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).

No more big discounts on grass-fed Australian beef

Free-range, grass-fed Australian beef, left, and grain-fed American beef at ShopRite in Paramus. The American beef was probably raised on heavy doses of animal antibiotics and growth hormones, and confined to feeding pens.

The label of the vacuum-packed Australian Whole Beef Tenderloin for Filet Mignon that I purchased on Monday.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss Nature's Reserve beef from Australia, and wild-caught sockeye salmon fillets from Costco Wholesale.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I've been checking the price of free-range, grass-fed Australian beef at ShopRite in Paramus in recent weeks, hoping the price would drop to the lows of the past.

But on Monday, I decided there was no chance ShopRite would be selling Nature's Reserve whole beef tenderloins for $4.99 a pound, as the supermarket chain did in 2010.

I bought a 6.35-pound tenderloin on sale for $7.99 a pound with a store card, a discount of $2 a pound.

My wife will trim and thinly slice the beef in three portions of about 2 pounds each, add Korean marinade, freeze it and, when the time comes, grill the beef on the stove top for lettuce-wrapped barbecue meals.

I once enjoyed those meals, because the quality of beef at Korean restaurants is questionable, but I no longer eat meat.

ShopRite in Paramus put Barilla pasta sauces on sale this week, but they contain added sugar, a turn-off, and I passed. Barilla is supposed to be the No 1 brand in Italy.

Instead, I bought 25-ounce jars of two so-called premium pasta sauces on sale, one labeled ShopRite Special Edition ($2.49), left, and the other from Silver Palate ($2.99). Neither has added sugar.

Just off the grill and still steaming, fresh, wild Canadian sockeye salmon with an organic diced tomato sauce and organic quinoa. Most of the ingredients are from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

Last weeks for wild salmon 

If past years are any guide, fresh wild salmon fillets won't be available for much longer at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

On Monday, I picked up a 1.92-pound fillet of sockeye salmon that yielded six portions. The price was $8.99 a pound.

I grilled them on the stove top, and served them with organic quinoa I prepared with chicken stock and small garlic cloves in an electric cooker.

I ended the meal with a salad of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix from Costco (1 pound for $4.79), dressed simply with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

The serving pieces -- veined with heart-healthy fat -- are seasoned with Himalayan Pink Salt and fresh lime juice, grilled on the stove top for 10 minutes and turned once for medium rare. When the grill pan is taken off the heat, the fish will continue to cook.

A can of Kirkland Signature Organic Diced Tomatoes, chopped garlic cloves, red wine and fresh oregano are cooked separately from the fish. Cook the garlic in extra-virgin olive oil, add the other ingredients and bring the sauce to a boil to reduce and thicken it.

Jarlsberg Lite price hike

I was shocked to see the 2-pound package of Jarlsberg Lite Reduced Fat Swiss Cheese is now back up to $9.49 at my Hackensack Costco.

That's the second 50-cent price hike in recent months.

Also, Jarlsberg has been cutting the slices thicker than before, meaning I run out of the cheese faster and have to buy more at the higher price.

I use it for frittatas and omelets, and roll up a slice with smoked wild salmon for a snack.

A much-better buy is the 2-pound package of Adams Reserve New York State Extra Sharp Cheddar slices for only $6.99, but I bought it for family members who eat full-fat cheese.

  

Wild salmon with organic diced tomatoes and pesto

Wild Sockeye Salmon from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack with Organic Diced Tomatoes, Pesto and Grilled Peach.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

For the first time since fresh wild salmon appeared at my Costco Wholesale in late May, the skin-on sockeye fillet my wife picked up on Monday was harvested in Canada.

The wild salmon looked and tasted as good as all of the ones I've been enjoying from Alaska and other parts of the United States.

Costco identified the origin of the fillets in the first few weeks as coming from Alaska's Copper River, and sold them at a premium of $14.99 a pound.

The rest of the salmon was labeled as a product of the U.S.A.

The price for Canadian sockeye was $8.99 a pound, only a dollar more a pound than the pale, artificially colored farmed salmon sold at Costco in Hackensack. 

A 1.52-pound fillet yielded six serving pieces.

The salmon spent a total of about 8 minutes on a pre-heated grill pan with spray oil that covered two burners of my stove turned to medium high. It should sizzle when you first place it on the grill skin-side down. I then turned the heat down to medium. The serving pieces came out medium rare, but continued cooking after the grill pan was taken off of the heat for members of my family who prefer the fish cooked through.

I flipped the serving portions after about 5 minutes.

Delicious right off the grill

Nearly all of the ingredients for the dish are available from Costco.

The wild salmon is terrific right off the grill with just a little Himalayan Pink Salt and fresh lime juice.

On another burner, I prepared a reduction of extra-virgin olive oil, lots of chopped fresh garlic, Kirkland Signature Organic Diced Tomatoes, red wine, lime juice and fresh oregano from my garden.

After I plated the fish with the diced-tomato sauce, I added a little Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto.

With the fish, I drank a glass of Kirkland Signature 2012 California Cabernet Sauvignon.

Delicious.

Update

Tonight, I enjoyed a leftover portion of wild salmon served with leftover organic brown rice and lentils, and vegetables, two other dishes that rely heavily on fresh garlic.

Costco again slices price of fresh Copper River salmon

Fresh wild Copper River sockeye salmon from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack with a reduction of organic diced tomatoes, red wine, garlic, lime juice and fresh herbs, served with Tru Roots Organic Quinoa, also from Costco, prepared in an electric rice cooker with more Kirkland Signature Organic Diced Tomatoes and extra-virgin olive oil.

Editor's note: We continue to enjoy fresh Copper River salmon from Costco Wholesale, which has trimmed the price for the second time in a month. Today, I also discuss organic quinoa as a substitute for brown rice and whole-wheat pasta, and shopping at Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe's and ShopRite.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Wonderful fresh wild salmon from Alaska's Copper River has become a weekly treat thanks to Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

The price of skin-on sockeye fillets dropped to $11.99 a pound on Sunday, the second downward adjustment in about a month.

When the Copper River salmon run ends, Costco will begin selling fresh wild sockeye or coho salmon from other rivers at an even lower price.

The Copper River fillets cook through in 12 minutes in a 375-degree oven, but remain moist.

I cook the organic-diced-tomato reduction on top of the stove and spoon it over the fish after I remove the roasting pan from the oven.

Garnish with plenty of chopped mint and oregano or any other fresh herb you have. 

The next day, I had a second dinner of Copper River sockeye with mashed yams/sweet potatoes and organic mixed vegetables.

The quinoa is a great substitute for brown rice or whole-wheat pasta, both of which have more carbohydrates. Here, the whole grain stands in for bread at breakfast. A wedge of leftover pesto-and-cheese frittata and choy sum, one of the many greens available at H Mart in Little Ferry, complete the meal.

Sunny side up organic eggs from Costco seasoned with two great spices from the Middle Eastern kitchen, mildly spicy Aleppo pepper and za'atar, top, a pleasantly sour thyme mixture. I also added small pieces of Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese as the eggs were cooking, and ate them with organic quinoa.

Shopping for naturally raised meat

At Trader Joe's in Paramus, I shopped for W-brand antibiotic- and nitrite-free bacon ($5.49), and Trader Joe's Uncured Beef Hot Dogs, also antibiotic and hormone free ($4.99).

I also picked up a kitchen basil plant for $3.99.

At Whole Foods Market, also in Paramus, I picked up fully cooked Niman Ranch St. Louis-style Pork Ribs from animals raised on vegetarian feed without antibiotics and hormones ($7.99 a pound). 

An incredible array of salads at Whole Foods Market in Paramus. At $8.49 a pound, it is easy to spend $12 to $15 on salad for lunch.

These Mini Cucumbers were on sale for $1.99 a pound on Friday at the ShopRite in Paramus, and I refrigerated them as soon as I got home. But they spoiled in less than three days, and I returned them for a refund. 

Out of stock at Costco

I'm still puzzled why I can't find everything I need at Costco when I go back for a product I enjoyed.

On Monday, I couldn't track down two Kirkland Signature items in the Hackensack warehouse store, men's briefs and parchment paper.

Still, I was able to cash a $190 rebate check from Costco, representing 2% of my purchases in the last year with my Executive Membership, which costs $110 a year.

That's in addition to two credit-card rebate checks totaling a few hundred dollars I received a couple of months ago from American Express.

One item that seems to be always in stock is Kirkland Signature Organic Diced Tomatoes, and it's one of the most versatile for preparing meals at home.

I used them again tonight when making a sauce for organic whole wheat capellini with extra-virgin olive oil, white wine, chopped garlic, capers, anchovies and three fresh herbs, mint, oregano and basil (photo below).

Who doesn't love tomatoes? 

We were out of organic chicken stock for the pasta sauce, and I used a half-cup of hot pasta water and more extra-virgin olive oil to add liquid.

Fish dinners in under 30 minutes

Fresh Canadian flounder in a tomato-white wine sauce.

Fresh Pacific cod with Mexican green salsa and tomatoes over brown rice.

With Costco Wholesale's fresh, wild-caught fillets and a few bottles and cans in your cupboard, you can turn out fish dinners in under 30 minutes.

No need for a recipe. A can opener and a large pan with a glass cover is all the equipment you need.

My Costco in Hackensack usually offers wild-caught fillets of haddock from Iceland and flounder from Canada, as well as meaty cod from the Pacific, all for $6.99 or $7.99 a pound. 

I try to buy fish that is packed the same day, as indicated on the Costco label, and I usually can buy a package with under 2 pounds of fillets for 4 people.

Flounder fillets with leftover brown rice and prepared tofu.

For any fresh fish fillet, you can open cans of Kirkland Signature Organic Tomato Sauce and Organic Diced Tomatoes, empty them into the pan and add white wine, lime or lemon juice, garlic powder, red-pepper flakes and dried Italian seasonings.

Bring to a boil under a partial cover. Meanwhile, season the fillets with Kirkland Signature Organic No-Salt Seasoning. 

Turn down the heat to medium, add the fish fillets and cover.

Through a glass cover, you can watch the fish turn white and firm up. The skinless fillets should be ready in about 20 minutes.

A second preparation uses a bottle of Goya or La Costena Mexican Green Salsa, a can of organic diced tomatoes and lime or lemon juice.

Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to medium, add the fish fillets and cover. 

I like to make big batches of organic brown rice in an electric cooker -- with or without cooked black beans and organic diced tomatoes -- or mashed sweet potatoes and Kabocha squash with olive oil and seasonings, and keep them in the refrigerator to eat with the fish.

A salad of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix completes the meal. 

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• At Costco, one can yields several meal ideas

At Costco, one can yields several meal ideas

Organic Diced Tomatoes, left, are one of the new Kirkland Signature items at Costco.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Costco Wholesale has been offering cans of organic diced tomatoes from Del Monte and other companies for years, and I've been using them in several fish, pasta, rice and egg dishes.

Now, Costco has introduced its own Kirkland Signature-brand Organic Diced Tomatoes, Organic Stewed Tomatoes, Organic Tomato Paste and Organic Tomato Sauce.

Penne in marinara sauce with added diced tomatoes, left. The pasta made a rib-sticking breakfast when eaten with Korean-style stewed tofu and pollock from H Mart.

 

Comparing the nutrition labels of the Organic Diced Tomatoes from Del Monte and Kirkland Signature, the only difference for a half-cup serving size is calories. 

Del Monte lists 20 calories and the Costco store brand lists 15, none from fat.

Both are made from organic California tomatoes and both are certified organic by Oregon Tilth.

An 8-can pack of Kirkland Signature Organic Diced Tomatoes was $5.99. 

Diced tomatoes are a versatile ingredient in quick, no-recipe, home-cooked meals.

Diced tomatoes with fish

Empty a 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes into a large, non-stick pan and add extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lemon or lime juice, powdered garlic and other seasonings; cover and warm over medium heat.

When the mixture starts to boil, uncover and place fresh, wild-caught fillets in the pan, season with Costco's Kirkland Signature Organic No-Salt Seasoning and cover.

My Costco in Hackensack usually has wild-caught haddock from Iceland, as well as wild-caught flounder and cod fillets ($7.99 and $8.99 a pound).

This also would work with frozen, wild-caught salmon or cod fillets from Costco.

Depending on the thickness of the fillets and whether the fish is fresh or frozen, cook for 15 to 30 minutes, place a fillet in a plate and cover with diced tomatoes. 

You can do the same with those large Black Tiger shrimp available at Costco, but they would be ready in 5 minutes or less -- when they curl up and turn white.

I prepare organic brown rice in an electric cooker, and often mix a can of diced tomatoes with the rice to add moisture, texture and color to the finished dish.

A can of drained diced tomatoes adds texture to bottled marinara or other pasta sauce, which I supplement with extra-virgin olive oil, red-pepper flakes, garlic powder and Italian seasonings, and a can of anchovies in oil.

To cut the sodium content of the dish, I drain the anchovies in a colander and rinse them under water before adding them to the sauce.

The anchovies cook away, but give the sauce a robust flavor it wouldn't normally have.

Good in omelets

   

You can also drain a can of diced tomatoes, place them in a plastic container and refrigerate them for use with egg dishes.

I make open-face egg-white omelets with buffalo-milk mozzarella or sliced, reduced-fat cheese, all available at Costco. 

Adding a tablespoon of diced tomatoes is a natural -- sort of a pizza without the fattening crust.

On Tuesday, I bought a 1-pound plastic bottle of Kirkland Signature Shredded Parmigiano Reggiano from Italy, where the cheese was aged for 24 months ($13.79).

This flavorful shredded cheese would be perfect in an open-face omelet, supplemented by grated Pecorino Romano and dice tomatoes.

If you use whole eggs to make a frittata -- such as the Organic Brown Eggs from Costco -- you can mix the grated and shredded Italian cheeses, diced tomatoes, sweet peppers and other ingredients with the eggs.

Pour the egg mixture into a heated non-stick pan with oil and cook over medium heat.

When the bottom is set, put the pan under the broiler for about 5 minutes or until the top is browned.  

Organic eggs with grated Pecorino Romano cheese.

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