Worth the detour: 99-cents sardines, cheap wine

Bottles of wine imported from Italy, Spain and Hungary were $3.99 to $5 at Corrado's Family Affair on the Clifton-Paterson border.

A bottle of Charles Shaw California Cabernet Sauvignon (Two-buck Chuck) from Trader Joe's, left, supposedly contains the same 750 milliliters as the imported bottle next to it. The Charles Shaw bottle costs $2.98 at the Westfield store.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss a shopping trip to Paterson's Middle Eastern food bazaar; a canned-fish salad with chick peas, feta cheese and spinach; and plastic-bag recycling.

I still jump into my hybrid car and drive 10 miles to Paterson's Middle Eastern food-shopping district for the best prices on sardines, wine, yogurt drink and other products.

At Fattal's Bakery on Sunday, I picked up 20 cans of Al Shark-brand Moroccan Sardines in spicy oil or tomato sauce for 99 cents a can (4.23 ounces and 4.38 ounces, respectively).

A 1-gallon container of Merve Ayran Yogurt Drink was $8.69.

Parking at Fattal's (975-77 Main St.) is far easier than at Brothers Produce in the Paterson Farmers' Market, another source of 99-cents sardines.

Then, I drove a short distance to just over the Paterson-Clifton border and Corrado's  Family Affair for 1-pound bags of salted cod fish, but the store didn't have any.

So, I picked up store-made crumbled feta cheese ($2.99 a pound) and a bunch of fresh spinach ($1.69 a pound) I needed for a recipe.

In Corrado's liquor store, I bought 5 bottles of imported red wine ($3.99 to $5 each).

Canned-fish salad with chick peas, apple, feta cheese and spinach, served over fresh spinach leaves dressed with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Fishing for salad

I had seen a tuna salad with chick peas, feta cheese and spinach on the cold food bar at the Whole Foods Market in Paramus, and decided to try it with the items I got at Corrado's.

But I didn't stop at tuna, adding cans of pink salmon and sardines with their liquid to my canned-fish salad.

Then, I diced a Gala Apple and celery, including the leaves; drained, rinsed and added a can of chick peas; and crumbled feta cheese.

I washed the fresh spinach leaves and cut them into ribbons and added that to the salad with spinach stems.

The dressing was Dijon mustard, fresh lime juice and ground cumin, all added to taste. 

Canned-fish salad with organic spring mix, beefsteak tomato, olives and garlic cloves.

Recycling bags   

ShopRite is the only supermarket chain in North Jersey that accepts plastic bags for recycling, but we also put plastic food wrapping, plastic food seals and any other flexible plastic in the same bag.

     

ShopRite in Paramus has two large bins for recycled plastic bags.

Golden Pineapples were 2 for $5.

I didn't go home empty handed, picking up 2 Golden Pineapples for $5. 

When I told the cashier I would take the pineapples without a plastic bag, she gave me the 10-cent credit for customers who bring a re-usable bag.

Shopping, eating and restaurant notes

Image by g[wiz] via Flickr

 If we eat meatless meals, do I have to do less food shopping?

We started our regimen on Sunday, I made my weekly visit to Costco on Monday and didn't go food shopping again until today, when I bought broccoli rabe (photo) to go along with tonight's spaghetti and sardines in tomato sauce. (I even have some terrific Balthazar Bakery mini-baguettes in the freezer to scoop up the sauce.)

I didn't have to go to ShopRite, but wanted to recycle plastic bags that were piling up in my garage, and thought I'd go in to see if I could get collard or mustard greens for tonight. But the greens had brown edges or looked as if they had been there from the day before. 

The broccoli rabe seemed high at $2.99 a pound, and it rang up at $4.69 (1.57 pounds). Wow. So who is more bitter, me or the broccoli? I looked at arepas (Colombian corn cakes), and they were priced $1 more than at Hackensack Market. The other items I bought were on sale: extra-sharp cheddar cheese and Breyers ice cream for my wife and son.

Yesterday, I met Bernadette Baum, the vibrant and charming author of the "Diva Indoors" food blog, and her friend Jennifer for lunch at Huong Viet in Nutley, and managed to find meatless choices on the extensive menu: vegetarian summer rolls, egg noodles with tofu but without the usual ground pork, fried tilapia and mustard greens with garlic.

Service was slow when I had dinner there with my wife and son, but I was brought tea and a menu when I walked in around 12:15 yesterday afternoon and said I was waiting for someone. After Bernadette and Jennifer arrived, we were moved quickly to a bigger table and, although the waitress was pleasant, some of our food took a long time to emerge from the kitchen. I also noticed food stains on the uncovered table from previous customers.
 
I again tried the thick, black coffee I loved from my dinner there, and again didn't have the patience to wait for it to drip into the cup -- a full five minutes. I hurried it along, but it was only lukewarm when I drank it. Bernadette asked for "Vietnamese coffee" and later asked to see the package, but the waitress said it was too big to bring out to the dining room.

For dinner last night, we had fully cooked, all-vegetable patties (Costco) that I warmed up in the oven and topped with sliced cheese. I put mine in pocket bread and added some of my organic salad mix and Dijon mustard. Very nice.