Quinoa with creamy garlic, salsa-simmered cod, salad and more

In an electric rice cooker, I added three 8-ounce cups of organic quinoa, six cups of chicken broth or water, a drained can of low-sodium black beans, a can of organic diced tomatoes, lots of chopped fresh garlic, extra-virgin olive oil and a little sea salt, and mixed them well before I plugged it in. 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Organic quinoa from Costco Wholesale is one of the whole grains I rely on to give me that full feeling on a no-bread, no-pizza diet.

It's a snap to prepare in an electric rice cooker with black beans and organic diced tomatoes, but it's even better when you include lots of chopped garlic cloves, which you can buy peeled at the Hackensack Costco.

The garlic turns creamy, lending moisture to the quinoa, which has fewer carbs than rice or pasta.

You can enjoy leftover quinoa at any meal -- reheated to eat with eggs in the morning or fish in the evening.

You can also use it cold as the foundation for a chopped salad.

The organic quinoa from Costco doesn't require any washing before it goes into the rice cooker.

This week, my wife picked up fresh, wild-caught Atlantic cod fillets from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack ($7.99 a pound). I prepared them in Roasted Chipotle Salsa from Whole Foods Market in Paramus, fresh lime juice, black pepper and other seasonings, above and below.

I cut up the skinless and boneless cod fillets, seasoned them with a little sea salt, added them to the boiling salsa and covered the pan. The cod was done in about 7 minutes, breaking into big flakes when I ate it with mashed and baked sweet potatoes flavored with the poaching liquid.

A chopped salad of tomatoes and cucumbers from our garden, plus celery, in a dressing of extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lime juice, balsamic vinegar, dried and fresh mint, parsley and other fresh herbs.

A salad of organic spring mix, fresh Jersey blueberries, and aged Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese from Italy, all from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, dressed in Spanish extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. A pound of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix was $4.49 a pound. Two pounds of blueberries were $5.49, and the cheese was selling for a low $8.49 a pound.

Add a spicy Korean accent at any meal with crunchy cucumber kimchi from Arirang Kimchi at 1 Remsen Place in Ridgefield (1-201-313-7175).

Finishing touches: Aleppo pepper, za'atar and pesto

Coarsely ground Aleppo red pepper is around $8 a pound at Fattal's Syrian Bakery, 975-77 Main St., Paterson. The mildly spicy pepper is the perfect accent for organic brown eggs from Costco Wholesale, above, fish fillets or hummus.

I ate the eggs with pasta and mashed sweet potatoes.

Za'atar is a thyme mixture from the Middle East that is also available at Fattal's. Other ingredients include sesame seeds and wild sumac. You can buy za'atar bread or use the mixture on ripe tomatoes and olives, above. Za'atar is also good with eggs and broiled chicken or fish.

 

Refrigerated Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto from Costco Wholesale is terrific spooned onto cooked fish or with an open-face, egg-white omelet, above. The omelet, with a slice of reduced-fat Swiss cheese and sun-dried tomato, is thin enough to cook through from the bottom of a non-stick pan.

Half of the omelet made a terrific breakfast with fluffy organic quinoa and a can of organic diced tomatoes prepared in an electric rice cooker the night before. Egg whites, pesto and quinoa came from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack. Quinoa has fewer carbs than brown rice or whole-wheat pasta.

A tasty alternative to rice and pasta

Fluffy organic quinoa and diced tomatoes go beautifully with spice-covered fish.

I don't remember whether I was looking for more Kirkland Signature Saigon Ground Cinnamon or Organic Tomato Sauce when I came upon a 4-pound bag of Nature's Earthly Choice Organic Quinoa at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

I've seen whole-grain quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) in supermarkets, but not at Costco, so I finally decided to try it as an alternative to the brown rice and whole-wheat pasta I prepare at home.

It was a snap to make in an electric rice cooker: 

2 cups of the gluten-free, wheat-free seed; 4 cups of Kirkland Signature Organic Chicken Stock and a 14.5-ounce can of Kirkland Signature Organic Diced Tomatoes. 

I paired it with Costco's fresh, wild-caught cod fillets, which I coated in a homemade Super Spice Mixture and roasted in the oven for about 20 minutes.

The quinoa, which fluffed up in the rice cooker, had a pleasant nutty taste.

Hot cereal with quinoa and a banana.

 


This morning, I brought 4 cups of water to a boil and added cereal, oatmeal and quinoa, cooking them over low heat for 10 minutes.

The hot, flowing cereal included 1 cup of Bob's Red Mill 10-Grain Cereal, a half-cup of The Silver Palate Thick & Rough Oatmeal, a half-cup of quinoa, Goji Berries, Kirkland Signature Dried Cherries (with sugar and sunflower oil added), pine nuts and organic Blue Agave sweetener.

I wanted to use frozen wild blueberries instead of the tart cherries, but they had been in the freezer since before Superstorm Sandy, when I lost electricity for five days, and I decided to throw them out. 

A wild lox-and-cheese omelet with leftover quinoa, mashed squash and brown rice.

  

The 4-pound package of quinoa was $7.99 at Costco, and labeled "Product of Bolivia."

According to the package, "Quinoa, praised for its excellent nutritional profile, is an exceptional source of protein, containing eight amino acids, making quinoa an excellent option for people looking to reduce their consumption of meat."

This organic quinoa is pre-washed, so there's no need to soak or rinse it before cooking.

A quarter-cup serving of quinoa (2 ounces) has about the same amount of calories (155) as organic long-grain brown rice (150), but fewer carbohydrates (29 grams for quinoa v. 35 grams for Lundberg brown rice).

A quarter-cup serving of Colavita Whole Wheat Spaghetti has 200 calories and 42g of carbohydrates.

Lundberg brown rice has 3g of protein in a quarter-cup, compared to 6g of protein for quinoa and 7g for the whole-wheat pasta. 

  

The display at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.