Putting a delicious summer meal on the table for less than $7 a person

Fresh whole wild-caught whiting were $1.99 a pound on Sunday at H Mart, 260 Bergen Turnpike in Little Ferry. Six of them, enough to feed four, were only $7.72.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Why whiting?

If you love whole fish, pan-fried whiting are among the easiest to eat, because of a single center bone surrounded by flaky morsels of sweet flesh.

A Sunday dinner with whiting, sauteed greens, a salad and fruit for dessert costs under $7 a person.

That's a guesstimate for a meal that included lettuce and fruit I had on hand, and leftover organic brown rice as a side dish for other family members.

After washing, cutting up and spin drying, Chinese Broccoli is easy to saute with olive and sesame oils, a little red wine, and such seasonings as garlic powder, red-pepper flakes and sea salt.

  

AT H Mart in Little Ferry, I bought almost 2 pounds of Chinese Broccoli, which was on sale for 98 cents a pound.

I also had a salad of Romaine Lettuce with grape tomatoes from my garden, dressed with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Enjoying a delicious, garlic-rich dinner at Lotus Cafe in Hackensack

South Pacific Prawns at Lotus Cafe in Hackensack are jumbo shrimp in the shell that are butterflied and pan fried.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

What wasn't there was almost as big of a draw as all of the wonderful garlic used to prepare the dishes we ordered late Saturday afternoon at Lotus Cafe in Hackensack.

Chinese dishes often are made with a ubiquitous "brown sauce" that is based on soy and filled with sodium.

But we ordered two dishes without sauce:

South Pacific Prawns ($17.95), which are pan-fried with shallot, garlic, ginger, scallion and peppercorn, according to the menu.

The preparation also is known as pepper and salty, and we ate the jumbo shrimp shell and all. I dipped mine in Chinese mustard.

You also can get the shrimp cooked without the shell.

Our second dish was Chinese Broccoli stir-fried with fresh garlic ($10.95). 

We asked for the broccoli "well done" to soften the stems.

We were finishing dinner in our favorite Chinese restaurant, and noticed the waiters putting tablecloths and cloth napkins on empty tables.

That's when I knew it was 5 o'clock.

Leafy Chinese Broccoli stir-fried with fresh garlic.

We began with Seafood Soup for Two ($7.95), above and below. 

Our soup contained shrimp, squid, sliced fish cake and vegetables, but I didn't find any of the bay scallops I enjoyed on previous visits.

Lotus Cafe doesn't charge extra for brown rice.

Details

Lotus Cafe, 450 Hackensack Ave., Hackensack, in the Home Depot Shopping Center; 201-488-7070.

Open 7 days, BYO, big parking lot, special fixed-price multi-course dinners for four or more, free delivery within 3 miles ($12 minimum).

Jersey peaches, mystery EVOO, H Mart specials and more

At the ShopRite in Paramus last week, I found two kinds of peaches in a box under a sign for Jersey grown fruit, above and below. The peach on top was labeled "Jersey Fruit," but the one underneath said, "Yellow Peach," "Sunny Slope" and "USA."

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Will the real Jersey Fresh peach please stand up?

New Jersey peaches, labeled "Jersey Fruit," finally arrived at the ShopRite in Paramus last week, but they didn't look that good, and they were mixed with other peaches whose origin was unclear.

I passed.

New Jersey blueberries I bought at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack also carried the "Jersey Fruit" designation on the label, supplementing the traditional phrase, "Jersey Fresh." 

The label on a 3-liter Al Defah bottle doesn't say where the extra-virgin olive oil comes from, at least not in English. I plan to call importer Mediterranean Expo LLC to find out.

Is this a stylized flag of the country where the oil was produced?

Mystery EVOO

Fattal's in Paterson has always been a reliable source for extra-virgin olive oils from Lebanon, Syria and other countries at good prices.

On Friday, I found a 3-liter bottle of Al Defah Extra Virgin Olive Oil for only $13.99 -- or about $4.66 a liter -- compared to $20 or more for 3 liters of EVOO from other sources.

The cashier said the price had recently gone up from $12.99.

The label describes it as "aromatic and extra smooth, first cold pressed."

The store, at 975-77 Main St. in Paterson, is open 7 days, and parking is free in its own lot.

The retail price of a 15-pound bag of California-grown  Kokuho Yellow Label Rice is $16.99, according to the sign I saw on Saturday at the H Mart in Fort Lee.

Retail price of rice is moving target

Depending on which H Mart you shop in, the retail price of Kokuho Yellow Label Rice from California is $14.99 to $16.99.

Why does that matter when this rice is always on sale at most of the Bergen County stores in the Korean supermarket chain?

The sales price has gone up a couple of dollars, attributed to a drought in California, and now the savings claimed is greater or smaller, depending on whether you buy the rice in Englewood, Little Ferry or Fort Lee.

Dinner leftovers for breakfast: Grilled wild sockeye salmon and whole-wheat pappardelle, both with pesto from Costco Wholesale, and Chinese broccoli from H Mart in Little Ferry.

I cooked the wild salmon from Costco Wholesale on a stove-top grill pan for 10 minutes, and it came out medium ($9.99 a pound). It only needs 2 minutes of reheating in a microwave.

Cooking ahead is the way to go

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but if you are in a rush, it's great to have plenty of leftovers in the refrigerator that can be plated and reheated quickly.

I cook large quantities for just this reason: 

Six pieces of grilled wild sockeye salmon, a pound of organic whole-wheat spaghetti, and a pound of greens, quickly blanched in boiling water and seasoned.

Another filling breakfast: An egg-white frittata with salted fish, sweet peppers and chopped garlic; whole-wheat spaghetti in a sauce made with garlic, diced tomatoes, salad greens, tomato sauce, red wine and chicken stock; and Chinese broccoli.

A 10-inch frittata made with egg whites, whole eggs, Campari tomatoes, two kinds of reduced-fat cheese and pesto. Most of the ingredients come from Costco Wholesale.

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.

More fish tales from eating out and eating in

Lotus Cafe in Hackensack's Home Depot Shopping Center does a brisk takeout business. The Chinese BYO, which opened in 1993, offers free delivery within 3 miles, with a $12 minimum (450 Hackensack Ave., Hackensack; 201-488-7070).

Seafood Soup for 2 is filled with tender shrimp, squid, fish cake and vegetables in a perfectly seasoned broth ($7.50).

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

On Saturday morning, I discussed with my wife eating out at either Wondee's or Lotus Cafe, two favorites near our home.

By mid-afternoon, my wife informed me that, on the one day we eat out, everyone had made other plans.

I flirted with the idea of driving to Fort Lee for sashimi -- which no one else in the family touches -- but decided it was time for a simple Chinese meal of soup, vegetable and rice.

I drove to Lotus Cafe, ordered Seafood Soup for 2, Chinese Broccoli Stir Fried with Fresh Garlic and brown rice.

Chinese Broccoli Stir Fried with Fresh Garlic is both deliciously leafy and crunchy ($9.95). Brown rice is available at no extra charge.

At home on Saturday morning, I prepared a smoked wild-salmon and Swiss cheese frittata with bottled Mexican green salsa and prepared pesto, above and below. The basic mixture included egg whites, whole organic eggs, shredded cheese, organic low-fat milk and sun-dried tomatoes, with most of the ingredients from Costco Wholesale, as was the salmon, reduced-fat Swiss cheese and pesto. 

Ackee and Salt Fish, the Jamaican national dish, can be made even spicier with Valentina Mexican Hot Sauce (Black Label). The bland ackee fruit and boiled green banana are foils for salted fish from Costco Wholesale (Canadian cod or Alaskan pollock), and sweet and hot peppers, garlic, onion and scallions, below.

Seasoned and pan-fried fresh, wild haddock fillets from Costco Wholesale ($8.99 a pound) are especially good covered in sauteed sweet peppers and onions.

Our second choice for seafood is no slouch

Shrimp Soong at Lotus Cafe in Hackensack.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

We planned to have dinner at Seafood Gourmet, the popular fish market-restaurant in Maywood, but couldn't get a reservation before 8:30 on Saturday night.

So, we jumped into the car and drove a couple of miles to Lotus Cafe in Hackensack, our favorite restaurant for Chinese-style seafood.

Three of use ordered seafood soup, a shrimp dish, a fish dish and a vegetable stir fried with fresh garlic, plus small bowls of complimentary white and brown rice. We took home leftovers.

My portion of Seafood Soup for 3 ($11.25) contained a stray piece of meat, which I gave to my wife in return for the tender squid she put in my bowl.

Our waiter divided and served the soup, as well as the Shrimp Soong.

From the menu's list of Chef's Specialties, we chose Shrimp Soong ($16.95), a delicious combination of minced shrimp with celery, pine nuts, black mushrooms, water chestnuts, sweet pepper and peas, which we ate wrapped in a lettuce leaf.


  

Ask for chili paste to spice up your food.

Our second seafood dish was one of our favorites, Filet of Sole with Scallion & Ginger ($16.95), and our vegetable was Chinese Broccoli stir fried with fresh garlic, a vegetable that is both leafy and crunchy ($9.95).

We found that all of the dishes but the soup served four.

Filet of Sole with Scallion & Ginger.

Chinese Broccoli.

Lotus Cafe, 450 Hackensack Ave., in the Home Depot Shopping Center, Hackensack; 1-201-488-7070. BYO. Free delivery within 3 miles ($12 minimum).

Lotus Cafe is a BYO.