From the store to the plate with only a few simple steps in between

ISLAND SALAD: Using cooked conch I brought home from H&Y, a Korean supermarket in Ridgefield, my wife produced a colorful and delicious salad, adding minced garlic; chopped onion, sweet and hot peppers, and lime juice. The result reminded me of the spicy Conch Salad I once had in the Bahamas, where they say "conk."

AFTER DINNER: A quick after-dinner salad made with triple-washed Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix, tomatoes from our garden, extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. You can turn this salad into a main course by adding smoked wild salmon and shaved Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, both available at Costco Wholesale.

COMFORT FOOD: Mashed organic sweet potatoes from Trader Joe's, organic carrots from Costco Wholesale and Kabocha Squash from H Mart in Englewood were boiled with peeled garlic cloves for about an hour, below. Sweet potatoes, mashed or baked, are a great bread substitute that you can eat to your heart's content.

NO NEED FOR BUTTER: Drain, return to the pot and add extra-virgin olive oil and as many seasonings as you have on hand, including curry powder, cinnamon, black pepper, red-pepper flakes, a little sea salt and whatever else you like, then mash. I make enough to provide side dishes for several breakfasts and dinners or as a snack at midday.

GOOD BUY: At Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, 10-pound bags of conventional sweet potatoes cost about 79 cents a pound.

BAKED PLANTAINS: A baked sweet potato, with a little organic salsa, and baked -- not fried -- sweet plantains, all served alongside an egg-white omelet stuffed with smoked wild salmon and reduced-fat Swiss cheese. Most of the ingredients are from the Hackensack Costco.

BOTTLE-AND-CAN PASTA: Organic whole-wheat spirals in marinara sauce with drained and rinsed anchovies, sardines, red wine, extra-virgin olive oil and seasonings, including red-pepper flakes and ground garlic. Instead of grated cheese, I added panko bread crumbs as an accent. I used a 44-ounce jar of pasta sauce, one can of anchovies, three cans of sardines in tomato sauce and a 1-pound package of Luigi Vitelli-brand Organic Whole Wheat Fusilli from ShopRite ($1.25), enough for several meals.

-- VICTOR E. SASSON

You can enjoy perfectly grilled, juicy wild salmon in only 6 minutes

Fresh wild sockeye salmon from Costco Wholesale spends only 6 minutes on a preheated stove-top grill. Here, I served it with Costco pesto and organic salsa, as well as chopped mint and other herbs from our garden.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

We cook fresh wild salmon at home nearly every week during the season, which runs from June to October at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

A friend who just returned from a vacation in Alaska reported rivers are thick with salmon struggling to swim upstream and lay their eggs.

The price of fresh wild sockeye fillets has fallen steadily since June, and I've learned a thing or two about cooking this wonderful fish on a preheated stove-top grill.

For one thing, I was cooking the fillets too long -- 8 minutes to 10 minutes.

I reduced the cooking time to 6 minutes, and they came out juicier.

The longer cooking time is appropriate for wild king salmon fillets, which are thicker than sockeye.

Wild sockeye fillets are thinner and smaller than both king and Costco's artificially colored farmed Atlantic salmon, which are probably raised on antibiotics.

I usually get six serving pieces from about 2 pounds of wild salmon, and add sea salt and fresh lime juice before arranging the pieces skin-side down on the large, rectangular preheated grill.

The All-Clad Grill is 20 inches long and 13 inches wide, and the fish cooks best at both ends -- over the burners.

Quick dinners

Besides quick-cooking wild fish, my strategy for putting a meal on the table in less than 10 minutes includes making such side dishes as quinoa, brown rice, pasta and baked or mashed sweet potatoes in large quantities.

Then, you can plate and reheat some, add your wild salmon, enjoy dinner and finish with a big salad of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix, also from Costco. 

In the morning, two organic eggs, sunny side up, are wonderful over sweet potatoes mashed with extra-virgin olive oil, especially when you break the yolks over them.

The All-Clad Grill I use straddles two burners of my stove. I preheat it, use spray oil and turn the heat on both burners to medium-high before adding the fish, skin-side down. After 3 minutes, I turn the pieces, and then again onto the skin for the last minute. If you're serving the salmon with ripe peach halves, grill them first, because they need much more time.

A package of 2 pounds of Fresh Wild Sockeye Salmon yields about six serving pieces.

An electric cooker full of organic brown rice, organic diced tomatoes, low-sodium red beans and chopped fresh garlic, prepared with extra-virgin olive oil. The leftovers allow you to put dinner or breakfast on the table in minutes.

Costco egg whites and fresh blueberries are up, wild salmon is down

Medium-spicy Kirkland Signature Organic Salsa, a new item at Costco Wholesale, tastes great, judging from a free sample I tried in the Hackensack warehouse store today. Each of the two jars holds 2 pounds 6 ounces of salsa ($7.89).

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Tens of millions of egg-laying chickens caught the flu and farmers killed them, raising the price of eggs, according to news reports last month. 

At Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, the impact has varied:

Kirkland Signature Egg Whites (six 16-ounce cartons for $9.99) were replaced by Egg Beaters, the same 100% pure egg whites, but members now get only four 16-ounce cartons for $8.99.

Meanwhile, the price of cage-free Kirkland Signature Organic Eggs doesn't seem to have been affected (two dozen whole eggs for $6.99).

Egg Beaters replaced Kirkland Signature Egg Whites.

Two organic eggs from Costco Wholesale made for a hearty breakfast over organic whole wheat pasta with sardines and chopped garlic. The price of organic whole eggs hasn't been affected by avian flu.

Blueberries and wild salmon

On Wednesday, my wife came home with an 18-ounce package of fresh blueberries from Michigan for $4.99, compared to a 32-ounce package of Jersey blueberries she bought at Costco a couple of weeks ago for $5.99.

But Costco has again reduced the price of fresh wild sockeye salmon fillets, this time to $8.99 from $9.99.

Tonight, I plan to grill the salmon on the stove top with a little sea salt and fresh lime juice, and serve it with Kirkland Signature Organic Salsa and Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto.

Now, fresh wild sockeye salmon fillets are $8.99 a pound, only $2 more a pound than artificially colored farmed Atlantic salmon, below.

What gives with Egg Beaters 100% Egg Whites at Costco Wholesale?

My wife went to Costco Wholesale in Hackensack today, looking for Kirkland Signature 100% Egg Whites, but she came home with Egg Beaters 100% Egg Whites. And she ended up paying more for less product.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I warmed up quickly to Kirkland Signature 100% Egg Whites at Costco Wholesale.

Costco introduced the 100% Egg Whites to replace Kirkland Signature Real Egg Product, which was 99% egg whites, plus color, spices, salt, onion powder, xanthan gum and other ingredients not found in the real thing.

The new liquid product was cholesterol-free and had no saturated fat, but was thin and watery.

Still, it produced terrific egg-white omelets you could stuff with smoked wild salmon, cooked fresh spinach, cheeses, salsa and other ingredients.

Egg Beaters?

This morning, my wife went to the Hackensack Costco, but couldn't find Kirkland Signature 100% Egg Whites -- six 16-ounce cartons for $9.99 that were introduced a little over two years ago.

Instead, she brought home an Egg Beaters package, which doesn't offer as much value as Kirkland Signature did, containing only four 16-ounce cartons of 100% Egg Whites for $8.99.

That means you get one-third less product (four cartons instead of six) for only a dollar less than the Kirkland Signature version.

What gives, Costco?

Is this a temporary substitute for the Kirkland Signature version? Or is this change permanent? 

Cage-free controversy

Costco has been severely criticized recently for saying it would stop selling whole eggs from caged chickens, but continuing to do so years after the pledge.

If you buy Costco's Kirkland Signature Organic Eggs, the package is labeled cage free.

There was no such labeling on Kirkland Signature 100% Egg Whites or the new version from Egg Beaters.

The latter are from Con Agra Foods in Omaha, Neb., the big packaged-food company that doesn't have the greatest reputation.

A Kirkland Signature 100% Egg Whites omelet I made this morning with my last carton. I stuffed it with cooked fresh organic spinach, two kinds of cheese (reduced-fat Swiss and shredded Parmigiano Reggiano) and salsa, and ate it with sweet plantains and leftover organic brown rice.

Marriage of eggs and pasta in the morning is made in cooking heaven

I poached two organic eggs from Costco Wholesale in marinara sauce and extra-virgin olive oil with shredded Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, a little basil pesto and chopped herbs from my garden, and served them for breakfast over leftover organic linguine with sardines.

Editor's note: Eating a heart-healthy diet doesn't mean you have to give up on flavor or comfort foods, such as organic whole-wheat linguine eaten with the yolks of organic eggs, poached in marinara sauce, sunny side up.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I poached two organic eggs in marinara left over from making organic whole-wheat linguine with sardines the night before, and served them with the pasta for a hearty, rib-sticking breakfast.

Twirling the linguine in the broken yolk and marinara adds layers of sensual flavor.

Since embarking on a heart-healthy diet more than five years ago, organic whole wheat pasta is one of my bread substitutes at breakfast -- good with whole eggs, egg-white omelets, frittatas and other foods.

I used a 10-inch GreenPan, about a cup of marinara and a few ounces of extra-virgin olive oil.

When the mixture started to simmer, I broke two eggs into the pan and added shredded cheese and, later, chopped fresh mint, parsley and oregano from my garden. 

Organic eggs over organic whole-wheat linguine.

Linguine with sardines

I heated up leftovers from 1 pound of linguine I had made for dinner the night before with:

Victoria Marinara Sauce, red wine, extra-virgin olive oil, a can of drained and rinsed anchovies, three cans of Moroccan sardines in tomato sauce, capers and such seasonings as black pepper, ground garlic and red-pepper flakes.

The Luigi Vitelli-brand Organic Whole Wheat Linguine came from ShopRite in Paramus, and many of the other ingredients are from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

See more heart-healthy ideas below:

An egg-white omelet stuffed with fresh spinach, smoked wild salmon and reduced-fat cheese, served over leftover organic quinoa prepared in an electric cooker.

For an egg-less breakfast, I heated up leftover whole wheat pappardelle from Jerry's Gourmet and More in Englewood, dressed in Costco's Basil Pesto and pine nuts, and stewed tofu from H Mart in Little Ferry, and served them with fresh spinach sauteed in olive oil.

H Mart in Englewood usually sells fresh wild-caught whole red snapper for $7.99 a pound ($26.37 for three). Here, my wife seasoned the fish, added fresh tomato, okra and onions, closed the aluminum-foil to form a pouch and roasted them for 30 minutes in the oven at 450 degrees.

Costco Wholesale in Hackensack is a victim of its own success

Large seedless watermelons were $6.99 each on Friday at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

Editor's note: A replacement for the crowded Costco Wholesale in Hackensack can't come soon enough. Today, I also discuss inexpensive bottles at Total Wine in River Edge, and good deals on canned goods from Jamaica at ShopRite in Rochelle Park.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Costco Wholesale in Hackensack opened nearly 21 years ago and has become so popular members know to stay away on the weekends.

I drove over on Friday, hoping to order prints of photos in my iPhone and get a new pair of glasses with HD progressive lenses.

The first sign of a crowd was a long line of cars turning into the entrance from South River Street, prompting me to make an illegal U-turn and enter at the back of the lot, far from the front doors.

The poor design of the lot allows lazy customers to wait for a space near the doors, but that often backs up traffic and blocks South River, especially on Saturdays and Sundays.

The photo counter wasn't busy at all, and I was able to hook up my phone with a store-provided cable and order more than 60 photos for our scrapbooks.

Evil eye

But when I walked over to the eye-wear counter, two other members eyed me suspiciously, silently letting me know they were waiting for a salesperson to help them. 

I didn't feel like waiting. I went looking for a few free food samples, but most contained chicken or beef, which I no longer eat.

Then, I strolled over to a refrigerated room, picked up a pound of organic baby spinach ($4.79) and went to the check-out counter.

My wife has been making our weekly food-shopping trip to the warehouse store in the last couple of months. 

I may keep it that way until a bigger Costco opens or remember to go to the Hackensack store only on Mondays to Thursdays.

No Costco wine in Teterboro

A new, bigger Costco is expected to open in Teterboro in the fall -- adding six miles to my round trip, compared to the Hackensack location.

But from what Hackensack employees say, the new store may not be such a big improvement.

Costco didn't buy a state liquor license for the Teterboro store, meaning members won't be able to take advantage of Kirkland Signature's good values in wines, such as a delicious California Cabernet Sauvignon and a "Superiore" Prosecco from Italy.

So, the closest Costco with Kirkland Signature wines remains the new store at the Willowbrook Shopping Center in Wayne, a 21-mile round trip.

The new Teterboro Costco will have a gas station for my wife's miserly hybrid, but I've heard the waits can be so long many members don't bother. 

And I won't have any use for it when I drive there in my all-electric car.

The tire store in Teterboro is expected to be larger, but I don't know whether members can have their wheels aligned after they buy new rubber.

In Hackensack, buying new tires at Costco means low prices, but you have to go to another shop for an alignment.

Costco offers extra-cost installation services, but you will have to take your new large-screen TV home by yourself.

Last week, my wife brought home a 20-pound bag of Deer-brand basmati rice from India that comes in a sealed bag tucked inside a zippered burlap one ($19.79). Consumer Reports says basmati varieties contain less arsenic than other types of rice, even those grown in California.

Kirkland Signature is Costco's house brand for premium products, but here the label is applied to artificially colored farmed salmon from Chile, with no information on whether the fish are raised on harmful antibiotics and other additives. Costco also sells canned wild pink salmon, a better choice.

We loved a new item, Kirkland Signature Greek Yogurt Fruit on the Bottom, but the second time we purchased it, the yogurt was much too thick and unpleasant to eat. We used the remaining cups to make smoothies with frozen strawberries, fresh bananas and juice.

Reds under $6.50 at Total Wine

An advertising flier for Total Wine & More in River Edge listed a 750-milliliter bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from California for $2.67.

So, I stopped there on Saturday and embarked on a search for that bottle and other inexpensive reds.

Red wines under $6.50 are scattered throughout the large store, making you work for the bargains. 

I picked up two bottles of Pacific Peak Cabernet ($2.67 each), a bottle of Double Dog Dare Cabernet ($4.49), Canyon Oaks Cabernet ($4.99), Mendoza Station Malbec from Argentina ($5.99) and Oak Grove Merlot Reserve ($6.49).

If you buy six bottle of wine with prices ending in "9," the store gives you a 10% discount on all of them.

Total Wine & More, 135 Kinderkamack Road, River Edge; 201-968-1777.

Ackee and callaloo

A Jamaican fruit called ackee and a green called callaloo are essential when preparing Jamaican food at home.

Ackee goes into the national dish, Ackee and Salt Fish, which uses the bland fruit as a foil for hot peppers and salted cod.

Callaloo is a spinach-like green that can be served as a side dish with or without diced sweet peppers.

On Friday, at ShopRite in Rochelle Park, my wife picked up a two dozen 19-ounce cans of Grace-brand Ackees in Salt Water for $7.49 each.

At Hackensack Market on Passaic Street, a 19-ounce can of ackee was $10.99.

A 19-ounce can of Grace-brand Callaloo, chopped, was $2.29 a can. She purchased 19 of them.

At H Mart, fish dinner for four can cost under $10, free seafood samples

On Sunday, my wife baked five fresh wild-caught whole porgy with olive oil, fresh lime juice, onions, tomatoes, sweet peppers and fresh garlic.

Our side dish was cabbage sauteed with sweet peppers.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss food shopping at H Mart in Little Ferry, ShopRite in Paramus and Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, and the meals you can assemble with ingredients from them.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I never know what I'll find when I shop for fresh fish on the weekends at the H Mart in Little Ferry or how low the price will be.

On Sunday, I found whole porgy nestled in ice for only $1.79 a pound, and five of them rang up at $8.40.

While I waited for the fish to be cleaned and scaled, I chatted with other customers and went over to tables offering free seafood samples.

I also picked up nearly 2 pounds of Gaichoy or Baby Mustard Greens on sale for only 78 cents a pound with a store card.

Today, my wife prepared them for dinner with olive oil, chopped fresh garlic, sea salt and Organic No-Salt Seasoning, all from Costco Wholesale.

At H Mart in Little Ferry, free weekend seafood samples are conveniently placed near the fresh-fish counter to give customers something to do while their catch is being cleaned. Samples include seafood pancakes, foreground; boiled octopus, smoked farmed salmon and broiled eel.

The Korean supermarket at 260 Bergen Turnpike in Little Ferry also sells a wide array of dried seafood, above and below, and I expect many of them are for use in soups or stews.

Customers can only hope H Mart management will decide to renovate what is the shabbiest store in the chain.

ShopRite in Paramus

At ShopRite in Paramus on Tuesday, I bought a large Golden Pineapple for $2.99, and two 15-ounce containers of Smart Balance Light Spread made with Extra Virgin Olive Oil on sale for $2.99 each, a discount of 60 cents.

Smart Balance has gone on sale for as little as $1.89 with a store card, but I haven't seen that repeated in many months.

At ShopRite in Paramus, 26-ounce bottles of Colonna Pasta Sauce are on sale for 69 cents each, but the Garlic & Onion and Meat-Flavored contain high fructose corn syrup. Vodka Sauce lists heavy cream as the second largest ingredient. I'll pass on all three.

The 40-ounce bottle of Victoria Marinara is $8.49 at the Paramus ShopRite, 224 Route 4 east, but you can get two 40-ounce jars of the same sauce for $8.99 at Costco Wholesale on South River Street in Hackensack.

I continue to perfect 10-inch egg-white omelets, cooking fresh spinach in a little oil in a separate pan before transferring it to the omelet and folding it. Other ingredients include smoked wild salmon and reduced-fat sliced Swiss cheese from Costco, which also sells 100% egg whites.

A big breakfast omelet stuffed with smoked salmon and spinach, served with leftover organic brown rice and broccoli, allows me to skip lunch.

This morning, I prepared an organic whole-egg omelet with salted fish, fresh spinach and Mateo's Gourmet Salsa, the last from Costco Wholesale, above and below.

The omelet is ready to be folded.

Bring home the bacon, but don't forget to eat pasta with your eggs

An open-face egg-white omelet with smoked wild salmon from Costco Wholesale and sun-dried tomatoes, served for breakfast over leftover organic whole-wheat pasta corkscrews from Italy that are only $1.25 a pound at ShopRite.

Editor's note: Food prices in most stores usually go up periodically. At Costco Wholesale, they've been known to go up and down without explanation. Now, Trader Joe's, where prices have stayed the same for years, is starting to raise prices on some items, including bacon.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I'm retired, but I still bring home the bacon for the meat eaters in my family from Trader Joe's, a reliable source of uncured, antibiotic-free pork.

For years, you could find Trader Joe's Uncured Bacon for $3.99 and $4.49, but on Friday and on a previous trip, I could not find that item in the Route 17 store in Paramus.

I did find a 12-ounce package of W-brand All Natural Uncured Bacon for $5.49.

Trader Joe's Uncured Beef Hot Dogs and Jumbo Uncured Franks are now $4.99 each, a hike of 50 cents.

Since I stopped eating meat and poultry more than five years ago, I eat pasta -- not bacon -- with my eggs, and enjoy plenty of wild-caught fish.

The pasta also is a good substitute for bread or a bagel at breakfast. 

An organic egg from Costco over leftover pasta made for a quick dinner with a salad and a glass of wine. I used 1 pound of pasta and a 24-ounce jar of Victoria Vodka Sauce, which gets its richness from cheese, not heavy cream. To the sauce, I added red wine, anchovies, extra-virgin olive oil and a can of organic diced tomatoes.

Fresh wild Atlantic Cod fillets from Costco Wholesale are boneless and skinless, and cost only $7.99 a pound. They poach in about 7 minutes in Whole Foods Market Roasted Chipotle Salsa, and can be served over sweet potatoes and peeled garlic cloves mashed with extra-virgin olive oil. 

Bring the sauce to a boil in a covered pan, then add the fish. The serving pieces, dusted with ground Turkish pepper, will firm up and turn snowy white in about 7 minutes in the covered pan. For a thicker sauce, omit the fresh lime juice I used, and add the lime at the table.

Fresh strawberries and 1% lactose-free milk over Bob's Red Mill Hot Cereal is a nice change of pace on mornings when I don't have eggs.

Chinese New Year food delivery, taking comfort in sweet potatoes

On Sunday night, as snow fell, we belatedly celebrated the Year of the Sheep, which began Feb. 19, with delivery from Lotus Cafe in Hackensack, including a special Chinese New Year Dinner of fresh fish and snow pea leaves.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Another snowstorm put a damper on our Sunday night plans to celebrate the Chinese New Year at Lotus Cafe in Hackensack.

Luckily, we live within the restaurant's delivery zone, and I picked up the phone and placed our order.

We ordered one Year of the Sheep Special (hold the lamb), a four-course meal for $29.95, and supplemented that with three other dishes.

A second helping of Lotus Cafe fish and vegetables, without brown rice, included snow pea leaves, Chinese broccoli and crunchy snow peas and water chestnuts.

Our Chinese New Year Special, a fixed-priced four-course meal, included a Lobster Spring Roll and Chinese mustard.

Fish, vegetables, brown rice

For the Chinese New Year Special, I chose Hot and Sour Seafood Soup and Flounder with Snow Pea Leaves.

Other entree choices were filet mignon, duck either of two ways or jumbo shrimp.

For an appetizer, we got a Lobster Spring Roll and Grilled Chicken Skewers. Dessert was ice cream.

We also ordered Beef with Mustard Greens and Chili Pepper ($14.95), Prawns with crunchy Snow Peas ($16.95) and Chinese Broccoli with fresh garlic ($9.95).

All of the food was delicious, and I washed it down with the bottle of Yuengling Original Black & Tan beer I was planning to take to the Hackensack Avenue BYO.

And we have leftovers for breakfast and dinner today.

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

I boiled three large sweet potatoes from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack (a 6.5-pound bag was $5.79), and fistfuls of peeled Christopher Ranch Monviso Garlic (a 3-pound bag was $6.39) to mash with extra-virgin olive oil and a multitude of seasoning, including sea salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper, red-pepper flakes and curry powder.

Sweet potatoes are less starchy

Sweet potatoes, baked or mashed, are a cornerstone of the no-bread, no pizza, no meat diet I've been following for five years.

They're less starchy than yams or conventional potatoes, and widely available at ShopRite, Trader Joe's and Costco Wholesale.

The first two offer both conventional and organic sweet potatoes, and Trader Joe's has the best deals.

I often eat sweet potatoes for breakfast to supplement prepared food from Korean supermarkets and homemade dishes.

A baked sweet potato accented with Mexican-style salsa is a filling side dish at breakfast. The whole egg omelet is stuffed with reduced-fat Swiss cheese and grated Pecorino Romano, a sheep's milk cheese from Italy.

Another bread substitute is a steaming portion of organic whole-wheat linguine dressed in bottled Victoria Marinara with skinless-and-boneless sardines, part of a satisfying homemade dinner of pasta, salad and red wine.

Earthbound Organic Spring Mix and Sunset-brand Romana Tomatoes dressed in organic extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Comfort food from the Jamaican kitchen includes fried sweet plantains and boiled green banana as foils for the hot peppers in a breakfast of ackee (a bland fruit) and salted Alaskan pollock.

Plating leftovers from the Korean, Jamaican, Chinese and American kitchens for breakfast (clockwise from the top), stewed tofu from H Mart in Little Ferry, homemade ackee and salt fish; crunchy snow peas and water chestnuts from Lotus Cafe; and sweet potatoes and garlic mashed with extra-virgin olive oil. Other breakfasts have included Korean mung-bean pancakes and batter-dipped squid, both from H&Y Marketplace in Ridgefield.