Taking comfort in more simple and delicious food

There is nothing like the comforting taste of an organic egg yolk broken over Lundberg organic brown rice for breakfast, above. I added Aleppo pepper and, using a vegetable peeler, shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese as the eggs cooked. The eggs and cheese came from Costco Wholesale, as did organic diced tomatoes in the the rice, prepared in an electric cooker.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss comfort foods; good deals on extra-virgin olive oil and organic greens; and restaurant-quality takeout dinners for only $5.99.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
Editor

The imported Parmigiano Reggiano cheese I buy at Costco Wholesale is good down to and including the rind, according to the package.

The Italian cheese maker says the rind shouldn't be grated, but can be diced and added to pasta sauce for flavor.

I reserved the rind and added a small dice of two or three pieces to bottled Victoria Marinara Sauce the last time I made organic whole wheat pasta with anchovies and capers, both rinsed under water to reduce the sodium in the finished dish.

The rind doesn't disappear completely even after the sauce is boiled for the 10 minutes or so the pasta takes to cook, but has a distinctive flavor and a nice chewy texture.

Trader Joe's Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti with bottled marinara, canned anchovies and capers made a nice dinner with a glass of wine and a salad of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix from Costco Wholesale.  

The whole wheat spaghetti showed up the next morning as a foil for a simple egg-white omelet with Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto and a little Aleppo pepper.

Food deals in Lodi

I stopped at the International Food Warehouse at 370 Essex St. in Lodi today after looking over a sales flier that came with the morning newspaper.

The store no longer has as many bargains as before, but I wanted to try a 3-liter glass jug of extra-virgin olive oil from Tunisia for $12.99 or a low $4.33 per liter.

I bought two after checking out the sturdy metal cap and closure. Plastic inserts in the cap and neck make for easy pouring into smaller containers. 

For many years, Tunisian extra-virgin olive oil has shown up in blends with oil from Greece, Italy, Spain and other Mediterranean countries.

The store is where I bought several 3-liter tins of excellent extra-virgin olive oil from the island of Cyprus.

The Alomda Extra Virgin Olive Oil is 100% Tunisian, above. Colavita blends oils from Italy, Greece and Tunisia at a higher price, below. The sale ends Dec. 17.

No deal. Pure apricot and wild blackberry juices from Serbia are a pricey $6.99 for a 24-ounce bottle, above.

Greens for less

I found another bargain in the produce section, where organic baby kale, spring mix and other combinations of greens were only 99 cents for a 5-ounce package.

I bought two packages of Earthbound Farm Organic Kale for 99 cents each, and added some to my salad of Earthbound9 Farm Organic Spring Mix at dinner tonight.

The organic spring mix is $4.49 to $4.99 for a 16-ounce package at Costco.

The label on the kale suggests adding it to smoothies and pasta recipes.

A salad with Earthbound Farm Organic Kale, dressed simply in Tunisian extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Organic greens at the International Food Warehouse.

Let Jerry cook

On Wednesday, I picked up two Meals To Go at Jerry's Gourmet & More on South Dean Street in Englewood ($7.99 or $5.99 after 4 p.m.).

Both restaurant-quality dinners included pasta, vegetable, dumplings and other items.

The main ingredients were roasted braised beef in red wine sauce and filet of sole with a crab-meat stuffing.

Stuffed filet of sole with mac-and-cheese and vegetables from Jerry's in Englewood.

100% whole wheat pasta: Why eat anything else?

Garofalo Whole Wheat Pappardelle from Italy dressed in fragrant Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto from Costco Wholesale.

Trader Joe's Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti and sardines glistening with added extra-virgin olive oil.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

You can find 100% whole wheat pasta in almost any food market, and it's available in so many shapes there is no reason to continue eating the conventional kind.

With whole wheat, you get more flavor, 100% whole grains and fewer carbohydrates, and your body will process it better.

Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Markets sell 100% whole wheat pasta in a variety of shapes, and you get a better deal at those stores than at a conventional supermarket.

At both stores, the whole wheat pasta is organic, and Whole Foods' linguine and shells are made in Italy.

Both also charge $1.39 for a full pound of whole wheat pasta, but at ShopRite, I noticed that Ronzoni's 100% whole wheat pastas comes in 12-ounce boxes at a higher price.

Barilla uses only 51% whole wheat in its whole grain pastas, and sells them in 13.5-ounce boxes.

A brand from Italy I saw at ShopRite comes in 16-ounce boxes, but is priced at $2.49.

Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood sells the Garofalo brand from Italy, and my favorite is the wide, thick, mouth-filling ribbons called pappardelle, especially when dressed in fragrant pesto.

With Garofalo whole wheat pastas, cooking times listed on the package are unreliable.

For example, the pappardelle took about 12 minutes for al dente, not the 8 minutes listed.

Garlic lover's pasta, wild pesto salmon

Two full bulbs of California garlic -- at least a dozen and a half cloves -- go into a simple sauce for organic whole wheat spaghetti, above.

A second version of Garlic Lover's Pasta uses organic whole wheat fusilli and adds fresh organic baby spinach.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

Garlic -- and lots of it -- chopped fresh or canned diced tomatoes, and extra-virgin olive oil are all you need to prepare a simple and satisfying sauce for pasta. 

You can add grated cheese to the pot as well as at the table for the finishing touch.

I use Trader Joe's organic whole-wheat pasta ($1.39 for 16 ounces). The California garlic and organic diced tomatoes come from Costco Wholesale.

For breakfast, I crowned Garlic Lover's whole wheat fusilli and spaghetti with an organic brown egg.

Wild for salmon

Another simple and simply delicious dish is wild salmon fillets that get a squirt of fresh lime juice and a pinch or two of Aleppo pepper before they go into the oven.

I roast salmon in a 375-degree oven for  8 to  12 minutes, depending on whether I want it rare for me or cooked through for other family members.

Once they come out of the oven, all you have to do is spoon on Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto from Costco Wholesale.

Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto is a refrigerated product that you can use at room temperature for wild salmon, above; or as a sandwich spread and pasta sauce.

Canned-fish salad -- pink salmon, yellowfin tuna and sardines -- is great in sandwiches, but when you're on a no-bread diet, you can pile it high for breakfast with organic spring mix, kimchi, olives, tomatoes and cucumbers. I dress the canned fish in Dijon mustard, fresh lime juice and ground cumin.

Why I cook in large batches. When dinner is as easy as plating and reheating leftover wild salmon with pesto and organic fusilli with garlic, tomato and spinach, followed by a salad, what's not to love?

Eating pesto morning, noon and night

Trader Joe's Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto from Costco Wholesale. After boiling and draining a half-pound of pasta, I placed it in a large bowl and added 2 to 3 heaping tablespoons of the refrigerated pesto, mixing the pasta and sauce well, then garnished them with whole pine nuts and shredded Kirkland Signature Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, below.

Do not heat the pesto before adding it to the hot pasta.

Costco Wholesale has made it much too easy to enjoy pesto at any meal.

Made from 100% imported Italian basil, Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto is far better than another Costco product I tried a couple of years ago.

This is typical of Costco, which often improves on another company's products and puts its Kirkland Signature brand name on the label.

For a terrific breakfast sandwich, I have spread Costco's fragrant pesto on two halves of a baguette, added sliced, reduced-fat Swiss and placed the halves under the broiler until the cheese melted.


Another great breakfast is an omelet or eggs sunny side up eaten with Trader Joe's Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti. 

An open-face, egg-white omelet with sliced cheese and pesto is a great eye opener.

  

Of course, pasta pesto can be enjoyed at lunch and dinner, too.

And a teaspoon or more of pesto will elevate any broiled fish fillet. 

The Basil Pesto, which comes in a 22-ounce clear plastic jar, is made from a half-dozen ingredients, including what is described as "pure, sweet basil" from the region of Liguria and Pecorino Romano sheep's milk cheese.

I have always preferred to make my own pesto, because I use far more basil than just about anyone else, but Costco's version is the best substitute for homemade I've found. 

Here is a recipe for Blender Pesto from a post I wrote in January:

Marcella Hazan's Blender Pesto Recipe 

Pesto so good you won't wait for the pasta

Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto accenting smoked wild salmon, reduced-fat Swiss cheese and Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix, all from Costco Wholesale. Roll it up and enjoy.

The refrigerated pesto makes an early appearance with two organic brown eggs and leftover organic quinoa, a whole grain from Bolivia that has fewer carbs than pasta or rice, and is a great source of protein. All the ingredients except the coarsely ground Aleppo red pepper on the eggs are from Costco Wholesale.

A couple of spoonfuls of pesto melting on an open-face omelet of egg whites and reduced-fat Swiss cheese. All but the sun-dried tomato and Aleppo pepper are from Costco Wholesale.

I almost forgot to use the pesto to dress organic whole-wheat spaghetti from Trader Joe's.

Editor's note: In 2018, five years after I wrote this, Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto remains among my favorite items from Costco Wholesale.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The refrigerated Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto that showed up at my Costco Wholesale in Hackensack a couple of months ago was an early sign of spring.

The bright color and flavor of the imported Italian basil and sheep's milk cheese that goes into it are perfect for lots of dishes besides pasta.

This pesto is good right out of the fridge with fish, smoked wild salmon and eggs, and it makes a great sandwich spread.

Since I'm on a no-bread, no-pizza diet, I deconstruct the sandwich and roll up the pesto-accented ingredients. 

A classic: organic whole-wheat spaghetti with pesto.

I used the last few ounces on Sunday night with a half-pound of Trader Joe's Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti, which I drained and returned to the pot for dressing.

The pesto-kissed, al dente pasta filled my mouth with flavor, and there was plenty left over for breakfast this morning, along with a small wedge of fresh-tomato frittata.

Pesto sauce shouldn't be heated up before you use it to dress pasta, one reason it isn't as good when you plate and reheat leftovers in the microwave, so you should set a limit of about 2 minutes.

A Spaghetti Western on a plate

Organic whole-wheat spaghetti with eggs, above and below, are the key to a no-bread, no pizza diet. Brown rice is another good bread substitute that won't put on weight.

What do you get when you serve a Western Omelet with spaghetti? 

A Spaghetti Western on a plate.

I don't make Western Omelets, but I do enjoy organic eggs sunny side up and frittatas with fresh and sun-dried tomatoes, and reduced fat cheese.

And I serve them frequently at breakfast with Trader Joe's Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti.

There's is nothing quite like the taste of spaghetti that is twirled in a warm egg yolk.

Organic brown rice with beans are another good breakfast side dish.

 

The body seems to process whole-wheat spaghetti, brown rice and sweet potatoes better than their conventional, white counterparts.

I can have great-tasting whole-wheat spaghetti for breakfast and dinner with no discernible weight gain.

This week, I dressed a pound of whole-wheat spaghetti in a leftover sauce of sweet peppers, tomatoes, onion, garlic and olive oil that I used to prepare fresh, wild-caught cod fillets the night before.  

A slice of reduced-fat Swiss cheese in the frittata puffs up under the broiler.

 

Leftovers get lost in the refrigerator

Organic whole-wheat spaghetti with salted cod fish and anchovies.

Canned-fish salad with celery, Dijon mustard, lime juice and ground cumin.

Editor's note: Why do I end up eating all of the leftovers? Also today, a trip to Costco yields two beautiful all-cotton shirts, and I rave over the salads at a Thai restaurant.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

On Christmas Day, I had a canned-fish salad with tuna, salmon and sardines as part of a homemade Feast of the Seven Fishes, relying on what I had on hand.

A few days later, I went looking for the canned-fish salad, and couldn't find it. 

So I made more, this time adding a small dice of sweet apple to cans of pink salmon and sardines with celery, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and ground cumin.

Today, rummaging in the refrigerator for a snack, I found the first version behind several other containers. 

I tried them side by side, and definitely prefer the one with the apple in it. 

Leftovers don't get any respect in our house from anyone but me.

In an effort to cut down the time and work that go into home-cooked meals, I make large batches of mashed sweet potatoes, pasta with sardines, canned-fish salad, 10-grain hot cereal with dried fruit and other dishes.

But I'm the one who usually ends up eating almost all of them, as other members of the family -- the meat eaters -- chase after a fresh taste sensation almost every night.

If something is good, I can eat the same dish a few times a week.

On Sunday afternoon, I made a pound of Trader Joe's Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti with bottled Victoria Marinara Sauce, salted cod fish and anchovies. 

Even though I mentioned my intention to do so to my wife that morning, she prepared a big pot of tripe soup, and I was the only one who had spaghetti.

I ate it with leftover flounder no one but me touched after we had it for dinner one night, and my teenage son never had any of the fish.

Multi-tasking at Costco

I went to Costco Wholesale in Hackensack today for Kashi Trail Mix Chewy Granola Bars and raw, sodium-free almonds, and came home with those items and two beautiful, all-cotton shirts for only $17.99 each.

  

My salad days

I continue to be wowed by the salads at Wondee's, our favorite Thai restaurant (photos above).

On Saturday night, we shared a crunchy, fresh green papaya salad with lemon juice, chili, peanuts, green beans, tomato and dried ground shrimp (Som Thum, $8).

We also shared a second salad, from the vegetarian menu, of crispy tofu tossed with shredded apple, carrot, orange and onion in lime juice and chili paste (Yum Rod Pedt, $10).

Our entree (photo above) was steamed jumbo shrimp topped with sweet and sour chili sauce (Koong Lard Prig, $17).

We also had wonton and seafood soups.
 

Wondee's Fine Thai Food and Noodles, 296 Main St., Hackensack; 201-883-1715. BYO. Free parking in rear off Camden Street. 

Out-of-towners meet at Trader Joe's

Part of a mural at a Trader Joe's in Manhattan.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss a Trader Joe's in Manhattan, and how recycling doesn't have to stop at plastic shopping bags.

 
A man standing on the long checkout line Friday at a popular Trader Joe's in Manhattan turned to the woman behind him and asked if the store carried wine.

Soon, she mentioned she was from Portland, Maine, and he said he was from Boston, and they compared notes on wine sales at Trader Joe's in those cities.

I chimed in I was from New Jersey.

I praised this Trader Joe's on Sixth Avenue and West 21st Street for having the same prices as the store in Paramus I usually shop in. 

I had stopped there to buy three 1-pound packages of Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti at $1.39 each.

When cooked, the 100% whole-wheat spaghetti is indistinguishable from conventional pasta, and it's sodium-free.

Trader Joe's Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti at the Chlesea store.

Recycling wars

The wrappers from Trader Joe's spaghetti, Kashi bars, spicy Korean soup and ice cream, and the plastic bags my daily newspaper comes in all end up in a plastic shopping bag for recycling at ShopRite supermarkets.

I also recycle all of the plastic food wrapping from Costco Wholesale, which often bundles two or three containers of soup, mustard, ketchup, extra-virgin olive oil and other products.

The filmy plastic from the dry cleaners also ends up in the plastic shopping bag.

Even the plastic wrap from Costco's fresh fish fillets go into the bag after they dry out on the counter. 

 

Left to right, plastic bags from the newspaper, ice cream and dried coconut milk.

Heading to the Paramus ShopRite to recycle bags and food wrappers.