Favorite things, pasta with greens and Wondee's

The perfect forkful of handmade egg tagliatelle from Italy with Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto, both from Costco Wholesale. I used two generous tablespoons of the refrigerated pesto for 4 ounces of the noodles, which cook in just 4 minutes.

By VICTOR E. SASSON

Editor

One of my favorite things is a bowl of handmade egg tagliatelle dressed in Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto.

Just 4 ounces of the imported noodles yield a dozen or more perfect forkfuls dressed in one of the best pasta sauces on earth.

For an advocate of eating lower-carb, whole-wheat pasta as part of a no-bread, no-pizza diet, these Filotea-brand pasta ribbons are a guilty pleasure that show up now and again at my Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

The basil in the Kirkland Signature pesto is imported from Italy.

A Super Spice Mixture -- a combination of every spice in my cupboard and refrigerator -- is perfect for breading chicken, pork, beef and fish fillets, such as wild haddock from Costco Wholesale, above. The mixture, which I refrigerate between uses, starts out with several packages of Wick Fowler's 2-Alarm Chili Kit (omit the masa flour), available in supermarkets.

Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto and Wild Alaskan Smoked Sockeye Salmon are two of my favorite items from Costco Wholesale. Here, I used them in a frittata with egg whites and whole organic eggs, also from Costco, served with leftover Chinese takeout shrimp and vegetables, and brown rice.

Addictive kimbap -- Korean seaweed, vegetable, fish and rice rolls -- from Jinga, a food company in Queens, are half-price after 4 p.m. at the H Mart, 25 Lafayette Ave., in Englewood. Last week, I paid $3.24 for a 1-pound tray of kimbap with Korean pickles and wickedly hot sliced jalapenos instead of $6.49.

Two other favorites from H Mart are stewed wild-caught Alaskan pollock ($6.99), front, and stewed tofu ($3.99), served here with mustard greens and a baked sweet potato. The pollock and tofu, which can be eaten hot or cold, are prepared with soy, red-pepper powder, garlic, scallion and other ingredients.

Under the category of fish and greens, we often prepare wild sea bass from H Mart stuffed with okra and callaloo, a canned, spinach-like green from Jamaica, and showered with fresh lime juice.

The pesto-smoked salmon frittata is made with reduced-fat sliced Jarslberg Lite Swiss Cheese from Costco that melts beautifully, above.

Organic whole-wheat spaghetti from Whole Foods Market in Trader Joe's canned Marinara Sauce with sardines, anchovies and fresh dandelion leaves.

Pasta with greens

I prepared organic whole wheat pasta with greens again, but couldn't find the baby kale I used the last time.

Instead, I bought 1.8 pounds of dandelion, a foot-long leafy green the Greeks call "horta," for 89 cents a pound at the International Food Warehouse in Lodi.

At home, I washed them and chopped them into 3-inch sections, adding them to the hot water in which the pasta was boiling in the last minute of cooking time.

I then drained pasta and greens, and transferred them to anther pan containing the bubbling sauce, which included three cans of sardines and a can of anchovies (drained of oil and rinsed).

The last time, I folded the baby kale into the sauce along with whole wheat shells.

I didn't find any difference in color retention when I added the greens to the pasta water, but next time, I'll chop the leaves smaller to avoid clumping.

For breakfast, a fried organic egg with a pinch of Aleppo pepper makes a nice topping for leftover whole wheat spaghetti.

A three-tomato, three-cheese frittata gets added flavor from leftover marinara sauce and Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto. It also includes fresh and sun-dried tomatoes; shredded Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, Jarlsberg Lite Swiss Cheese and Pecorino Romano Cheese in the pesto, all from Costco. 

Flavors of Wondee's

The snow was falling and the wind blowing, but we got a warm welcome during a late Saturday afternoon visit to Wondee's at 296 Main St. in Hackensack.

As I ate spicy shrimp soup, salad with crispy tofu and fruit, and jumbo shrimp in wine sauce, I marveled at all the wonderful Thai flavors that give this food such vibrancy.

Lemongrass, wilted leaves of fresh basil, chili paste, lemon juice, kaffir lime leaves, garlic, ginger and other accents are matched by an abundance of vegetables in nearly every dish.

At Wondees Fine Thai Food & Noodles in Hackensack, Talay Thai Shrimp ($17), front; Lamb with Panang Curry ($14) and Pad Kraprow Fried Rice with Pork ($10.50).

From the Vegetarian Menu at Wondees, Yum Rod Pedt, a salad of crispy tofu tossed with oranges, carrots and onion, and dressed with lime juice and chili paste ($10). Fresh cilantro and romaine lettuce that can be used for wrapping also are used.

Thome Yum Koong is shrimp soup with lemon juice, mushrooms, chili paste, lemongrass and other ingredients ($4 for small). Wondee's is closed on Mondays.

Tofu, coffee beans, brown rice and feta cheese

Tofu in an entree, above, and a soup, below, was the star of our dinner at Wondee's in Hackensack, where a small bowl of brown rice is $2.50 extra.

We asked for bowls of Vegetable Soup with tofu from the Vegetarian Menu to be made spicy.

Pra Ram is described as "steamed watercress" topped with tofu and Wondee's peanut sauce. When eaten with rice, this entree served two.

We usually have an early dinner at Wondee's Fine Thai Food and Noodles in Hackensack, never make a reservation and have the place to ourselves.

But on Saturday night, my wife and I didn't get there until 7, and we were the first in a wave of customers that quickly filled the restaurant, disrupting one server's dinner.

Two large parties of 10 or more people put a strain on the kitchen, which forgot one of the entrees we ordered.

It was just as well: We were full after soup, a shared entree and a bowl of rice -- for a grand total of $23, including tax. 

I also drank a bottle of Mexican beer I brought from home.

I don't eat meat or poultry and my wife wanted to go vegetarian, so we ordered a small vegetable soup with tofu for each of us ($3.50), and an entree of vegetables and tofu in a light, flowing peanut sauce ($11). 

When our second tofu entree, Mock Duck Kraprow ($12), didn't arrive, the peanut sauce was perfect with the half bowl of brown rice I had left. 

We love Chef Wandee Suwangbutra for packing her dishes with fresh vegetables and garnishing them with fresh herbs, and when we feel like whole fish or meat, there are plenty of choices from her kitchen.

Bravo!

Wondee's, 296 Main St., Hackensack; 201-883-1700. BYO, small parking lot in rear, reservations taken, no delivery, closed Mondays.
 

A Starbucks in the Astoria section of Queens has a black-and-white photo mural showing scenes from the early years of the company, right.

The daily grind

I may never again buy a pound of coffee beans from New York-based Fairway Market in Paramus.

I stopped at a Starbucks in Queens on Friday, and took advantage of a coffee-bean promotion: 

2 pounds of Tribute Blend for $14.95, the normal price of 1 pound.

The blend was created to celebrate Starbucks' 40th anniversary, using four coffee beans, according to the company Web site:

"Ethiopian sun-dried beans with an exotic flourish of dark cherry; Aged Sumatra, loved for its syrupy body and cedary spice notes; juicy herbal and complex coffees from Papua New Guinea; and our Colombia coffee, bright, balanced and nutty."

Worth the price

Starbucks coffee beans are more expensive than those at Fairway, but the coffee made from them tastes better, too.

Frequent promotions bring Starbucks beans close to or below the price for Fairway Market beans.

I use a Turkish grind in my drip coffeemaker.

Testimonial

At the Starbucks in the Astoria section, I saw an elderly man with a walker slouched in a chair, enjoying a large cup of coffee.

"I live across the street, and I've been coming here since it opened, 14 or 15 years," said the white-haired man, who appeared to be in his 80s.

He said he drops by "two or three times a day" for coffee.

Hole everything

The day before, I stopped for a takeout cup of coffee at Jackson Hole, the chain hamburger restaurant on Grand Avenue in Englewood.

The cashier refused my credit card as payment for a $1.90 cup of hazelnut coffee, and asked for cash.

That would never happen at Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, McDonald's or lots of other places I buy coffee.

I've been using Della-brand Organic Brown Rice from Costco Wholesale as a substitute for bread at breakfast, above, and as the foundation for home-cooked entrees like Icelandic flounder poached with organic diced tomatoes, extra-virgin olive oil and lime juice, below.

 


Greek New York

The Astoria section of Queens is known for its many Greek restaurants, and on Friday, I saw people enjoying fantastic-looking seafood at sun-splashed tables outside Taverna Kyclades on Ditmars Boulevard.

The next morning, I incorporated crumbled feta cheese in a frittata with Kirkland Signature smoked wild salmon and Basil Pesto, and fresh and sun-dried tomatoes.

With sodium in the feta cheese, smoked salmon and pesto, there is no need to add salt to the 4 whole eggs and egg whites I mix with a little low-fat milk for fluffiness and season with Costco's Organic No-Salt Seasoning.

The egg-and-milk mixture are poured into a 10-inch, non-stick pan with extra-virgin olive oil that is preheated on the stove. Ideally, the mixture sizzles when it hits the pan. Then, tomatoes, sliced salmon, feta cheese and pesto are added while the crust firms up, The frittata is finished under the low setting of a broiler for about 10 minutes, until the top browns, above.

Enjoying the crunch of fresh vegetables

Three out of four dishes we enjoyed last weekend at Wondee's Fine Thia Food and Noodles in Hackensack came from its Vegetarian Menu, including sauteed tofu with fresh basil leaves, onions, scallions and fresh chili (Kraprow Tofu, $11), above.

Crispy tofu goes into a refreshing salad with shredded carrot and fruit, all dressed with lime juice and chili paste (Yum Rod Pedt, $10), above. You can wrap the salad in lettuce leaves.

Steamed jumbo shrimp with crunchy broccoli in a sweet-and-sour chili sauce comes from Wondee's regular menu. The dish is called Koong Lard Prig ($17).

This soup, filled with crunchy cabbage and other vegetables, is a vegetarian version of a spicy shrimp-and-mushroom soup on the regular menu. Thome Yum Vegetable is $3.50.

We have been ordering almost all of our takeout dishes from Zen Kitchen in Teaneck made with fresh garlic, avoiding the ubiquitous brown sauce, which is filled with sodium. Here, Sauteed Mixed Vegetables with Fresh Garlic ($7.95) is served over brown rice, which is provided at no extra charge. Wondee's charges $2.50 for a small bowl of brown rice.

Bean Curd with Vegetable Country Style from Zen Kitchen ($7.95).

Wondee's Fine Thai Food and Noodles, 296 Main St., Hackensack; 201-883-1700. BYO, free parking in rear lot. No delivery. Closed Mondays.

Zen Kitchen, 1443 Queen Anne Road, Teaneck; 201-837-7322. Delivery charge is $1.50.

Exploring Wondee's vegetarian menu

Mock Duck Kraprow at Wondee's Fine Thai Food in Hackensack.

Fried rice with tofu, vegetables and fresh basil leaves.

The plan for dinner out on Saturday was to order everything from the vegetarian menu at one of our favorite restaurants, Wondee's Fine Thai Food and Nooodles in Hackensack.

It was a perfectly good plan, of course, until my meat-loving teenage son got wind of it.

So, that's how we ended up with both meat and vegetarian dishes on the table.

But my wife joined me in enjoying soup, salad, entree and fried rice -- all with vegetables, tofu or textured soy.

The dishes were mildly spicy and full of flavor and texture, but free of unhealthy animal fats. 

My wife raved about the meal, and both of us were stuffed. 

A full page of Wondee's menu is vegetarian.

We started with Thome Yum Vegetable Soup.

Four of us shared a vegetarian salad, Yom Rod Pedt, which substitutes crispy tofu for bits of duck with lettuce and fruit in a tasty dressing ($10).

My wife and I had Thome Yum Vegetable, a spicy vegetable soup ($3.50), but my son and mother-in-law ordered Geuw Nam, wonton soup with roast pork slices ($3.50).

We loved the Mock Duck Kraprow with chili, onion and sweet basil, especially the meaty texture of the faux duck ($12).

Our brightly flavored vegetable-and-tofu fried rice, Pad Kraprow, was $10.

My son and mother-in-law shared a special, Braised Pig's Shoulder, which came with white rice ($12). 
  

Crispy tofu stands in for duck in a delicious salad.

A spicy chili-garlic sauce brightened our entrees and fried rice.

Braised Pig's Shoulder with hard-boiled egg.

Wondee's Fine Thai Food and Noodles, 
296 Main St., Hackensack; 201-883-1700.

Parking in rear, BYO, no delivery. Closed Mondays.



Related article

• There is Thai -- and then there is Wondee's

This lunch made us forget about dinner

Woochon has a waterfall in the dining room and tanks of live seafood.

Editor's note: Today, I describe two great ethnic meals at restaurants in Palisades Park and Hackensack.

I came across a real eye-opener while looking over the lunch menu at Woochon, a new Korean restaurant in Palisades Park:

Hangover Stew with Clotted Ox Blood. 

We stuck with more conventional food during our lunch on Thursday -- my wife and I shared entrees of Grilled Spanish Mackerel ($13.99) and Soft Bean Curd Stew with Seafood ($9.99).

A large mackerel fillet comes with pickled ginger, watercress and a lemon wedge.

The bean-curd stew is served in an usually large stone bowl.

Menu prices include the side dishes of vegetables, fish and meat Korean restaurants are known for. 

On Thursday, we received 11 small dishes with fish cake, translucent noodles, spring-mix salad, peanuts, dark-green seaweed, mushrooms, kimchi  and other items, and several were replenished during the meal.

The restaurant serves summer water kimchi and white kimchi instead of the spicier mahk kimchi, which is made with a lot of red pepper and garlic.

The entrees came with brown or white rice, and with the side dishes, I was so full, I skipped dinner.


I was happy with tea, fruit and cheese until bedtime.

Some of the seafood in my bean-curd stew --baby octopus and squid -- was chewy, but a large shrimp in the shell couldn't have been more tender.

We also loved the juicy, skin-on mackerel fillet -- which came with a small bowl of soft-tofu stew -- and all the side dishes or panchan were delicious.   

When we walked it, we were greeted with shouts of welcome from the staff.

At the end of the meal, a male waiter bowed and presented the check on a small tray. 

Ten of the 11 side dishes we were served, above and below.

The restaurant, affiliated with another of the same name in the Flushing section of Queens, offers a full menu of sushi, tofu and barbecue.

Woochon customers also can sit at a sushi bar, rear.

An outside sign and a summer specials menu list dishes only in Korean. The restaurant is housed in an old corner bank building on the main street in Palisades Park.

Woochon Restaurant, 280 Broad Ave., Palisades Park; 201-242-9999.

Wondee's 

We had another wonderful dinner of seafood, tofu and vegetables at Wondee's in Hackensack on Saturday night, and the food looked as good as it tasted.

I remembered to grab a bottle of Mexican beer from the fridge, but forgot my iPhone and can't bring you photos of our meal.

Three of us had spicy shrimp-and-mushroom soup or wonton soup, an appetizer of fried tofu with a peanut dipping sauce, green papaya salad, large shrimp in a sweet chili sauce and stir-fried tofu with vegetables.

The shredded papaya is served over dark-green lettuce leaves you can use to wrap it, and the puddle of fish sauce-lemon juice dressing is terrific when eaten with a spoon. 

The wonderful shrimp came with a cabbage salad on the side. We ate white or brown rice.

We dined early, and three servers waited on us.

When we walked in, Chef Wandee Suwangbutra was having something to eat in the dining room before the expected rush of customers.

Wondee's Fine Thai Food and Noodles, 296 Main St., Hackensack; 201-883-1700 or 1715. Parking in rear, BYO.

Web site: Fine Thai Food


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