Yuck! What does anyone see (or taste) in farmed Costco salmon?

A PALE IMITATION IN THE OVEN: Costco Wholesale in Hackensack now carries farmed salmon raised without antibiotics, but the fillets' pale color and bland taste are disappointing.

Editor's note: Don't you hate it when food stores run out of your favorite items or their computers aren't updated to give you the sales price at the register? Here are a couple of recent examples.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The wild-salmon season is nearing an end, but that's no excuse for Costco Wholesale in Hackensack to run out of those wonderful sockeye fillets, as the warehouse store did on Friday.

I could have purchased another wild-caught fish, but had my heart set on salmon, and was drawn to a farmed Atlantic salmon raised without antibiotics that I hadn't seen before at Costco.

Drug-free farmed Atlantic Salmon from Norway was $8.99 a pound, above and below, the same price I've been paying for wild-caught sockeye fillets from the United States that are deeper in color and far tastier.

Tomatoes, wine, mint no help

Unfortunately, the artificially colored farmed fish is skinless, as well as boneless, so I didn't want to grill the half-dozen serving pieces on the stove top, as I've been doing with the wonderful wild sockeye from Costco.

So, I added fresh lime juice and a little sea salt, and popped then into a preheated 375-degree oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, I opened a can of Kirkland Signature Organic Diced Tomatoes, and added them to a small pot with red wine and seasonings, turning up the heat -- with the cover slightly ajar to prevent splatters -- and reducing the mixture until it thickened. 

The finished dish looked great, and the fish was moist under its rich mantle of tomatoes and wine, but also bland and lacking in flavor. 

My conclusion is that farmed salmon is for people who know fish is good for you, yet don't like the bold taste of wild sockeye.

And, sadly, people who eat only farmed salmon may think healthy food can't taste good, too.

Costco closes, then re-opens

The Hackensack Costco I've been shopping in for nearly 20 years is closing on Oct. 13.

A bigger store is scheduled to open on Oct. 14 about 3 miles away in the Teterboro Landing Shopping Center on Route 46 in Teterboro.

The Teterboro Costco will carry private-label Kirkland Signature wines, champagne and prosecco, and have a gas station.

Farmed Atlantic Salmon with a reduction of organic diced tomatoes and red wine, garnished with chopped fresh mint and Aleppo pepper, above. This morning, I used leftover fish to fill wraps made with thin whole-wheat pocket bread, a garlicky hummus, tomato slices and za'atar thyme mixture, below.

Two 44-ounce jars of Classico Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce, which has less than 2% of added sugar, were on sale at ShopRite in Paramus for $6.19 with a store card. The "Club Size Savings" and "No Membership Fees" are references to such warehouse stores as Costco Wholesale.

Also on sale at the Paramus ShopRite were 24-ounce jars of Classico Spicy Red Pepper Pasta Sauce for $1.49 each, but the store's register wasn't updated and that delayed what I had hoped would be a quick shopping trip. Unlike Tomato & Basil, the Spicy Red Pepper Pasta Sauce has no added sugar.

Price mix-up at checkout

Do I expect the ShopRite in Paramus and every other store to update their computers when they put food on sale?

Of course, but on Friday morning, I got stuck at the checkout register while a manager went to the shelf to see if two jars of pasta sauce were on sale for $1.49 each, as I said they were.

I took a photo of the Classico Spicy Red Pepper jars and the shelf tag showing the reduction to $1.49 from $2.39, but that wasn't good enough for the man who was summoned over when they rang up at the higher price.

He had to see it with his own eyes.

When he returned, he gave me one jar for free and rang up the other one at $1.49. I thought both should have been free, but I guess the store was saying my time isn't that valuable.

I had planned a quick stop on the way home from the gym to recycle plastic bags and buy sweet potatoes.

But the store had no conventional sweet potatoes, so I bought organic whole-wheat pasta and bottled pasta sauce to avoid a total waste of time.

At Jerry's Gourmet & More, 410 S. Dean St., Englewood, 2.2-pound bags of Gimoka Whole Coffee Beans from Italy were only $9.99 last Wednesday, less than half of the usual price for beans from Lavazza and other companies.

Jerry's was out of restaurant-quality Meals To Go, complete takeout dinners with an entree, vegetables and pasta that can be plated and re-heated in a microwave. This fresh artichoke salad came with Grouper Oreganata, a dinner I bought for my wife a few weeks ago. The dinners are $7.99 ($5.99 after 4 p.m., if there are any left).

Obese family shops for sweets at Balthazar Bakery in Englewood

This obese man and teenager, along with an obese girl who might have been the boy's sister, were among customers buying pastries on Wednesday afternoon in the crowded retail shop of Balthazar Bakery in Englewood, where Memorial Day weekend shoppers had to wait on a line for service. 

A 4-inch Mango-Passion Fruit Tart was $4.50.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

My visits to Balthazar Bakery on South Dean Street in Englewood have become routine.

Every two or three weeks, on a Wednesday afternoon, I stop there for two baguettes, still $2 each more than a dozen years after the wholesale bakery's retail store opened.

I usually find one or two customers ahead of me.

Then, I get back into the car and drive a half-mile or so to Jerry's Gourmet & More to sample cheese and olive oil, and buy restaurant-quality takeout dinners.

This past Wednesday, I encountered more than a dozen other customers lining up to buy pastries and bread for the Memorial Day weekend.

I couldn't find a space in the small parking lot, and yelled at a woman who bounded out of a Mercedes-Benz in the handicap-parking space, "You're handicapped?"

She said she would move soon, but that her autistic child was inside the car, which she left running.

Close quarters

I parked across the street in the lot of a building under construction, risking my life to cross the street -- a twisting two-lane, one-way speedway -- to reach the bakery.

Inside the small retail store, the line included an obese man with gray hair and a teenage boy choosing pastries that they certainly didn't need.

Nearby, an obese girl, presumably the boy's sister, waited for them to pay, and they left together.

Like SUVs and other large vehicles that take up more room on the road, increasing traffic congestion, this trio took up more room in the cramped store, making my wait even more uncomfortable than usual.

Struggling with weight

I was uncomfortable on two scores:

Looking at fat people isn't my favorite pastime, reminding me of my struggles with weight since I was a teenager.

And my will power is sorely tested by all of the great pastries displayed at the counter of the French bakery.

Customers at Starbucks on Essex Street in Hackensack on April 28.

Curry simmered cod, takeout tales, sweet potato frittata and more

Fresh wild Atlantic cod fillet from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack ($7.99 a pound) poaches in Curry Simmer Sauce from Trader Joe's in about seven minutes, and makes a quick, filling dinner when plated with leftover organic quinoa.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

A 15-ounce jar of Trader Joe's Curry Simmer Sauce is a nice change of pace from the Mexican-style salsa I often use to poach fresh fish in less than 10 minutes.

What could be easier than emptying the bottle into a large pan, cutting fresh wild Atlantic cod into serving pieces and squeezing fresh lime juice over them.

Ground Turkish red pepper is optional. Heat the sauce to a low boil, put the fish in the pan and cover.

When the fish fillets firm up and turn snowy white, they are done (seven minutes). 

A jar of Asian Indian-style Curry Simmer Sauce is $2.49 at the Paramus Trader Joe's. I passed on a Masala Simmer Sauce, which contains cream.

Labels don't indicate whether the sauces are medium or hot. They are neither; there is only a hint of spiciness in the Curry Simmer Sauce, despite the red pepper listed among ingredients.

Use the cooking medium as a sauce for the quinoa, rice or pasta you serve with the fish.

I had leftover organic quinoa from Costco I had prepared in a large batch in an electric rice cooker with low-sodium black beans, chopped garlic and organic diced tomatoes.

A perfect, restaurant-quality takeout dinner from Jerry's Gourmet & More, 410 S. Dean St., in Englewood, was $7.99. My Meal To Go included Tilapia Marechiaro (tomatoes, garlic and parsley), Baked Cauliflower, Linguine with Shrimp Scampi and Shrimp & Broccoli Dumplings. Three other dinners included Chicken Cordon Bleu stuffed with ham and cheese or Chicken Cacciatore with mushrooms, plus pasta, vegetable and dumplings or ravioli.

Grilled Salted Codfish is smothered with onions, garlic, sweet pepper and black olives, and served with steamed broccoli and carrots at Fire Pit Barbecue, a Portuguese restaurant at 357 Essex St., Hackensack ($19). We took advantage of free delivery on Saturday night.

Snow prompts call for delivery

On Saturday night, we wanted to celebrate the Chinese New Year with a special Year of the Sheep menu at Lotus Cafe in Hackensack, but a snowstorm changed our plans.

Instead, I picked up the phone and ordered two entrees for delivery from Fire Pit Barbecue, a Portuguese restaurant in Hackensack that uses wood charcoal.

Grilled Codfish with steamed vegetables was $19. A large order of Pork Chops in Garlic Sauce (three large chops) with yellow rice and black beans was $14. Each entree serves three.

A side of Steamed Vegetables was $3, and three Cod Cakes were $1.25 each.

The nasty, subfreezing weather last week also discouraged us from going into Manhattan for the start of Restaurant Week, when hundreds of the best restaurants offer three-courses lunches for $25 and three-course dinners for $38, plus tax and tip.

The promotion ends March 6. See: NYC Restaurant Week

A 10-inch Sweet Potato and Pesto Frittata made with whole eggs, tomato slices and reduced-fat Swiss cheese provides about eight wedges that make breakfast easy to prepare, below.

A wedge of Sweet Potato Frittata served with leftover broccoli and a large baked sweet potato with Mexican-style salsa for breakfast is hearty enough to allow me to skip lunch.

An open-face omelet made with 100% egg whites, a slice of reduced-fat Swiss cheese and smoked wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon, all from Costco, is another filling breakfast when served with leftover quinoa and mashed sweet potatoes.

At H Mart in Little Ferry today, a box of nine large Korean Pears -- weighing a total of more than 11 pounds -- was on sale for $17.99, a discount of $5. The crisp, juicy fruit is a cross between a pear and an apple. 

Fresh Wild Shad were only $1.99 a pound. I bought four whole Porgy for $3.99 a pound.

A whole porgy prepared escovitch-style, pan fried and dressed in a peppery vinegar sauce.

Stewed Tofu with onion, garlic and red pepper from Jinga, one of the Korean caterers that supplies the Little Ferry H Mart. A 12-ounce package is $4.29. 

Potholes and flooding in the Little Ferry H Mart parking lot may not stop shoppers, but using cardboard boxes in front of the entrance instead of a rubberized mat is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

When sun hides, homemade comfort food can help to lift your spirits

The yolks of two organic eggs from Costco Wholesale, served over organic brown rice, are the closest things to the sun I've seen lately.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Northern New Jersey has seen one dreary day after another, and the sun isn't going to be visible until Friday, according to the forecast I saw this afternoon.

That may be why, for breakfast today, I fried two organic eggs sunny side up, and added grated Pecorino Romano cheese before sliding them out of the pan over organic brown rice.

Another comfort dish I prepared for dinner this week were organic whole-wheat pasta shells from Whole Foods Market with anchovies and sardines.

My wife thawed hake fillets from Costco Wholesale and smothered them with onion, garlic, sweet pepper and fresh thyme.

When gloomy weather prevails, eating well is a sure way to lift your spirits. 

A glass of red wine with dinner doesn't hurt either, especially when it's California Cabernet Sauvignon from Costco, a great value at $4 a bottle.

My wife baked hake fillets with onion, garlic, sweet peppers and thyme. I added fresh lime juice at the table.

Grated Pecorino Romano from Costco Wholesale is the finishing touch after you've plated organic whole-wheat pasta shells with anchovies and sardines. I used cans of tomato paste, tomato sauce and diced organic tomatoes -- along with red wine, olive oil and seasoning -- to make the sauce.

I used homemade creamy Italian Dressing from Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood to dress my salad of organic spring mix, cucumber slices and pomegranate seeds. The dressing is made with mustard, anchovies and fresh garlic.

At Bloomingdale's in Hackensack today, I saw this French-made pot. The price: $521.

Does dried pasta ever 'expire'?

Image via Wikipedia

I returned today to Gourmet Marketplace in Little Ferry, where I found products from Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood on my first visit Dec. 15. 


I wanted to get a few bottles of a great-tasting balsamic vinegar of Modena called Ponti, 99 cents for a 16.9 ounces (look for the word "primus" on the label).


Imported Lensi-brand Italian pasta was on sale for only 50 cents a pound, but when I got home, I saw "Jan. 17, 2010" on one of the packages and wondered if that was an expiration date. 


Does dried pasta "expire"? Do you remember the TV commercial that said dried pasta outlasts most marriages?


I bought a 16-ounce package of spaghetti and another of fettuccine. I also saw ziti, but you have to buy four, 1-pound packages for $2.


Gourmet Marketplace is in the former Valley Fair 
on Bergen Turnpike, near the Little Ferry Circle,
now called Value Fair. Credit-card minimum.