Here are several eggselent ideas for breakfast or any other meal

EGGS IN RED SAUCE: Two organic eggs will poach in preheated bottled marinara sauce in minutes, as long as you cover the pan. I plated these with organic brown rice, prepared in an electric cooker with organic chicken stock, organic diced tomatoes, a can of black beans and olive oil. Most of the ingredients in this and the following dishes are from Costco Wholesale in Teterboro.

CHOLESTEROL FREE: Liquid egg whites have no cholesterol. This omelet is stuffed with reduced-fat cheese and organic Mexican-style salsa and accented with chopped fresh cilantro.

MIXING IT UP: Mixed organic vegetables and sauteed fresh baby spinach are the side dished for another egg-white omelet, this one stuffed with smoked wild salmon, grated cheese and salsa.

PASTA TWO WAYS: Organic whole-wheat pasta shells from Whole Foods Market, front, with marinara sauce, sardines, anchovies and chopped black olives. Whole-wheat spaghetti in a lemon, olive oil and minced garlic sauce brings up the rear.

SUNNY SIDE UP: On a gloomy morning filled with rain clouds, two organic eggs over pasta are a bright idea for a delicious, filling breakfast.

SHELLS WITH SARDINES: The Victoria-brand marinara for this seafood pasta is good right out of the bottle, but can be improved with a can of drained and rinsed anchovies, chopped black olives, a couple of ounces of red wine, a little extra-virgin olive oil, red-pepper flakes and other seasonings.

DINNER SALAD: Organic spring mix with hothouse cucumbers and tomatoes served on a bed of warm organic brown rice with black beans and diced tomatoes, all in a dressing of extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

WARMING UP TO QUINOA WITH GARLIC: Fluffy organic quinoa, prepared in an electric rice cooker with organic diced tomatoes and whole peeled garlic cloves, is another tasty foundation for a dinner salad, above and below. The garlic cloves retain their shape, but turn creamy.

-- VICTOR E. SASSON

I had to ask 3 ShopRite employees before being told, Sorry, Charlie

I searched in vain today for a coupon special in the liquor department of ShopRite, 224 Route 4 east, Paramus.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Once or twice a week, I stop at the ShopRite in Paramus on the way home from my nearby gym.

Today, I had a coupon for a bottle of Italian red wine for $3.99, so stopped in the liquor department first.

I looked and looked, but not finding the wine, I asked a woman at one of the two registers, and headed down the aisle she mentioned.

Nothing. I asked a second employee in the liquor department, but still couldn't find the Di Lupo Pinot Noir wine that was on sale.

Finally, I saw a man stocking the shelves, and when I asked, he told me immediately he was out of the red wine, but had the white.

A waste of time.

At least, I picked up a 5-pound box of Clementines from Morocco for a low $3.99; Organic Celery for $2.99, only 50 cents more than conventional celery; and a bunch of fresh cilantro.

Still missing at Costco Wholesale; comforting dim sum on a rainy day

MORE SMOKED WILD FISH: Now you can get Wild Alaskan Smoked Sockeye Salmon two ways at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro. I found this 1.5-pound package of fully cooked salmon fillet among the cans of tuna, pink salmon and sardines.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Kirkland Signature 100% Egg Whites still are missing in action at Costco Wholesale, and shoppers hoping to cut down on cholesterol have to settle for less product at a higher price.

We haven't seen the house brand of liquid Egg Whites since July, when we were first forced to settle for Egg Beaters 100% Egg Whites.

With Egg Beaters, you get four 16-ounce cartons for $8.99, compared to six 16-ounce cartons of Kirkland Signature 100% Egg Whites for $9.99.

In response to a previous post on the absence of Kirkland Signature 2% Lactose-Free Milk, Costco said on Facebook the product still is available at "select locations," including the Clifton warehouse store.

If I were to drive out to Clifton, I would be saving 33 cents per half-gallon on lactose-free milk, compared to ShopRite.

But the Costco in Clifton is indistinguishable from the new Teterboro warehouse, so that would be a waste of time.

Smoked salmon

I'm a big fan of Kirkland Signature Wild Alaskan Smoked Sockeye Salmon, a refrigerated product that is great stuffed in omelets or eaten out of hand rolled with cheese and greens and dipped in Dijon mustard.

On Thursday, I found the 1-pound package at a lower price, $14.89. Try to beat that at another store.

Now, Costco has a new smoked wild salmon product, a thicker fillet that is fully cooked, but doesn't need refrigeration until it is opened.

The 1.5 pound package was $15.97. 

Besides salmon, ingredients include salt, brown sugar and natural wood smoke, and the best-by date on my package is June 23, 2021.

The refrigerated smoked salmon lists the same ingredients, but a 2-ounce serving of the new product contains less sodium.

All of the other smoked salmon at Costco is farmed, artificially colored fish.

Wild Atlantic cod

Costco is a reliable source for wild-caught skinless-and-boneless fish fillets, but I'm partial to thick, meaty Atlantic Cod, which was only $7.99 a pound.

On Friday night, I heated up a jar of Roasted Salsa Verde from Whole Foods Market, added the juice of two limes, and when it started to boil, placed serving pieces of seasoned cod into the large pan and covered it.

The fish was ready in about 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large pot, I heated up 2 cups of Kirkland Signature Organic Chicken Stock, filled the pot with triple-washed Kale, adding sea salt and other seasonings, and covered the pot.

Following a simple recipe on the bag, I stirred the chopped kale once or twice until it cooked down and turned a bright green.

After 5 minutes, the tough stems were tender, and I turned off the fire, leaving it covered until the fish was ready.

A 2-pound bag from Nature's Greens was only $3.79 at Costco.

Compared to the old Hackensack warehouse, Teterboro has a much larger refrigerated room for bags of kale, organic spring mix, berries, sweet corn, mushrooms and  other produce.

But fresh herbs are conspicuously absent.

This week, I chopped up a bunch of fresh coriander from ShopRite, and used it to garnish omelets and the salsa-simmered cod I made on Friday night.

FAR FROM A GRIND: Kirkland Signature Himalayan Pink Salt, called "the purest salt in the world," reappeared at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro. The 13-ounce container with a grinder was $3.99.

CAN'T BEAT BREAKFAST: A simple Egg Beaters omelet, stuffed with grated cheese and organic Mexican-style salsa, is part of a hearty breakfast that substitutes organic brown rice and mashed organic sweet potatoes for bread. The side dish is sauteed baby spinach.

FISH AND KALE: Fresh wild Atlantic cod cooks quickly in Roasted Salsa Verde from Whole Foods Market in Paramus, and fresh chopped kale is a great side dish.

SKIMPING ON FISH EGGS: Super Har Gow Jumbo Shrimp Dumplings are one of the many dim sum available at Lan Garden on Route 46 in Ridgefield. The centerpiece of fish eggs is much smaller than in the past.

Dim sum on 46

Thursday was one of those miserable days when heavy rain made driving anywhere a chore, especially on hated Route 46 in northern New Jersey.

Before going to Costco, which is just off the highway in Teterboro, I decided to stop for some comforting dim sum at Lan Garden, a Chinese restaurant at 88 Route 46 west in Ridgefield.

With the closing of Silver Pond Seafood Restaurant in Fort Lee, Lan Garden is the only reliable place near my home for Hong Kong-style dim sum.

The last time I had dim sum at Silver Pond, in July 2012, we were charged 95 cents a person for tea.

At Lan Garden, dim sum is available all day and into the night, not just at lunch, and tea is free.

Prices have stayed the same since my last dim-sum meal in April, but one of my favorites, four Super Har Gow Jumbo Shrimp Dumplings, came with a much smaller serving of fish eggs ($6.95).

The dim-sum menu offers about 50 items, including congee, listed as Small ($3.50), Medium ($4.95), Large ($5.95), X-Large ($6.95) and Super ($8.95).

A meal of four dim-sum selections runs about $30 for two, including tip and tax. 

I ate the shrimp dumplings in the dining room, watching speeding cars splash past the restaurant, and ordered three other items to go to share with my wife at home.

The manager blamed the rain for why he had only a few customers at midday Thursday.

A Lan Garden menu offers lunch specials for $8.95 to $11.95 with soup, rice and tea on weekdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., except holidays.

Seafood Dumpling with Spinach (three for $5.95) was one of the dim sum I ordered to go.

Pan Fried Chive Cake (three for $4.95).

Pan Fried Shrimp Bean Curd Roll ($5.95).

Details

Web site: 

Lan Garden 88: Seafood and Dim Sum

Lactose-free search, cheap sake, discounted coffee beans, baguettes

At the ShopRite in Paramus, Lactaid-brand 100% Lactose-Free milk is far more expensive than the store brand, even when on sale.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

After the bigger Costco Wholesale opened in Teterboro, I haven't been able to find Kirkland Signature 2% Lactose-Free Milk.

The lactose-free house brand showed up for the first time in February at the old warehouse store in Hackensack -- three half-gallons for $7.99 or about $2.66 each, much cheaper than any other brand.

Then, ShopRite lowered the price of its store brand lactose-free milk to $2.99 from $3.49.

On my last few trips to Costco, I've had to settle for a 96-0unce container of Lactaid-brand 2% Lactose-Free Milk for $4.99, a dollar less than at ShopRite.

Now, I'm back to buying half-gallons of 1% lactose-free milk at ShopRite, 224 Route 4 east, Paramus.

On Tuesday, I purchased two half-gallons of the ShopRite brand and one of Smart Balance Fat-Free Lactose-Free Milk, which was on sale for $2.99, a reduction of $1.80.

ShopRite also had two Golden Pineapples on sale for $2.50 each. A bunch of fresh cilantro was 99 cents.

Mitsuwa Marketplace, the pricey Japanese supermarket at 595 River Road in Edgewater, is offering boxes of osechi for New Year parties -- sushi, kelp rolls, sweet omelets, fish and other food --that are priced from $260 to $413.

Sake for cooking

I shop at Mitsuwa in Edgewater once or twice a year, but make few purchases at the Japanese supermarket known for sticker shock.

You can easily spend $50 for a pound of beef or giant blue-fin tuna, even the farmed variety from Spain.

Imagine paying a premium for raw fish with more harmful mercury than many others.

Better to boycott over-fished blue-fin tuna, as I've been doing for many years, as well as Mitsuwa's annual blue-fin tuna cutting demonstration, if the store still puts on the event.

My only purchases on Tuesday were two 1.5 liter bottles of sake, which I use for cooking, on sale for $6.99 each, a discount of $3.

Sho Chiku Bai-brand sake is produced in California, not Japan, and has an alcohol content of 15%.

The colorful label shows that 2016 is the Year of the Monkey.

One change I welcomed on Tuesday is that Mitsuwa finally accepts American Express credit cards.

But the store no longer operates a free shuttle to Edgewater from Manhattan.

A 1-pound package of Starbucks whole coffee beans was sold at deep discount on Cyber Monday. When the beans are ground Turkish, the resulting powder yields a robust cup from my drip coffee maker.

Dark-roast coffee beans

I've been buying Starbucks whole coffee beans for use in my drip coffee maker since 2013.

On Cyber Monday, Starbucks.com offered bags of whole bean and ground coffee at the biggest discount I've seen, and repeated the offer on Sunday.

Shipping was free both times, and I got $25 off a purchase of $60 or more on each order.

Today, I received the second shipment of five 1-pound bags of whole coffee beans, all dark roast, that I'll take to the store at 360 Essex St. and have ground Turkish.

I paid $7.11 to $9.43 for each pound of coffee beans, which normally retail for $11.95 to $14.95.

Balthazar baguette

On Wednesday, I stopped at Balthazar, 214 S. Dean St. in Englewood, for three crusty baguettes, which are still $2 each, as they were when the French bakery's retail store opened 13 years ago.

Each baguette is just under 2 feet long, and they are crispy when the humidity is low, as it was on Wednesday.

I cut each baguette into four sections, slice them in half for sandwiches and freeze them. The frozen bread thaws in the toaster.

I'm on a no-bread diet, but allowed myself three small ends or heels with my dinner of whole-wheat pasta with sardines, salad and a couple of glasses of Chianti Riserva from Trader Joe's. 

Why I broke my no-bread diet, eggs with salmon, best takeout value

A layered sandwich on toasted 100% whole-grain bread includes sliced Swiss cheese, organic salad greens, smoked wild salmon, and a canned-fish salad with scallions and sweet peppers in a Dijon mustard-fresh lime juice dressing. Most of the ingredients are from Costco Wholesale.

A second version substitutes sliced cucumbers and plum tomato for the greens. Both times, I spread the toasted bread with Dijon mustard and Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce or a sweeter, less spicy Korean red-pepper paste.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

When a lifelong bread lover goes on a no-bread, no-pizza diet to lose weight, falling off the wagon can be easy.

On Thursday, I couldn't resist dipping chewy slices of Balthazar Bakery bread into extra-virgin olive oil at a new Roman-style Italian restaurant in Englewood.

On Saturday, I skipped breakfast to buy a dozen bottles of red wine on sale at Whole Foods Market in Paramus.

When I got home, I quickly assembled a thick sandwich of canned-fish salad -- tuna, salmon and sardines -- with reduced-fat cheese, organic salad greens and wild smoked salmon.

On Monday, I made a second version, bigger and messier than the first, adding sliced cucumber and plum tomato, and gochujang instead of a hot chili sauce. 

Still, I at least skipped lunch on the two days I indulged in the guilty pleasure of a sandwich, and my daily weigh-in showed no weight gain.

Now, I'm off bread again, and substituting whole wheat pasta, organic brown rice, sweet potatoes and quinoa at breakfast and dinner.

A breakfast of three organic eggs and wild smoked sockeye salmon, both from Costco Wholesale in Teterboro, didn't need bread or a side dish.

I dressed a pound of organic whole-wheat spaghetti, one of my favorite bread substitutes, in the juice of three medium limes, extra-virgin olive oil, minced garlic and a half-cup of hot pasta water.

There was so much food in this Meal To Go from Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood, I left the eggplant parmigiana, lower right, for the next day. The label on the takeout container says 12 ounces, but on my kitchen scale, the food weighed closer to 2 pounds, below.

Plugging Jerry's dinners

We try to take a break from cooking or eating leftovers at least once a week with a restaurant-quality takeout dinner from Jerry's Gourmet & More, 410 S. Dean St., Englewood.

On Friday, I found several seafood dinners in the refrigerated case after 4 p.m., when they are marked down to $5.99 from $7.99.

I bought two, Tiger Shrimp alla Siciliana for my wife and Linguine with Seafood for me.

My dinner also contained Salmon Tartare, Eggplant Parmigiana, Fava Bean Salad and Roasted Potatoes.

Delizioso, and a bargain even at full price.

In addition to shrimp stuffed with breadcrumbs, raisins and pignoli nuts, this Meal To Go had two beef-filled mushroom caps, sea-shell pasta salad and steamed vegetables.

$10, $20 and $30 bottles of red wine are no healthier than cheap stuff

On Saturday, I bought a dozen bottles of red wine during a one-day sale at Whole Foods Market in Paramus. My selections cost $4.99 to $8.99 each before a 20% discount.

This "deep cherry red" wine from France and a bottle of California Pinot Noir, also $8.99, were the most expensive bottles in my cart.

Editor's note: I've updated this post by adding a link to a discussion of the health benefits and risks of drinking wine.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Whole Foods Market in Paramus is a reliable source of drinkable red wine for well under $10 a bottle.

On Saturday, I bought a dozen bottles from California, France, Argentina and Italy at 20% off during a one-day sale ($4.99 to $8.99 each before the discount).

Why spend more on wine? The health benefits are the same, whether you spend $4.99, $49 or $499 a bottle.

While I was there, I also picked up two 8-ounce packages of uncured, antibiotic-free Wellshire Maple Bacon (on sale for $4.50 each), frozen Chicken Bones for Soup ($1.79 a pound) and frozen Oxtails ($7.99 a pound). 

I paid for the wine, bacon and frozen Oxtails with an American Express card, earning a 3% cash rebate and a $10 statement credit on a purchase of more than $60. 

See: Health benefits, risks of drinking wine

Whole Foods Market, Bergen Town Center, Spring Valley and Maywood avenues, Paramus; 201-226-1244. Open 7 days.

I steered clear of this overpriced Beaujolais Noveau.

This naturally raised, preservative-free bacon was reduced to $4.50 from $5.99.

At Whole Foods, frozen Chicken Bones for Soup (not shown) were only $1.79 a pound. 

I told an employee in the Whole Foods produce department the sign says "Grown in Spain," but all three brands of Clementines were from Morocco. He said he would "get to it."