Seeing too much red? Meatless meals come in a variety of nice colors

SOME LIKE IT HOT: Wedges of a frittata with fresh tomatoes and organic salsa, left, share a plate with spicy stewed tofu and cabbage kimchi.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The bad news about beef and other red meat keeps on coming.

If you overdo it, you can get colon cancer.

If you undercook it, especially when it is ground for hamburgers, there's a good chance you won't kill all of the harmful bacteria in it, according to Consumer Reports magazine.

Cook ground meat to at least medium (an internal temperature of 160 degrees Farenheit).

My policy is to avoid the stuff altogether, relying on wild-caught seafood, cage-free eggs, tofu, organic whole-wheat pasta, salads and other heart- and brain-healthy food.

See a related post:

Brace yourself: What most cows eat

STEWED AND SALTED FISH: A breakfast plate of sauteed spinach, stewed tofu, stewed Alaskan pollack, and Ackee and Saltfish, a Jamaican specialty. You can find prepared tofu and wild-caught pollack at H Mart and other Korean supermarkets.

HOW SWEET IT IS: My wife's sweet-banana dumplings are wonderful with savory Ackee and Saltfish. 

GET SMASHED: Organic sweet potatoes from Trader Joe's and peeled California garlic from Costco Wholesale are boiled together until soft, then mashed with extra-virgin olive oil and seasonings.

SIDE DISHES: Oven-roasted Brussels Sprouts with mashed organic sweet potatoes.

FROM THE DEEP SEA: Argentine Red Shrimp grilled on top of the stove. We've also cooked the shrimp, right out of the freezer and without the heads, in a Pulmuone-brand organic soft-tofu stew kit I found on sale at H Mart, the Korean supermarket in Little Ferry.

KEEN ON QUINOA: Two organic eggs with a dusting of grated Pecorino Romano Cheese, accompanied by Brussels Sprouts, on a bed of organic brown rice and quinoa prepared in an electric cooker.

CRAB AND SLAW: Coleslaw, top, and Wild Red King Crab salad with sweet peppers in a Dijon mustard dressing.

COOKING AHEAD: This frittata started with a mixture of whole eggs and whites, plus grated cheese and some low-fat milk. As the bottom set over medium heat on top of the stove, I added sliced plum tomatoes and organic salsa. Then, it went under the broiler for about 20 minutes to brown and finished cooking.

SUNNY SIDE UP: Two organic eggs with sauteed spinach over organic brown rice and quinoa.

In the wide world of food and drink, here are some of my favorite things

Garofalo Whole Wheat Pappardelle isn't organic and it's more expensive than the imported organic whole-wheat pastas sold at ShopRite and other stores. But these wide, mouth-filling noodles have an appeal no other shape can match. Here, I dressed them with Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto from Costco Wholesale ($7.99). A 1-pound package of pappardelle is $2.59 at Jerry's Gourmet & More, 410 S. Dean St., Englewood. Cook them for 10 minutes in unsalted boiling water, not the 8 minutes listed on the package.

I stuffed an egg-white omelet with slices of Kirkland Signature Wild Alaskan Smoked Sockeye Salmon, Basil Pesto and reduced-fat Swiss cheese, all from Costco. A 1-pound package of the sliced salmon is $15.99. The Hackensack Costco is closing on Tuesday, and a bigger Costco will open in the Teterboro Landing Shopping Center off of Route 46 on Wednesday.

Arirang Kimchi is made by hand in a storefront in the H&Y Shopping Center, 1 Remsen Place, Ridgefield. This crunchy mahk or cabbage kimchi is about $11 for a half-gallon jar.

Mustard greens were $1.79 a pound at H Mart, 260 Bergen Turnpike, Little Ferry. At home, I washed the greens, cut them into smaller pieces and sauteed them with olive and sesame oils, and minced garlic. Seasonings included black pepper, red-pepper flakes and sea salt.

Two cage-free organic eggs over organic quinoa, which I prepared in a rice cooker with organic diced tomatoes, and drained and rinsed black beans. Two dozen organic eggs are $6.99 at Costco Wholesale. Quinoa has fewer carbs than rice or pasta. 

These bottles of red wine from Chile and Portugal were among 15 shipped to me from Splash Wines, an online retailer. I paid about $5.67 a bottle with a Groupon ($55.20) and shipping ($29.95). I especially like the Carmenere from Chile's Colchagua Valley, left.

-- VICTOR E. SASSON

Marriage of eggs and pasta in the morning is made in cooking heaven

I poached two organic eggs from Costco Wholesale in marinara sauce and extra-virgin olive oil with shredded Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, a little basil pesto and chopped herbs from my garden, and served them for breakfast over leftover organic linguine with sardines.

Editor's note: Eating a heart-healthy diet doesn't mean you have to give up on flavor or comfort foods, such as organic whole-wheat linguine eaten with the yolks of organic eggs, poached in marinara sauce, sunny side up.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I poached two organic eggs in marinara left over from making organic whole-wheat linguine with sardines the night before, and served them with the pasta for a hearty, rib-sticking breakfast.

Twirling the linguine in the broken yolk and marinara adds layers of sensual flavor.

Since embarking on a heart-healthy diet more than five years ago, organic whole wheat pasta is one of my bread substitutes at breakfast -- good with whole eggs, egg-white omelets, frittatas and other foods.

I used a 10-inch GreenPan, about a cup of marinara and a few ounces of extra-virgin olive oil.

When the mixture started to simmer, I broke two eggs into the pan and added shredded cheese and, later, chopped fresh mint, parsley and oregano from my garden. 

Organic eggs over organic whole-wheat linguine.

Linguine with sardines

I heated up leftovers from 1 pound of linguine I had made for dinner the night before with:

Victoria Marinara Sauce, red wine, extra-virgin olive oil, a can of drained and rinsed anchovies, three cans of Moroccan sardines in tomato sauce, capers and such seasonings as black pepper, ground garlic and red-pepper flakes.

The Luigi Vitelli-brand Organic Whole Wheat Linguine came from ShopRite in Paramus, and many of the other ingredients are from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

See more heart-healthy ideas below:

An egg-white omelet stuffed with fresh spinach, smoked wild salmon and reduced-fat cheese, served over leftover organic quinoa prepared in an electric cooker.

For an egg-less breakfast, I heated up leftover whole wheat pappardelle from Jerry's Gourmet and More in Englewood, dressed in Costco's Basil Pesto and pine nuts, and stewed tofu from H Mart in Little Ferry, and served them with fresh spinach sauteed in olive oil.

H Mart in Englewood usually sells fresh wild-caught whole red snapper for $7.99 a pound ($26.37 for three). Here, my wife seasoned the fish, added fresh tomato, okra and onions, closed the aluminum-foil to form a pouch and roasted them for 30 minutes in the oven at 450 degrees.

Salad-bar spinach omelets, kimchi rice and fresh wild-caught fish

Fresh spinach from the cafe salad bar at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, where I volunteer one day a week, and reduced-fat Swiss Cheese from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack are terrific for stuffing egg-white omelets. Here, I served the omelet with sweet potatoes mashed with extra-virgin olive oil, cinnamon and other seasonings.

This morning, I used the last of the salad-bar spinach for another egg-white omelet, this one made with grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese from Costco Wholesale, za'atar thyme mixture and Aleppo red pepper, the last two from Fattal's, 975 Main St., Paterson.

An easy snack uses leftover organic brown rice, which I prepared in an electric cooker with organic diced tomatoes, and Arirang Kimchi, made and sold in a storefront at the H&Y Marketplace, 1 Remsen Place, Ridgefield.

My wife seasoned and pan-fried fresh whole croaker she bought on Sunday for $2.99 a pound at the H Mart, 28 Lafayette Ave., Englewood. Whole papaya, Kabocha squash, mustard greens and scallions also were on sale.

She also purchased two large wild-caught red snappers for $5.99 a pound at H Mart. She seasoned the fish and prepared it in a covered pot with fresh thyme, sweet peppers, onion and garlic. The light, flavorful sauce included extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lime juice and the liquid the fish gives up during cooking.

My wife cut up, seeded and boiled the Kabocha squash, including the dark-green skin, then mashed it with extra-virgin olive oil and seasonings. This morning, the mashed squash was a great bread substitute with two organic eggs from Costco with shredded Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese and Aleppo red pepper.

--VICTOR E. SASSON

In Consumer Reports survey, Costco prices for organics are best

Organic eggs from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, served here with organic quinoa prepared in an electric rice cooker, are $6.99 for two dozen, cheaper than at other supermarkets shopped by Consumer Reports.

A hearty breakfast: A Costco organic egg with leftover Whole Foods Market organic whole-wheat shells, prepared in vodka sauce with added red wine, sardines and anchovies.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Consumer Reports shopped at eight grocers for organics -- including bananas, extra-virgin olive oil, milk and eggs -- but didn't price those items at Costco Wholesale.

In a May 2015 cover story, "The Best Supermarkets in America," some of those organic foods are cheaper at Costco than at Price Chopper, Walmart, Whole Foods Market, Fresh Direct or the other stores listed by the magazine.

At $3.99, a dozen organic large brown eggs were cheapest at Whole Foods Market, but Costco sells 24 for $6.99 or $3.50 a dozen.

None of the stores listed by Consumer Reports could match Costco's price for organic bananas, $1.99 for three pounds or about 66 cents a pound.

A half-gallon of organic milk is $3.66 at Costco when you buy three, compared to $3.49 at Safeway (no stores in New Jersey), and $3.58 at Amazon Fresh.

Though I haven't purchased organic quinoa, whole organic chickens or organic extra-virgin olive oil recently at my Hackensack Costco, I believe those items also are cheaper than at the stores listed in the magazine.

Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix is $4.79 to $4.99 a pound at Costco, and Organic Carrots are $6.99 for a 10-pound bag or 69 cents a pound.

Consumer Reports didn't compare organic spring mix prices, and the cheapest organic baby carrots listed were $1.69 a pound at Harris Tweeter (none in New Jersey).

I prepared organic quinoa with chopped fresh garlic, organic diced tomatoes and organic extra-virgin olive oil, all from Costco Wholesale, in an electric rice cooker and served it for breakfast with a Jamaican specialty, ackee and salt fish.

A baked sweet potato with  Mateo's Gourmet Salsa from Costco Wholesale, along with roasted sweet peppers and organic carrots, also from Costco, go great with ackee and salt fish.

A 5-pound box of sweet potatoes -- a great bread substitute -- was on sale for $2.99 on Tuesday at ShopRite in Englewoood. I boiled them with whole California garlic cloves from Costco Wholesale and mashed them with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and other seasonings, including cinnamon and curry powder.

Whole eggs or just whites, try these great breakfasts

Two organic eggs from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack served over leftover organic brown rice, both seasoned with za'atar thyme mixture from Fattal's Bakery in Paterson. The eggs also get a pinch of Aleppo pepper, also from Fattal's. As the eggs were cooking in extra-virgin olive oil, I shaved Costco's Kirkland Signature Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese over them.

A wedge of frittata made with Kirkland Signature Egg Whites from Costco, chopped garlic and green pepper, shredded cheese and fresh tomatoes. Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto was added after the frittata came out of the oven, and the wedge was served with a leftover organic brown rice-lentil dish prepared in an electric cooker.

Two organic eggs sunny side up with Aleppo pepper are served with skin-on sweet potatoes and garlic cloves that were boiled together, then mashed with extra-virgin olive oil, Costco's Himalayan Pink Salt, cinnamon and other seasoning.

This morning, I threw together a quick egg-white omelet with Kirkland Signature Wild Alaskan Smoked Sockeye Salmon and a slice of reduced-fat Swiss cheese, and ate it with leftover steamed wild haddock fillet from Costco, right, and a spinach-like green called collaloo. The Canadian haddock was $8.99 a pound.

-- VICTOR E. SASSON

Cooking with organic eggs, pesto and Mixed 7 Grains

Three organic eggs from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack fried sunny side up with shaved Parmigiano Reggiano, also from Costco, and Aleppo pepper. I served them with leftover Chinese broccoli and Mixed 7 Grains, a yummy Korean blend of brown rices and beans that requires at least three hours of soaking.

Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto from Costco dressing fat, mouth-filling ribbons of Garofalo Whole Wheat Pappardelle from Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood. The refrigerated pesto requires no heating, but I return the drained pasta to the warm pot, add the pesto and mix them with a fork and spoon. The Italian pasta takes several minutes longer to cook al dente than what is listed on the package. I drank a red wine from Sicily with my meal and finished with a simply dressed salad of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix.

For a sweet, savory and spicy breakfast, I plated and reheated smoky mashed skin-on sweet potatoes; a frittata wedge with chopped garlic, cheese and Mexican green salsa, and store-bought Korean stewed tofu. The sweet potatoes were seasoned with Kirkland Signature Sweet Mesquite Seasoning, which has spices, sea salt, sugar and "natural mesquite smoke flavoring." 

A few ounces of bottled Mexican green salsa, available in supermarkets and at Trader Joe's, went into the egg mixture and was spooned over the top of the frittata after it was removed from the oven. 

For breakfast today, I plated and reheated more sweet potatoes, sauteed baby spinach, store-bought Korean stewed pollock, top left, and mackerel with ackee, a Jamaican fruit, all leftovers.

During cooking, I grabbed for the Kirkland Signature Crushed Red Pepper, right, but added Sweet Mesquite Seasoning instead, giving mashed sweet potatoes and Chinese broccoli a pleasant, smoky taste. The first ingredient listed on the label of the Sweet Mesquite Seasoning is sea salt; a little goes a long way.

Why can't I find what I want at Costco Wholesale?

An open-face, egg-white omelet with sliced Campari Tomato, Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto and shredded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (all ingredients from Costco Wholesale), served with leftover baked sweet potatoes and organic carrots.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
Editor

Where are those bleach tablets I bought for a couple of years at Costco Wholesale, and dropped into my toilet tank to keep the bowl white?

Where are those Kirkland Signature fruit, seed and nut bars I carried around to help me skip lunch?

They're not available at my Hackensack Costco.

Last year, Della-brand organic brown rice disappeared for a couple of months before it re-appeared.

By that time, I had switched to another brand, Lundberg, a non-GMO long-grain brown rice that is grown in California.

I found another great vegetarian soup from Cedarlane Natural Foods in California at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack today.

Now you see them ...

In addition to stuff that disappears after you get to like it, Costco stocks "seasonal" items for only part of the year.

Refrigerated soups are nowhere to be found in the summer months. Sweet potatoes only show up around the holidays. 

Other stores sell sweet potatoes year-round. 

Today, I picked up Cedarlane Chopped Tomato and Vegetable Soup with Quinoa ($7.99 for two 32-ounce containers).

I also bought a package of frozen wild mackerel fillets caught in Norway and prepared with sea salt in South Korea (2 pounds, 3 ounces for $14.99).

I probably could do better buying fresh whole mackerel and having it filleted at H Mart or another Korean supermarket.

Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

Fresh fish fillets

Other purchases include Nature's Bakery Fig Bars ($8.49), Kirkland Signature Organic (Brown) Eggs (24 for $6.99), Kirkland Signature Multigrain Bread (2 loaves for $4.49) and 2 pounds of Jarlsberg Lite Sliced Swiss ($8.59), one of the three reduced-fat cheeses I buy at Costco.

I also picked up a 1-pound package of Kirkland Signature Wild Alaskan Smoked Sockeye Salmon ($15.59).

The sliced salmon is great for adding to omelets and frittatas or for eating rolled up with Jarlsberg Lite Swiss Cheese and dipped in Dijon mustard.

For dinner, I bought 1.74 pounds of flounder fillets from Iceland that were packed today ($7.99 a pound). 

The wild-caught haddock in the case was from Nov. 30, and I haven't seen any Pacific cod fillets in the past two months or so.

The thin flounder fillets cooked in about 5 minutes when added to a pan with bottled Mexican green salsa and fresh lime juice that were heated until they were boiling gently.

Flounder fillets in bottled Mexican green salsa.

I served them with boiled and mashed skin-on sweet potatoes, Kabocha squash and garlic cloves moistened with extra-virgin olive oil and seasoned with Kirkland Signature Himalayan Pink Salt and Organic No-Salt Seasoning.

When it comes to food, green -- not greed -- is good

Garlicky sauteed water spinach delivered by Lotus Cafe in Hackensack and plated the next morning with a homemade cheese-and-smoked-wild-salmon frittata and organic brown rice. 

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

A new buffet restaurant opening soon in my hometown of Hackensack? That leaves me cold.

Eating as much as you can just to get a good deal seems like greed to me, and it can make you feel awful (see previous post).

Now, green is another story. In food, green is good -- even the mold added to blue cheese.

Spinach, bok choy, collard greens, kale -- it's all good.

H Mart and H&Y Marketplace, two chains of Korean supermarkets in Bergen County, are great places to find greens -- as many as 20 are offered in each store.

Baby bok choy and stewed tofu, both from H Mart, served with homemade organic quinoa. The bok choy was on sale for 68 cents a pound.

Chinese takeout is another way to add healthy greens to your diet.

We've switched to delivery from Lotus Cafe in Hackensack after the people who answer the phone at Zen Kitchen in Teaneck tried to add a ubiquitous brown sauce to nearly every dish.

The Lotus Cafe order of sauteed water spinach delivered along with a few other dishes on Friday night was filled with slices of fresh garlic -- one of our favorite preparations.

I brought home fresh baby spinach from a salad bar in the cafe at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, blanched it in boiling water, drained the pan, and added sesame oil and garlic powder. Here, I served it with leftover wild-caught haddock fillets from Costco Wholesale ($8.99 a pound) prepared in coconut milk with sweet pepper, garlic and onion.

Baby bok choy from H Mart with organic brown eggs from Costco Wholesale, above, and haddock in coconut milk over organic quinoa, below. The eggs are from cage-free hens that do not receive hormones or antibiotics.

There is nothing like fresh, leafy collaloo, a spinach-like green, served as a side dish with many a Jamaican meal on that sunny island, but here in New Jersey we have to make do with chopped and canned callaloo in brine (salted water).

This morning, we had callaloo prepared with salted cod fish, sweet pepper, onion and garlic.

Collaloo with salted cod fish, fresh tomato, sweet pepper, onion and garlic, left.