish.

The large package of Jinga kimbap was 50% off after 4 p.m. -- $2.49 instead of $4.99. 

The new awning and sign on Main Street in Fort Lee.

Here we are

Ramen Setagaya in Fort Lee is easier to find now that it has a new awning and sign.

The ramen restaurant opened several months ago on Main Street near Center Avenue.

Can the price of wild salmon go any lower?

Image by Travis S. via Flickr

Salmon from the Copper River in Alaska gets more press than others.

Fresh, wild sockeye salmon fillets have dropped another dollar -- to $7.99 a pound -- at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.


These fillets, which glisten with natural oils, made their first appearance at Costco on May 21, earlier than usual, and came from the famed Copper River in Alaska. 


They were priced at $13.99 a pound -- one dollar less than in 2010.


Usually, the Copper River fish disappears after about two weeks, replaced by fresh sockeye salmon from somewhere in the northwestern United States, and the price drops to $8.99 a pound.


This year, the Copper River catch must have been much bigger than normal, because on June 5, the price dropped to $8.99 a pound at Costco.


Then, about 10 days ago, wild sockeye salmon fillets with no specific U.S. origin appeared in the seafood case at $8.99 a pound.


Today, the price dropped to $7.99, and I picked up a nearly 2-pound fillet, which should yield six to eight portions.


For dinner tonight, I'll bake the salmon for about 20 minutes at 375 degrees for medium rare. First, I usually squeeze fresh lemon juice over them and add chopped herbs and ground Aleppo red pepper. 


I'll serve them with blanched and garlic-sauteed collard greens (99 cents a pound at H Mart in Englewood).


Salmon from the Yukon River in Alaska have even more healthy fats than Copper River fish. 


The Yukon River salmon are genetically programmed to store those fats for their 2,000 mile-plus journey up what is the longest salmon river in Alaska.


Wegmans carries Yukon River wild salmon, but the nearest store is more than 30 miles from my home. 


The fresh, keta salmon fillets are $11.99 a pound at the Wegmans in Bridgewater. The store describes the flavor as "rich" and "buttery."


Jersey blues


Also at Costco today, I picked up 2 pounds of Jersey Fresh blueberries, the equivalent of three pints at $1.83 a pint. That's not such a great price, but they are plump and sweet.


Although I've been harvesting red-leaf lettuce from my garden, I also bought a pound of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix ($4.79) for variety in my salads.


I had a $10 Costco gift card the company sent to me after I complained that I found a small, black fly in the spring mix.


A 2-pound package of Cabot sliced cheddar cheese from Vermont is now $7.49, up from $6.99. Bananas are 3 pounds for $1.47.


UPDATE: 


The wild salmon fillet I bought from Costco today yielded eight portions that were a little smaller than usual.


They cooked in a preheated, 375-degree oven in 10 minutes for rare and 12-13 minutes for medium. The rare salmon melted in my mouth.


I reserved three raw portions for my wife and son, who like their salmon cooked through.


After I ate, I delighted in rolling up the skin that had stuck to the aluminum foil in the pan, and popping them into my mouth.

In search of more meatless meals

Image via Wikipedia

I made my weekly run to Costco in Hackensack today with the goal of  bolstering our meatless dinner choices, and came home with three different wild-caught fish and some wonderful-looking lobster ravioli.

I picked up a tray of fresh haddock fillets from Iceland at $7.49 a pound, frozen sockeye salmon fillets from Alaska ($25.89 for three pounds) and an item I hadn't seen before -- frozen Pacific flounder fillets ($8.69 for two pounds).

The lobster ravioli should provide two meals ($11.99). I looked at the ingredients, and Atlantic lobster is listed second, right after the flour to make the pasta.

At Balthazar Bakery later in the day, I bought a double baguette and hit the jackpot -- it was about 10 inches to 12 inches longer than usual, but the $4 price was the same. When I got it home, my wife, son and I stood around cutting off pieces and eating them with thin-sliced Swiss cheese.

For dinner tonight, I cooked the haddock in Mexican green salsa and opened a can of organic pinto beans from Whole Food Market, heating them in a small pot and adding non-salt seasoning and black pepper. We ate the fish, salsa and beans over steamed white rice with a salad.

Tomorow night, I plan to serve veggie patties with cheese, lettuce and tomato on onion-potato rolls from Balthazar. On Wednesday, we'll try the lobster ravioli in tomato sauce.


And it looks like our one meal out Saturday night will be at our favorite soft-tofu stew restaurant in Palisades Park. If we make it to Sunday, it will mark two weeks without meat (chicken, pork, beef or lamb).

Breakfasts have been easy. I've had eggs with Colombian corn cakes (arepas), hot oat meal with dried blueberries or a sandwich of wild smoked salmon with kimchi on the side. I've been trying to skip lunches, relying on black coffee or home-brewed espresso and crackers and cheese or fruit.

Shopping and tasting notes

Image via Wikipedia

Say hello to haddock

I never know what I'll find in the seafood cases at Costco in Hackensack, where I shop weekly on Mondays or Tuesdays. Tonight, my wife coated thick, meaty wild-caught haddock fillets from Canada in Indian spices and flour, and fried them. Me and my son loved them. (Photo: haddock.)

On Tuesday, I first looked at and rejected lobster tails that had been treated with a preservative ($16.99 a pound). I also walked past the many trays of artificially colored farmed salmon and found the haddock among trays of wild-caught flounder (from Canada or Iceland). I bought a pound and a half or so of haddock at $7.49 a pound.

I also picked up a pound of preservative-free smoked wild sockeye salmon ($14.79). Costco also carries frozen Alaskan wild sockeye salmon fillets (about $8.50 a pound) , which we steamed for dinner Monday night.

Korean barbecue without the guilt

On Sunday morning, I pulled out two freezer bags with thin-sliced Australian beef in Korean bulgogi marinade. This was the free-range, grass-fed, antibiotic-free whole tenderloin sold at ShopRite under the Nature's Reserve label for as little as $3.99 a pound with a store card.

While the beef was defrosting, I went to H Mart in Little Ferry for two heads of red-leaf lettuce (two for $1), but couldn't find the scallion salad usually served with Korean barbecue. I cooked the beef on a stove-top grill with scallions and garlic, and served it with steamed Korean dumplings, white rice and kimchi -- we wrapped beef, garlic, kimchi and rice in lettuce and went to town.

Mexican dinner from a can

We eat a lot of Readington Farms chicken -- at least once or twice a week -- and in the freezer, I found a tray of wings and another of leg quarters I bought at ShopRite. The chickens are raised on vegetarian feed and without antibiotics. Unfortunately, rarely are they on sale.

We breaded the wings in chili spices and baked them at 375 degrees, but I pan roasted the leg quarters and then let them finish cooking in mildly spicy chipotle sauce and peppers. The sauce came in a 7-ounce can under the La Morena label; the peppers in adobo sauce in a similar can under the La Costena label. I found both at Hackensack Market.

I plated the chicken and plenty of sauce on top of yellow rice, and served them with a salad of organic sprinx mix.