99 cents sardines are alive and well

Image via Wikipedia

Sardines at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California.

Seafood is a crucial part of my non-meat diet and those plump, little sardines are one of my favorites -- as part of a breakfast sandwich with hummus, cheese, lettuce and tomato, or with spaghetti and red sauce.


For the past two or three years, I have been buying Moroccan sardines at Fattal's Syrian Bakery in Paterson, where the price of 99 cents a can is lower than at Corrado's, Costco, ShopRite or any other North Jersey store I know. Of course, if you insist on skinless and boneless, you'll pay more.


Today, I drove to Paterson to replenish my supply and found that while the price remains at 99 cents, Fattal's now carries both Moroccan and Thai sardines. I bought 15 cans -- 10 from Morocco and five from Thailand. I also picked up Fattal's small spinach pies, canned hummus from Lebanon, canned large fava beans, string cheese and a yogurt drink.


For dinner, I emptied four cans of Thai sardines, including their spicy oil or hot tomato sauce, into a covered pan large enough to hold a pound of spaghetti, and broke up the fish with a wooden spoon. I added about half of a bottle of arrabbiata sauce from Modena, Italy (red like a Ferrari), dried Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, black pepper and dried and powdered garlic, and heated it over a medium flame.


Meanwhile, I heated water for thick spaghetti, and when it started to boil, I blanched two heads of fresh spinach in two batches, transferring it into another pan with hot olive oil. Then the pasta went into the same water, while I seasoned the spinach, covered it and turned off the heat.


When the pasta was cooked, I drained it and dumped it into the pan with the sauce and sardines, mixed it well and served it with grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, Italian red table wine and the spinach. Mangia bene.

Fattal's Bakery, 975-77 Main St., Paterson; 973-742-7125. 
Open seven days, free parking in lot.

My online grocer never misses a beat

Image via CrunchBase

 
When you can't find it in stores, when you didn't know it existed or when you want to save time and money, you'll find some delightful food items at Amazon.com. I've set up Subscribe & Save shipments for coconut water, green tea with mint, soy bars that taste like cake and other items, which arrive like clockwork. Shipping is free.

A couple of years ago, I ordered Stash Moroccan mint green tea, and it reminded me of the tea served in that North African country -- where the glass is stuffed with fresh mint leaves. Now, I receive six,  20-count boxes every three months. We have this tea after dinner almost every night.


My wife loves pure coconut water, and we've tried two brands --Zico and, lately, O.N.E. The latter is slightly larger and cheaper, and we receive 12 containers once a month.


We're trying a few new items: SOYJOY bars, organic goji berries and chia seeds.


We get 24 cake-like soy and berry bars once a month. They're just over 1-ounce for about 90 cents each. These bars make great snacks during family excursions or at home.


I've only ordered red goji berries and black-and-white chia seeds once, and have used them together to make a tasty and colorful oatmeal. The former -- called Himalayan super fruit -- are dry and bitter, but soften and taste better in hot cereal. The latter are labeled Aztec super food, and probably could be added to cold cereal and smoothies as well as oatmeal.

They are expensive -- $12 a pound. I was scheduled to receive them again in a week, but decided to skip that shipment. With Subscribe & Save, you have the freedom to skip the next shipment, speed up a shipment or end your subscription at any time.


In the past, I've tried and canceled organic blue corn tortilla chips and Bigelow green tea with mint, slightly cheaper but not the equal of the Stash version. And non-food items are available as well.


When I had trouble finding Breathe Right snore-relief throat strips consistently, I started a subscription every two months that keeps peace in the bedroom. 

I also turned to Amazon.com when ShopRite stopped selling Newman's Own organic black tea, but had to buy six, 100-count boxes.


These food and non-food items are special, and they're nice to have around. The one issue I have is all the packaging Amazon.com uses. The coconut water containers, for example, are in a box already, but they are put into a larger box and air-filled plastic bags are added for cushioning.  It's good that I'm fanatical about recycling.

Shopping and cooking notes

Besides the free-range, grass-fed Australian beef I went for, I had hoped to pick up a few other things on my trip to the ShopRite in Rochelle Park yesterday, but prices were all over the place.

As I walked into the store, I saw a stack of boxes with clementines, not from Spain but from Morocco, for a low $4.99 with a store card. But not far away, a 2-pound package of the elusive herbicide-free Campari tomatoes were priced at  $7.99 -- $4 a pound. I just stared at the price sign in disbelief. I did pick up two pointy cantaloupes from Guatemala for $3.

The Australian whole tenderloin for filet mignon was on sale for $4.99 a pound with a store card, but I couldn't find any that weighed more than 4.6 pounds, even though the sales circular said average weight was 6 pounds to 8 pounds. It's sold under the Nature's Reserve label. Next to it, the same cut of beef marked USDA Select -- the lowest of three U.S. government grades -- was on sale for $6.99 a pound. Why is free-range, grass-fed beef selling for $2 a pound less than conventionally raised beef? The sale ends Saturday.

When I got home, I trimmed as much fat as possible from the tenderloin, sliced it thin and divided it among three freezer bags, pouring on Korean bulgogi marinade (it looked similar to what is shown in photo above). They went into the freezer, enough for three meals of Korean barbecue at home with rice, red-leaf lettuce for wrapping and store-bought side dishes.

Then I prepared dinner -- spaghetti with sardines. This is not the classic Italian recipe of  pasta con sarde, which uses a tomato-less sauce . This is a thrown together recipe that takes only the time needed to boil the pasta.

I used three cans of Moroccan sardines in tomato sauce I bought at Fattal's Bakery in Paterson for 89 cents a can (Fattal's has the best sardine prices around). The sardines have no oil, so I poured three or four ounces of extra-virgin oilive oil over the fish in the pan, then added about a cup and a half of  leftover marinara sauce, dried Italian seasoning, basil and oregano, and red pepper flakes. Meanwhile, I boiled a half-pound of thick spaghetti.

With a big salad of organic salad greens, bread and Italian red wine, it was a satisfying, meatless meal, but I should have made more spaghetti, my 12-year-old son said.

ShopRite of Rochelle Park, 220 W. Passaic St.;

(201) 843-1424; open 24 hours.

Fattal's Bakery, 975 Main St.; (973) 742-7125;

Paterson; open seven days.