At Costco, plenty of wild salmon plus lower prices on almonds, quinoa

Fresh wild sockeye salmon from Costco Wholesale in Teterboro ($9.99 a pound), grilled on the stove-top and accented with homemade basil pesto, torn basil and ground Aleppo pepper.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The fresh wild salmon is running once again at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro.

I found a small refrigerated case filled with many packages of skin-on salmon fillets last Tuesday, and they were priced at a friendly $9.99 a pound.

That contrasts with shortages of fresh wild sockeye in June.

Easy grilling

Six serving portions of wild salmon needed only 7 minutes on a stove-top grill over medium-high heat (4 minutes on the skin side, then flip them for 3 minutes).

I seasoned the fish with Himalayan Pink Salt from Costco and fresh lime juice before grilling, and accented then with homemade basil pesto and torn leaves from plants in my garden. 

Six portions of fresh wild sockeye salmon cost about $17, enough to feed four with leftovers.

Kirkland Signature Almonds come in a new 3-pound bag and at a lower price, below. The raw, sodium-free almonds make a great snack after I roast them at 275 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes, then dust them with Ground Saigon Cinnamon, also sold at Costco.

Once sold in a 4-pound bag under the Nature's Intent label, Organic Quinoa now comes in a larger, 4.5-pound bag with a Kirkland Signature label, at a new, lower price, below, even without an instant rebate.

Nature's Intent Organic Quinoa -- prepared in an electric cooker with whole peeled garlic cloves, organic diced tomatoes, olive oil and salt -- is a great side dish with wild salmon and a stuffed egg-white omelet. With fewer carbs than rice or pasta, quinoa also is a good bread substitute.

Costco Wholesale seems to be the only store that doesn't offer organic whole wheat pasta from Italy. I've purchased various shapes at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods Market and ShopRite. Now, the Teterboro warehouse is offering Organic Chickpea Fusilli Pasta with the color of the whole wheat product, but at more than three times the price per pound, below.

Made in Nature Organic Pitted Dates, above, and Organic Smyrna Figs, below, are unsulfured, meaning they are free of a preservative, and have no added sugar. They taste great with those almonds from Costco.

Himalayan Pink Salt, once available only in a Kirkland Signature grinder, now comes in a 5-pound container that is ready to use in salt shakers, below. It claims to be the purest salt in the world.

These sweet peppers from Canada were labeled non-GMO.

Fresh Peeled Garlic from Miami-based Garland Food appears to have replaced the peeled California Garlic sold under the Christopher Ranch label. Last week was the first time we found a 3-pound bag of Garland garlic that didn't appear to have any dark-colored, soft cloves ($7.29). The label says the garlic comes from Argentina.

Now, Costco members can use Visa credit or debt cards at the food court in Teterboro. A large cup of Kirkland Signature Nonfat Vanilla Yogurt was $1.35.

Whole eggs or just whites, try these great breakfasts

Two organic eggs from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack served over leftover organic brown rice, both seasoned with za'atar thyme mixture from Fattal's Bakery in Paterson. The eggs also get a pinch of Aleppo pepper, also from Fattal's. As the eggs were cooking in extra-virgin olive oil, I shaved Costco's Kirkland Signature Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese over them.

A wedge of frittata made with Kirkland Signature Egg Whites from Costco, chopped garlic and green pepper, shredded cheese and fresh tomatoes. Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto was added after the frittata came out of the oven, and the wedge was served with a leftover organic brown rice-lentil dish prepared in an electric cooker.

Two organic eggs sunny side up with Aleppo pepper are served with skin-on sweet potatoes and garlic cloves that were boiled together, then mashed with extra-virgin olive oil, Costco's Himalayan Pink Salt, cinnamon and other seasoning.

This morning, I threw together a quick egg-white omelet with Kirkland Signature Wild Alaskan Smoked Sockeye Salmon and a slice of reduced-fat Swiss cheese, and ate it with leftover steamed wild haddock fillet from Costco, right, and a spinach-like green called collaloo. The Canadian haddock was $8.99 a pound.

-- VICTOR E. SASSON

Stovetop-grilled wild salmon with pesto, lime and fresh herbs

Fresh wild sockeye salmon from Costco Wholesale grills on the stove top skin side down in about 10 minutes. After I took the fish off the heat, I added Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto and chopped fresh herbs -- mint, oregano and basil. 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The price of fresh wild salmon continues to fall at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, making this wonderful fish even easier to enjoy.

I bought a 1.62-pound fillet of sockeye salmon for $9.99 a pound, enough for six serving pieces and plenty of leftovers.

On Wednesday night, I used a large All-Clad stove-top grill pan that covers two burners of my gas stove, spraying on canola oil and turning the heat to medium high to preheat it.

After a few minutes, I put three serving pieces on the grill over each burner -- skin side down. They sizzled.

The other side had been seasoned with Himalayan Pink Salt from Costco.

While the fish is cooking, I squeeze fresh lime juice over the serving pieces, which were lightly salted before they went on the grill. You won't find this vibrant color in artificially colored farmed salmon nor will it have the robust flavor of wild-caught fish. You can see the veins of heart-healthy fat.

I flip the serving pieces over to cook on the other side for a few minutes. They come out juicy, good enough to eat cold the next day over a salad.

Pesto, Aleppo pepper and herbs

After I took the fish off the heat, I season the skin side with optional Aleppo pepper, spooned on a little Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto from Costco and added chopped fresh herbs.

I ate two of the six pieces, and followed them with leafy Chinese broccoli I blanched in boiling water for a few minutes, and seasoned with a little salt, garlic powder and sesame oil.

This fresh, wild, delicious and more affordable sockeye salmon has become a weekly treat, and there are a few months left to the season.

Bravo.

Lifting my spirits at Costco Wholesale

Who knew? A slow cruise down Costco Wholesale's aisles in Hackensack led to the discovery of what is called "the purest salt in the world." Korean-Style Red Pepper Powder, below, is another product that caters to an increasing number of Korean-American shoppers.

More than a foot of snow followed by rain, fog and another sunless day.

I just couldn't get started on Monday, even after a second pot of coffee at mid-afternoon, so I jumped in the car, sure that my brightly lit Costco Warehouse store would lift my spirits.

Bad weather tends to keep Costco customers at home, and there were no lazy shoppers clogging up the entrance to the parking lot as they searched for a spot closest to the door of the Hackensack store.

Bad weather tends to keeps the crowds away.

I didn't have a list, but knew we were out of a few things. I also wanted to pick up fish for dinner. So, I took my time, and walked up and down most of the food aisles.

I've never heard of Himalayan Pink Salt, but liked that the pink, red and white crystals came in their own 13-ounce grinder bottle, great for cooking  ($4.49).

I didn't buy Kirkland Signature Organic Salsa, above, but did pick up fully cooked chickpeas in Asian Indian spices, below. Four, 10-ounce portions were $7.59.

I made sure I picked up a 42-ounce jar of Kirkland Signature Organic Strawberry Spread ($7.49), a pound of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix ($4.99), three half-gallons of Silk Vanilla Soy Milk ($7.39) and 2 pounds of Jarlsberg Light Swiss Cheese ($9.99).

We were out of low-fat organic milk, so I bought three half-gallons for $10.99. 

Two dozen organic brown eggs were $6.99, and Costco is the low-price leader on 3 pounds of bananas for $1.39.

I've never cooked with Kirkland Signature Parchment Paper, but it might be better for the environment than using aluminum foil, which may not be recyclable.

A pound of Kirkland Signature Smoked Alaskan Wild Sockeye Salmon is still $15.39, perfect for omelets or rolled up with a slice of reduced-fat cheese and dipped in mustard for a snack.

In the fish case, I found baccala -- salted Pacific cod -- for $8.99 a pound.

A few other food purchases brought my total to $109.97, but Costco doesn't require a credit-card signature on purchases under $200, up from $100.