My 2% Costco reward certificate covers membership fee two times over

The Costco Wholesale Business Center at 80 S. River St. in Hackensack is a stress-free alternative to the bigger, far busier Costco Wholesale warehouse a few miles away in Teterboro, especially if you live nearby and want to pick up only a few things. The warehouse also has a food court.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

My 2% Reward Certificate from Costco Wholesale arrived in the mail this week and repaid me more than twice for an annual $110 Executive Membership.

The check for $241 back on Costco purchases in the past year is in addition to the $274 in cash rebates I received in February from American Express for purchases at Costco, gas stations, restaurants and other businesses.

The new Costco Visa credit card will return even more cash back then the displaced American Express card.

On Monday afternoon, I picked up KIND snack bars, mangoes and chewing gum at the Costco Wholesale Business Center in Hackensack.

I handed over my 2% Reward Certificate to pay for them, and walked away with about $209 in cash.

What's not to like?

Food photos: Spicy seafood soup, tuna salad, home cooking and more

At Ewha Won, a Korean-Chinese restaurant in Closter, a seafood soup with green noodles and oysters, called jampong, costs $1 more when you ask for the extra-spicy version containing cut up whole chili peppers ($13.99). The large bowl of soup, which will leave your lips tingling, is a filling meal for one or can be split, if you order an appetizer or another dish.

Ewha Won, at 570 Piermont Road in the Closter Commons shopping center, served us three complimentary side dishes, including crunchy radish kimchi, above, and black bean paste for the soup.

If your soup isn't spicy enough, you can always use a shaker of ground red pepper on the table. On Saturday afternoon, after a large group of parents and children were seated for a birthday party, it was difficult for me and my wife to get a refill of our water glasses or extra napkins.

The Mediterranean Salad at the Suburban Diner, 172 Route 17 north in Paramus, includes white tuna, mixed greens, Kalamata Olives, Feta Cheese, Capers and Artichoke Hearts, dressed in a vinaigrette of extra-virgin olive oil and lemon ($13.50). I took home leftovers. Organic tea is $2.50.

Jerry's Gourmet & More, 410 S. Dean St. in Englewood, was out of takeout seafood dinners when I stopped there after 4 on Friday afternoon, but I picked up two steak dinners -- complete with pasta, vegetable and salad -- for the meat eaters in the family at a reduced price of $5.99.

I'm happy with a dinner of pasta, salad and wine at home, especially when I prepare it with Luigi Vitelli-brand Organic Whole Wheat Fusilli, Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto and Organic Pignoli Nuts, the last two from Costco Wholesale in Teterboro.

After lunch on Thursday at the Suburban Diner, I stopped at Trader Joe's, 404 Route 17 north in Paramus, for two 3-pound bags of Organic Sweet Potatoes ($4.49 each). The next day, I boiled the potatoes from one bag with whole peeled garlic cloves, mashed them with extra-virgin olive oil and seasonings, and had some for breakfast with an egg-white omelet and sauteed spinach, above and below. I baked the others.

I stuffed the omelet with smoked wild salmon and fresh organic salsa, both from Costco, and dusted it with Ras el Hanout, a Moroccan spice mixture.

A kitchen-sink Frittata I made at home on Saturday morning contained slices of smoked wild salmon, chopped black olives, whole eggs, egg whites, grated cheese and fresh tomatoes. I served it with leftover organic brown rice and fresh organic salsa.

For Sunday night dinner, we shelled and deveined 2 pounds of raw frozen wild shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico that were on sale at the Paramus ShopRite ($19.98), preparing them with fresh spinach, extra-virgin olive oil, pitted green olives, fresh tomatoes, shredded cheese and lemon juice. They were ready after 10 minutes in a preheated 400-degree oven. 

At the Costco Wholesale Business Center in Hackensack, a 2-pound bag of Mayorga Organic Cafe Cubano dark roast coffee beans was $13.99, perfect for my built-in coffee machine, which grinds them for espresso, lattes and other drinks.

The Hackensack Business Center also sells 2.2-pound bags of Lavazza espresso coffee beans for about $10 less than I have seen them elsewhere.

KIND Fruit & Nut Bars are 18 for $18.99 at the Costco Business Center. The warehouse also sells 1 pound of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix -- with lettuce, arugula, radicchio, spinach and chard -- for $4.29.

 -- VICTOR E. SASSON