Riding the price roller coaster at my Costco Wholesale warehouse

The price of Kirkland Signature Wild Alaskan Smoked Sockeye Salmon rose by more than $3 -- to $18.89 for a 1-pound package -- but it wasn't the only recent increase at Costco Wholesale.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss the up-and-down prices at Costco Wholesale, a new frozen vegetable blend and an old Fort Lee diner that has gone upscale.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Another one of my favorite foods -- the 3-pound bag of raw almonds sold at Costco Wholesale -- is more expensive.

We stopped buying roasted almonds and other nuts with salt; roast raw, salt-free almonds at home and dust them with Saigon Ground Cinnamon from Costco.

They are a favorite snack.

But the 3-pound bag of U.S. No. 1 raw almonds was $14.49 on Jan. 23 at my Costco in Hackensack, compared to $12.99 on Dec. 3, 2013.

A little Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto goes a long way to boost the flavor of tofu in a takeout dinner salad, above, or two organic brown eggs from Costco Wholesale,  served with organic brown rice, below.

Up and down

Prices seem to go up and down at Costco, but at the far smaller Trader Joe's, prices stay flat.

For example, Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix at Costco is $4.49, $4.79 or $4.99 for a 1-pound tub, and the price fluctuates.

The price for other produce, such as Sunset-brand tomatoes, also varies, but 3 pounds of bananas at $1.39 is a constant and the lowest price I've found in North Jersey.

Three products with lower prices than before are Jarlsberg Lite Deli Thin Sliced Reduced Fat Swiss Cheese (2 pounds for $8.59), salted cod from Canada (2 pounds for $11.99) and fresh mahi-mahi fillets ($5.99 a pound).

On Tuesday, my wife bought 10 pounds of organic carrots at Costco for the usual price of $7.99, and 10 pounds of sweet potatoes for the same price.

Asian-style veggies

A new frozen product, Kirkland Signature Stir-Fry Vegetable Blend, is $7.59 for a 5.5-pound bag that is labeled product of "USA, Canada, China, Mexico and Thailand."

Costco charges only $6.79 for a 5-pound bag of organic mixed vegetables.

The stir-fry blend turns mushy if you cook it in a covered pan, and when I followed the instructions and stir-fried the broccoli, snap peas and other vegetables in a wok for 5 minutes, they were still cold and had to be heated up in the microwave.

A cup of organic coffee at Chillers Grill in Fort Lee is $1.99, plus tax, with at least one free refill. It doesn't measure up to a good cup of non-organic coffee. The upscale diner at 2191 Fletcher Ave. replaced the Red Oak Diner.

Wild salmon with ripe peaches, tomato and sweet plantian

Costco Wholesale's wild sockeye salmon, top, roasted with fruit and capers.

By Victor E. Sasson

Editor

The fish and fruit spend a total of 20 minutes in the oven, roasting at 375 degrees. 

You need only a few other ingredients: fresh lime juice, rinsed capers, cinnamon and ground Aleppo red pepper or paprika.

Chopped fresh herbs would be nice sprinkled over everything, but they are optional.

Cut up two ripe peaches, a beefsteak tomato and a sweet plantain, and place them  on parchment paper in a pan large enough to accommodate both fish and fruit. Dust them with ground Saigon cinnamon and Aleppo red pepper. The pan goes into the oven for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.

Cut up the salmon fillet; season with lime juice, cinnamon, ground red pepper and capers; remove the pan with the roasted fruit, add the fish and roast everything together for 10 minutes more for medium. The salmon will continue to cook after you remove the pan from the oven. 

I bought a 1.6 pound skin-on fillet of fresh wild sockeye salmon at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack on Monday, making sure the fish was packed that day ($10.99 a pound).

I used 2 peaches, a beefsteak tomato and a sweet plantain with a leathery, black skin.

The finished dish is sweet, savory, spicy and sour all at the same time. 

The sweet peaches and plantain are nice foils for the rich, heart-healthy salmon, especially when eaten together.

Serves 4.

Going nuts and getting soaked at Costco Wholesale

These 2-pound bags of raw hazelnuts at Costco Wholesale are imported from Canada, but the label says, "Product of Turkey or USA." They are $10.99 a bag.

Northern New Jersey had another day of on-and-off thunderstorms on Monday, but the rain had stopped when I got out of the car at Costco Wholesale, armed with a full-size umbrella.

As I write this, even more heavy rain is falling today, just as it did on Monday and last Friday.

On Monday, by the time I had checked out with more than $106 worth of fresh wild king salmon, smoked wild salmon, beefsteak tomatoes, seedless watermelon, canned fish and other items, Hackensack was hit by another wind-whipped rainstorm.

Back of the lot

It was a long walk to the car, which I usually park at the back of the lot to avoid the congestion of lazy shoppers who insist on a space closest to the door.

The umbrella kept my head and shoulders dry, but the wind-whipped rain soaked my shirt sleeves and the back of my pants, not to mention everything in my cart.

When I opened my car doors, the seats got wet, and when I grabbed the soaked box of 4 Tropicana half-gallons, the box broke and flew out of my hand onto the carpeted floor in front of the back seat.

A heavy, oblong seedless watermelon (no bargain at $7.49) nearly slipped out of my hands before it landed on a car seat.

One shopper abandoned a bag of sweet peppers at the Heinz Tomato Ketchup display. Did he or she think ketchup is a vegetable?

Kirkland Signature spices come in the same size jar, but their weight varies.

Snacking nuts

In the store, a display of raw, sodium-free hazelnuts caught my eye.

I decided to try a 2-pound bag for snack food, and roasted them at home in a 275-degree oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes, then dusted them with Kirkland Signature Ground Saigon Cinnamon from Vietnam.

We've been doing the same with  Costco's salt-free raw almonds, and four of us usually finish a 3-pound bag in about 10 days.

At 2 pounds for $10.99, the hazelnuts are more expensive than the almonds, but they have a distinctive taste.

At $2.59 for a 10.7-ounce bottle, Kirkland Signature Ground Saigon Cinnamon from Vietnam is one of the cheapest items in the Hackensack warehouse store. Only 3 pounds of bananas at $1.39 are cheaper.

Leftover wild king salmon with steamed organic quinoa, both from Costco.

A canned-fish salad over organic spring mix, with beefsteak tomato and hothouse cucumber, all from Costco. Canned tuna, pink salmon, and sardines are combined with chopped celery and apple, and dressed with hummus, Dijon mustard, lime juice and ground cumin.

A quick egg-white omelet with Trader Joe's Jalapeno Yogurt Cheese and Kirkland Signature Wild Alaskan Smoked Sockeye Salmon from Costco.