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.

The fattiest fish is the best fish

Whole sea bass, okra and other vegetables, cooked with sake and lime juice.

We need Omega-3 fatty acids to make our bodies work properly, and there is no more delicious source than wild-caught fish, including salmon and cod.


But you don't have to buy the most expensive fish to get the heart-healthy benefits of Omega-3s, according to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.


A seafood nutrition chart shows a 3.5-ounce portion of fresh or smoked black cod, also called sable fish, contains 1,800 milligrams of Omega-3s, but they are among the priciest selections on a menu or in the market.


You can get 500 milligrams of Omega-3s from the same portion of sole, 470 mg from Alaska pollock  and 450 mg from rockfish.


Pacific oysters


Among shellfish, a 3.5-ounce portion of Pacific oysters contains 1,400 mg of Omega-3s.


In January, I ordered black cod at Maritime Parc, an expensive seafood restaurant in Jersey City, but we enjoy Alaska pollock at home at least once a week.


This past Sunday, I found Pacific rockfish on sale at Whole Foods in Paramus for $8.99 a pound (40% off) and bought it to add variety to the wild-caught fillets I usually buy at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack -- Pacific True Cod, haddock and sole.


Pearly white rockfish


We fried some of the rockfish, and coated the rest in a mixture of bread crumbs and chili spices. 


The fillets on ice were reddish, but they turned pearly white in the oven and broke into big flakes when we ate them.


For breakfast this morning, I enjoyed leftover rockfish and  brown rice with cabbage and saltfish (salted pollock) my wife made for dinner last night.

This fatty sashimi comes from a farmed fish and costs $79.99 a pound.

Alaska King or Chinook salmon -- usually the most expensive kind -- provides 1,700 mg of Omega-3s, but you can get 1,200 mg from the same portion of Sockeye and 1,100 from Coho salmon.


A 3.5-ounce portion of Alaska Pink salmon provides 1,300 mg of Omega-3s, but I've never seen fresh or frozen fillets of this fish in New Jersey.


A can of Pink salmon provides 1,100 mg of Omega-3s, compared to 1,400 from a can of much more expensive Sockeye or Red salmon.


Sustainable seafood


Alaska says it is a major source of sustainable seafood -- seafood that is managed and fished using practices that ensure there will always be more to catch in the future.


It's a commitment that dates to 1959, "when Alaskans wrote sustainability into their [state] Constitution," according to the marketing institute.


Canned-fish salad


I buy canned Pink salmon at Costco in Hackensack, and mix it with canned yellow-fin tuna and sardines, plus diced celery, sweet pepper or onion, for a fish salad flavored with Dijon mustard, fresh lime juice and powdered cumin.


Costco also sells frozen Alaska Sockeye salmon fillets, smoked and sliced Sockeye salmon, and salted pollock fillets, which usually are boiled to reduce the salt content before the fish is used in cooking.


Boycott bluefin tuna


Last Saturday, during a visit to Mitsuwa Marketplace in Edgewater, I stopped at the refrigerated fish case and stared at the veins of fat in a small piece of raw oh-toro -- the prized belly meat from the endangered giant bluefin tuna.


The price: $79.99 a pound. And this piece came from a farmed bluefin raised in Spain. 


I'm boycotting bluefin tuna, which is high in harmful mercury and which has been driven to the brink of extinction by the Japanese.


I'd rather get my Omega-3s elsewhere.


More information about Alaska seafood is available at the following link: Wild, Natural & Sustainable


Everything you want to know about Omega-3s is at the following WebMD link: The ABCs of Omega-3s

Vegetable stew, guacamole and rising prices

Image via Wikipedia

Wholly Guacamole is packed with avocados.

I keep on discovering new items and old favorites at Costco in Hackensack that help me forget I haven't eaten meat or poultry for more than a year.

A new favorite is Stonewall Kitchen Old Farmhouse Vegetable Stew, packed with potato and carrot chunks, and peas and other veggies that are fresh-tasting and firm to the bite. The ingredient label lists 10 vegetables, plus herbs and spices.

The delicious, milky looking broth contains no dairy. Two 20-ounce portions were $7.99, and they can be frozen.

An item I tried a couple of years ago is appearing more frequently at meals after my son fell in love with the guacamole at Rosa Mexicano in Hackensack, where the appetizer is prepared table-side. The restaurant's guacamole is priced at $12, but contains only two avocados.

Costco's Wholly Guacamole claims to have 15 Hass avocados "in every batch" or five in each of the three 16-ounce portions. It's a much better deal.

Check out the ingredient list: Hass avocados, jalapeno puree, dehydrated onion, salt, granulated garlic. That's it. And it's made in Mexico. I paid $8.49, and it's enough for three meals, plus it can be frozen.

I serve the guacamole after adding a liberal amount of Goya's spicy Salsa Taquera, though you can use chunky salsa or any other hot sauce.

Image by saguayo via Flickr

Rising prices

Costo's prices are trending upward for its own Kirkland Signature brand of smoked wild salmon and 100% whole grain bread.

Now, a pound of Boskovich Farms' organic spinach has jumped to $4.49, from $3.79; and three, long gourmet cucumbers went up 20 cents, to $3.99. 

I've also noticed substantial hikes -- about $2 -- in the price of apples and other fruit sold in 4- or 5-pound packages. 

Other items, such as 2 pounds of salted pollock from China for $6.39, have held the line. Frozen Pacific cod was $14.99 for 2 pounds, just under the price for fresh fillets you sometimes find in the fish case.

Two pounds of Sunset-brand Roma and Campari tomatoes have held steady at $4.99 and $5.49, respectively.  The price is high, but the tomato taste is intense.