Cooking with arugula, pasta shells and whole whiting

Organic whole-wheat pasta shells from Whole Foods Market in bottled marinara with added white wine, extra-virgin olive oil, anchovies, capers, organic diced tomatoes, baby spinach and arugula.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The peppery flavor of arugula -- one of my favorite greens -- was immediately evident when it started showing up in Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix a few weeks ago.

I have fond memories of a white pizza with arugula -- also called rocket -- and prosciutto I enjoyed more than once at Trattoria La Sorrentina in North Bergen, but that was before I stopped eating meat. 

So, when I saw a 5-ounce package of arugula at the International Food Warehouse in Lodi this week, I decided to add it a cooked pasta dish and my usual salad of spring mix, cucumber and tomato.

In making the pasta dish, I put about a half-pound of organic baby spinach in a large colander and poured the hot water and pasta over them, then added drained pasta, spinach and fresh arugula to another pot with the sauce I had prepared. 

The imported whole-wheat pasta shells took less time to cook al dente than what is listed on the package. 

I used a half-pound of shells and half of a 32-ounce bottle of Kirkland Signature Marinara.

The 5-ounce package of pre-washed arugula was $1.99. At Costco Wholesale, 1-pound plastic tubs of pre-washed organic spring mix and organic baby spinach were $4.99 and $4.29, respectively.

I added peppery arugula, Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese and fresh blueberries to an organic spring mix salad with cucumbers and tomato wedges, all dressed in extra-virgin olive oil and Ponti Balsamic Vinegar, which is free of caramel color.

Coastal Valley Farms Organic Spring Mix was available on Tuesday at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack for the same price as Earthbound Farm's organic salad, but I couldn't find a use-by date on the package of the new product. Both are $4.99 for 16 ounces.

Whole whiting

One of our favorite whole fish is fresh, wild-caught whiting, which is flaky, sweet and has a minimum of bones.

They're inexpensive, too, usually $3.99 a pound at H Mart, the Korean supermarket chain.

Whiting also is a relatively small fish that has potentially much less mercury than larger fish.

On Friday, my wife seasoned, floured and pan-fried whiting she had cut in half. 

I had a leftover piece of wild king salmon for dinner, but got to the whiting this morning.

An egg-free breakfast of pan-fried whiting, upper right; fried plantains, and spicy Korean stewed tofu and Alaskan pollock, both from H Mart in Englewood.

Pan-fried whole whiting are sweet and easy to eat.

Leftover wild king salmon with pesto, Aleppo pepper and fresh lime juice.

A new pesto?

The price, jar size and ingredients list are the same, but the refrigerated Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto I brought home from Costco Wholesale on May 6 seems different ($7.99).

The great taste is still there, but it has lost the bright-green color of the Italian-grown basil that is one of the main ingredients.

Basil Pesto still makes a great sandwich spread and pasta sauce, with no heating required, and can be added as a garnish to frittatas, baked sweet potatoes and soup.  

'Never on Monday' is my rule at Hackensack Costco

On Friday at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, some of the free samples contained poultry, such as the mini tacos, above. The samples are prepared and offered by employees of a company called CDS, and I don't know whether it is affiliated with Costco.

 Editor's note: Today's buffet includes a warning about free samples at Costco Wholesale, the simple pleasures of preparing meals at home, a visit to my favorite Korean tofu house and shopping at H Mart in Englewood.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Don't shop for food when you're hungry, especially on Mondays at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, where you'll have a hard time finding any free samples.

Last Monday, the only samples that didn't contain chicken, which I don't eat, were tiny cups of aloe drink.

Two CDS employees confirmed that the fewest samples are provided on the first day of the workweek.

At the Hackensack warehouse store on Friday, I tried a little salad with queso fresco and sweet-and-sour pickles, which gave me gas and a bloated feeling.

Two other free samples I saw, ravioli and mini tacos, contained chicken and cheese.

One CDS employee said fewer samples are offered on Mondays, because they are "slow."

Simple food, simple pleasures

Two Kirkland Signature organic brown eggs served over leftover organic brown rice prepared in an electric cooker with Costco's organic diced tomatoes. One yolk is covered with za'atar thyme mixture, left, and the other has shredded Asiago Cheese and Aleppo pepper. The price for two dozen organic eggs hasn't changed ($6.99), but Costco has reduced the size of the paper label by two-thirds.

Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix and Sunset-brand cucumbers and Campari Tomatoes make a great salad, especially with sodium-free almonds I roast at home and dust with ground cinnamon from Vietnam -- all available at Costco Wholesale. The dressing is extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. A 3-pound bag of the almonds went up recently by about $3 to $14.99, likely as the result of the drought in California.

Kirkland Signature 100% Egg Whites and reduced-fat Swiss cheese slices from Costco make a great omelet, especially with bottled Mexican green salsa or salsa verde, above, available at Hackensack Market, ShopRite and other stores.

In the last few weeks, Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix has exploded with the peppery flavor of arugula, above and below. Spring mix over warm organic brown rice adds up to a simple, delicious dinner.

Cinnamon-dusted almonds and a little Kirkland Signature Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese from Italy are a couple of welcome additions to a salad of pre-washed organic spring mix. The Italian cheese, made from part-skimmed cow's milk and aged more than 24 months, is $11.49 a pound at Costco.

What's for breakfast? A wedge of sweet potato frittata with organic brown rice and Mexican green salsa.

I picked up a 6.5-pound bag of sweet potatoes at Costco on Friday ($5.99), baked five of them until the natural sugar bubbled out and sliced two uncooked ones for a sweet-and-savory frittata of whole eggs, whites, shredded cheese, no-salt seasoning and chopped garlic, all topped with bottled La Costena Mexican green salsa.

Holier guacamole

I have enjoyed the preservative-free Wholly Guacamole I've been buying at Costco for the past few years, and it's now organic.

You still get three 16-ounce portions, which freeze beautifully, and the price is $10.99, compared to $9.49 for the non-organic version.

Hass Avocados are used, along with garlic and other ingredients, and the result is a deliciously smooth, thick guacamole perfect for eating on its own, mixing with bottled salsa or spreading on a sandwich.

Also on Friday, we picked up more Coleman Organic Chicken, which is labeled "hatched, raised and harvested in USA."

Drumsticks were $1.99 a pound, but skinless-and-boneless thighs were $4.79 a pound, a very un-Costco-like price.

No tofu tonight

Feeling gassy and bloated from free food samples at Costco on Friday, I stuck with a simple Korean seafood pancake and side dishes that night at our favorite tofu house, So Gong Dong in Palisades Park.

But the meat eaters in the family went to town, ordering Pork Soft Tofu "more spicy" with rice ($9.99) and Beef Barbecue ($15.99).

So Gong Dong serves four free side dishes, including cucumber kimchi, above, and cabbage kimchi, below, and when you finish them, they are replenished without any need to prompt the servers.

Side dishes of seasoned bean sprouts, above, and radish and raw squid, below, the spiciest of the four.

A Korean pancake or pajun with seafood serves four and comes with a dipping sauce, below ($11.99).

A scissor is supplied to cut the beef barbecue.

Part of the place-mat menu.

The second-floor entrance of So Gong Dong, 118 Broad Ave., Palisades Park (201-313-5550). Open seven days.

Wild shrimp from Mexico

At H Mart in Englewood on Saturday, I asked to use the public restroom upstairs, and discovered it wasn't renovated when the store got a welcome makeover.

Still, the food downstairs looked as good as always, and I picked up large, wild shrimp from Mexico ($14.49 a pound), collard greens (99 cents a pound) and from the wide selection of prepared food, Stewed Tofu ($3.99), Stewed Pollock ($6.99) and an Assortment of Pan-Fried Seafood Pancakes ($6.49), all from Jinga, a food company in Queens.

One-pound packages of sweet Driscoll's Strawberries from California were two for $3.99.

At H Mart in Englewood, clockwise from the top, seafood pancakes, seaweed-and-rice rolls called kimbap and spicy fried chicken.

The selection of panchan or side dishes is extensive.

Do food shoppers care about quality?

Image via Wikipedia

 My post on Thursday about the flier for Fairway Market in Paramus drew a comment from Anonymous:

"I put it to you that the majority of Fairway shoppers don't give a hoot about antibiotics or hormones and whatever byproducts their $8.99 ribeyes munch on, they mainly care about price and flavor."

I always get a kick out of comments such as this. It's another way of saying, I have the right to eat food that is bad for me as long as it tastes good and the price is right. I know such people are legion, and it's none of my business what you eat, but I also reserve the right to report how supermarkets publish fliers that deliberately obscure the quality of the food they sell.


When ShopRite sells better quality, naturally raised beef at lower prices than Fairway's conventional beef, then it might be a good idea if shoppers at that upscale market "give a hoot" about what they are buying there.

And if you care about quality and want to avoid antibiotics and growth hormones, there is really no way you can shop in a single store -- unless you can afford to spend all your food dollars at Whole Foods Market, just a few miles from Fairway in Paramus.


You won't find better fish and meat anywhere else in North Jersey, and if you shop carefully, Whole Foods can be rewarding. I stopped there this afternoon for meatless substitutes, which are no bargain, but also found California cabernet sauvignon and merlot at $4.99 a bottle; a bunch of conventional, Jersey-grown arugula for 99 cents; and bronze-cut, organic bow-tie pasta from Italy for $1.99.

Dover sole fillets were $5.99 a pound. Whole fish, nestled in ice, such as whiting, were $3.99 and $4.99 a pound. (Whole Foods says it gets fresh fish seven days a week.) 


But there is no way I can rely solely on Whole Foods or any other market. Each place has its strengths and weaknesses. Costco often beats everyone on quality and price, and its seafood selection is strong, including frozen wild salmon and mahi-mahi, but it can't match the variety of Whole Foods or H Mart, the Korean chain. 

The handmade tortillas at Trader Joe's are suberb, but you'll pay a premium. I used to rely on Trader Joe's for uncured, preservative-free bacon, hot dogs and cold cuts -- and incredible, fully cooked ribs from the Niman Ranch -- but don't go there much since we stopped eating meat about seven weeks ago.


So, I'll continue to shop at many food stores, taking advantage of their strengths, and continue reading their fliers with a critical eye.

Not always worth the detour

On our road trip, we strayed far from the interstate only twice in search of good food. On mind-numbing I-95 to Florida, Gardner's Bar-B-Que is one of the few local restaurants to advertise to drivers.

The 5-mile drive to the restaurant in Rocky Mount, N.C., was pleasant enough, but the meal was a disappointment and I was partly to blame, succumbing to the offer of a $6.99 lunchtime buffet. Two things the South has in abundance: all-you-can-eat buffets and fried food. Gardner's steam table was large. Still, about the only item of quality was the fried local trout.

We did much better a couple of days later when we left I-95, drove 3 miles to Woodbine, Ga., and stopped at the funky lunchroom of Creative Catering & Design. After we ate, we learned that the owner had returned the night before from visiting her parents in New Jersey. I really enjoyed my salad of fresh arugula with moist chicken breast in a tasty dressing. The desserts ordered by a mother and her two small daughters at the next table looked fabulous.