Baby aspirin, egg whites, organic pasta, takeout, Can Can sale, more

If you take a baby aspirin every day, as I do, you'll be struck by the dramatic price difference at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro between 400 Bayer tablets for $12.49, above, and the 730 Kirkland Signature tablets for $4.49 that I bought last week, below.

Costco's Kirkland Signature Low Dose Aspirin tablets are supplied by LNK International. The Hauppauge, N.Y., company makes solid- and liquid-dose over-the-counter pharmaceutical products for retailers nationwide, according to the January 2017 issue of The Costco Connection magazine.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Although not everyone agrees on the health benefits of taking a baby aspirin every day, Costco Wholesale members are unanimously in favor of how much they save over a national brand.

You get nearly twice as many coated, low-dose aspirin tablets -- and save $8 -- when you buy Costco's Kirkland Signature brand instead of Bayer, a German pharmaceutical giant.

This is another dramatic example of how Costco puts added value in most of the products sold under the house label.

Everything from Kirkland Signature's 81-milligram aspirin tablets to such Kirkland Signature wines as California Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec from Argentina, both available at the Costco Wholesale in Wayne. 

On a visit to the Wayne Costco in December, I picked up eight bottles of wine, including a non-Kirkland Signature boxed set of four Grands Vins de Bordeaux from France for $29.99 or about $7.50 a bottle.

The one bottle of Bordeaux I tried so far was delicious, but I was disappointed to learn I could have found the same bottles elsewhere for about the same price. 

Kirkland Signature Organic Quinoa, on the other hand, appeared on Costco shelves last year in a larger package and at a lower price than the national brand it replaced.

A hearty breakfast includes an egg-white omelet stuffed with wild Alaskan smoked sockeye salmon and reduced-fat Swiss cheese, served over organic quinoa prepared with organic diced tomatoes and California garlic cloves -- all from Costco. Kirkland Signature Cage-Free Egg Whites are $8.99 for six 16-ounce cartons or about $1.50 each, below.

365 Every Day Value Organic Whole Wheat Shells from Italy dressed in a homemade, heart-healthy ragu of Victoria-brand Vodka Sauce, sardines and anchovies.

At Whole Foods Market, 1-pound boxes or packages of organic whole wheat shells and other shapes are $1.49 each, a better buy than non-organic brands sold in smaller packages. They also can't match the nutty taste of organic whole wheat pasta, which is also available at ShopRite supermarkets and Trader Joe's. Cooking time for the pasta is about 9 minutes, not the 14-15 minutes listed on the package.

I reserved a few ounces of sauce to use for poaching eggs. Victoria is one of the few brands offering a Vodka Sauce free of artery clogging heavy cream. All the ingredients are listed on the front label. I usually add a few ounces of red wine, extra-virgin olive oil, some red-pepper flakes and dried Italian herbs to the pan as the sauce is being heated.

Before adding them to the sauce, I rinse and drain the anchovies to reduce the sodium content of the dish, and mince the sardines (3 cans for 1 pound of pasta) with a fork before they go into the pot. Fattal's at 975-77 Main St. in Paterson sells Al Shark-brand sardines for 99 cents a can.

On Friday afternoon, Jerry's Gourmet & More at 410 S. Dean St. in Englewood ran out of complete restaurant-quality dinners to go, so I picked up two containers of Cheese Lovers' Tortelloni, made with five cheeses, for my wife and son.

As I browsed at Jerry's, I enjoyed several free samples of cheese and bread, including a chewy olive loaf, top.

Can Can Sale at ShopRite

On Thursday, I shopped the first week of the 2017 Can Can Sale at ShopRite in Paramus.

I made a few purchases, including five 12-can packages of Adirondack Seltzer for $10, a savings of $8.95 with a store card, according to my receipt.

The Can Can Sale doesn't offer the wide range of deep discounts it once did, and you can find great buys at ShopRite at other times.

For examples, I picked up several bottles of ShopRite Sparkling Cider from Spain (100% juice) for $1.67 each on Dec. 29.

Golden Pineapples were $1.97 each.

Does anyone really spend a whole paycheck at Whole Foods Market?

I try to take advantage of sales at Whole Foods Market, such as the one I saw last Sunday on wild-caught Skate Wing Fillet at the Paramus store, but it's only one of the places I rely on when shopping for food in northern New Jersey.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The opening of a new Whole Foods Market in Closter has renewed competitors' claims the organic supermarket is so expensive you have to blow your "whole paycheck" there.

That's nonsense -- unless you make minimum wage.

I've been shopping at Whole Foods Market in Paramus since it opened in March 2009, and though it's closest to my home, the supermarket is only one of the places I rely on.

Two competitors, ShopRite and Costco Wholesale, have greatly increased the number of organic items they sell, and both offer antibiotic-free meat and poultry.

Prices are among the lowest in the region on an admittedly limited selection.

Best seafood counter

But neither can match Whole Foods' variety of naturally raised meat and poultry nor the Paramus stores' sweeping fresh seafood counter, especially when fish or wild shrimp are on sale.

And Whole Foods' 365 Everday Value line offers Mexican-style salsas, imported organic whole wheat pasta, bottled pasta sauces and other items at competitive prices.

For example, a 1-pound box of Whole Foods' Organic Whole Wheat Shells from Italy is $1.49, a great price considering Trader Joe's and other stores don't offer that organic pasta shape, one of my favorites. 

ShopRite sells several shapes of Luigi Vitelli-brand organic whole wheat pasta in 1-pound packages for $1.29, but doesn't offer shells; Costco doesn't sell whole wheat pasta, organic or otherwise.

I buy organic sweet potatoes not at Whole Foods, but at Trader Joe's in Paramus, where a 3-pound bag is $4.49, compared to $5.99 at the ShopRite in the same town. 

Fresh haddock fillets from Iceland were only $8.99 a pound at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro this week, but the warehouse store offers only a limited selection of wild-caught fish.

At Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood, a 1-pound package of Garofalo Whole Wheat Farfalle ($1.99), also called bow ties or butterflies, are not organic like the whole wheat pasta sold at Whole Foods Market for $1.49 a pound.

Costco Wholesale has finally closed the loophole on cage-free eggs by offering Kirkland Signature Cage-Free Egg Whites, above and below. A 16-ounce carton is about $1.50 when you buy six ($8.99). They can be frozen.

Costco's new Cage-Free 100% Liquid Egg Whites, left. When Costco switched to selling only cage-free whole eggs, the Egg Whites, right, were the only exception.

Also at Costco, Kirkland Signature Chicken Tortilla Soup is now made using poultry raised without antibiotics.

Stop & Shop ad

Stop & Shop has been running a TV ad touting its Nature's Promise line of organic or naturally raised products, and one of the shoppers shown makes the crack that "it doesn't take a whole paycheck," a clear reference to Whole Foods Market.

That upset one Stop & Shop customer, who called the comment "snarky" and "a cheap shot." 

She also pointed out Whole Foods' prices are comparable and occasionally lower than at Stop & Shop, and the selection is "astounding."

The Whole Foods in Paramus also sells wine -- with many bottles under $10 -- unlike the new store in Closter or virtually all of its other competitors in Bergen County.

Costco Wholesale in Teterboro sells organic brown eggs for about $3.50 a dozen when you buy 24 ($7.99).

When it's too cold to go out: Stay in, cook comforting food, eat, drink

EVERYTHING BUT THE KITCHEN SINK: A Middle Eastern spice, Mexican-style salsas, reduced-fat Swiss cheese and smoked wild Alaskan salmon are among the ingredients in this 10-inch frittata, which warmed me on a zero-degree day.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

We ran around on Saturday in the bitter cold, and when we drove home from a concert around 10 p.m., the temperature readout on my car's dashboard was 4 degrees.

Sunday morning was even colder -- zero degrees -- so we stayed in, cooked comforting food and drank a couple of glasses of red wine with our evening meal.

I've heard Italians don't use grated cheese on pasta dishes with seafood -- preferring bread crumbs instead -- but I've never understood why.

For dinner, I prepared a seafood pasta in a sauce made with Parmesan and Romano cheeses, and used grated cheese as an accent. 

Delicious.

And we had plenty of leftovers for the rest of the week, if we want to put a meal and a salad on the table in just a few minutes.

For the frittata, I used 3 cups of egg mixture -- liquid whites, whole organic eggs, grated cheese, 1% milk, chopped garlic, red-pepper flakes and other seasonings -- that I poured into a preheated 10-inch pan with olive oil. Once the bottom was set, I moved the frittata into the oven and finished it under a low broiler setting.

For dinner, I prepared Organic Whole Wheat Shells from Whole Foods Market with anchovies and sardines in Victoria-brand Vodka Sauce, which is made without heavy cream. I used 1 pound of pasta, about 35 ounces of sauce, three cans of skinless-and-boneless sardines, and one can of drained and rinsed anchovies. Optional is adding red wine, olive oil, black pepper and other seasonings to the sauce. For al dente pasta, boil for 9 minutes, not the 14-15 minutes listed on the box.

Shop Whole Foods Market's frequent sales, rely on great return policy

Whole Foods Market's 365 Everyday Value Mexican-style salsas, shown at the Paramus store, can be used to poach fish fillets or in omelets.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Whole Foods Market's 365 Everyday Value products aren't always organic, but their price and quality give other supermarkets a run for their money.

I've come to rely on two 365 Everyday Value products, a line of non-organic salsas and organic whole-wheat pastas from Italy in several shapes.

Last Saturday, I drove over to the Paramus Whole Foods to get a refund for frozen turkey parts, and discovered the store was knocking 10% off all 365 Everyday Value items.

I picked up 1-pound boxes of Organic Whole Wheat Fusilli and Shells for $1.49 each, and a 25-ounce jar of 365 Everyday Value Organic Italian Herb Pasta Sauce with no sugar added for $2.99, both before the discount.

ShopRite and Trader Joe's also sell organic whole wheat pasta, but you won't find any shells, which "catch" the sauce in which you prepare them.

Whole Foods' 365 Everyday Value salsas are terrific for poaching eggs or fish fillets -- they serve as both cooking medium and sauce for a side dish of rice or pasta.

A 24-ounce jar of Roasted Salsa Verde was $3.99, and 16-ounce jars of Roasted Poblano and Roasted Chipotle Salsas were $2.99 and $2.69, respectively, all before the 10% discount.

At $1.99 each, these 25-ounce jars of 365 Everyday Value Pasta Sauce, with no sugar added, are competitive with sauces you'd find at ShopRite and other supermarkets. The Whole Foods' pasta sauces have added value, because they are free of genetically modified ingredients (GMOs).

Great return policy

My wife likes the Whole Foods' case holding frozen meat, including antibiotic-free chicken backs, necks and feet for soup.

But she doesn't like the larger frozen turkey parts, as I discovered when I brought home turkey backs and giblets with a gift card I got for Christmas.

It was no problem returning them without a receipt, and the refund was put on a gift card that enabled me to buy 365 Everyday Value salsas, organic pasta sauce and organic whole wheat pastas that were on sale.

I had to pay only another 86 cents.

With organic food and produce widely available at ShopRite, Costco Wholesale and other stores, I'm able to shop only occasionally at Whole Foods, especially when the store is having a sale, including discounted wine and seafood.

They are a good deal for me and other consumers.

Whole Foods Market, 300 Bergen Town Center, Paramus; 201-266-1244.

Open 7 days from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., but less busy on weekdays.

California peaches, Costco rebates, cooking bargain dishes at home

Large California peaches from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack and smaller ones from ShopRite in Paramus, upper right, never ripened after we brought them home.

Grilled fresh Wild Copper River Sockeye Salmon from Alaska with Pesto and a side of Organic Whole Wheat Shells, but no grilled peaches. The skin-on fillets were $14.99 a pound on Tuesday at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

The Costco Wholesale cash rebate I received this week is about $245, more than double the $110 I pay for an annual executive membership. This check is in addition to several hundred dollars in rebates from American Express, which issues the Costco credit card.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

We had our hearts set on preparing grilled Fresh Wild Salmon with Pesto and Ripe Peaches, but fruit from drought-stricken California didn't cooperate.

Today, my wife got a full refund of $9.99 for a 5-pound box of large California Peaches she purchased at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack on June 9.

Two of the four smaller California Peaches I bought at ShopRite in Paramus for $1.69 a pound are on my kitchen counter and look like they'll rot before they ripen.

I sprayed oil on a grill pan that covers two burners of my stove, and allowed it to warm up over medium heat before adding the salmon skin side down, above, covered with fresh lime juice and a little sea salt. Total cooking time was 10 minutes, the same amount it took to cook the organic whole wheat shells in boiling, unsalted water.

When the fillets firmed up, I flipped them.

Aleppo pepper, fresh herbs from the garden and Costco's Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto were added at the end.

 

I finished my dinner with a salad of green-leaf lettuce from the garden.

Local and not so local

I'm all in favor of eating local, but my salmon dinner tonight brought together ingredients from Alaska (the fish), California (the red wine I drank), Italy (basil in the prepared pesto and organic whole wheat pasta), Spain (extra-virgin olive oil for my salad), and Syria or Turkey (ground Aleppo red pepper).

For the pasta dressed in Costco's Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto with added pine nuts, I used Whole Foods Market's 365 Everyday Value Organic Whole Wheat Shells from Italy ($1.49), but ignored the listed cooking time of 14-15 minutes.

They were al dente in 10 minutes.

My salad contained green-leaf lettuce from our garden, dressed with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and I also accented the fish with chopped oregano, mint and parsley we grew.

An egg-white omelet stuffed with smoked wild Alaskan salmon, shredded cheese and pesto.

Costco's 100% egg whites, basil pesto and smoked wild salmon are all sold under the Kirkland Signature label, the house brand, which usually signals premium quality.

Sockeye two ways

On Tuesday, along with a fresh sockeye fillet, my wife picked up a pound of Costco's wonderful smoked wild Alaskan salmon, sliced in two half-pound pouches ($15.99).

Even though it is previously frozen, this fish is silken when eaten out of hand or rolled up with a slice of reduced-fat Swiss cheese, dipped in Dijon mustard if you like or stuffed with salad greens.

I also use it to fill egg-white omelets, adding pesto and fresh herbs from the garden.

Costco cash rebates

The 2% cash rebate check I received this week from Costco Wholesale ($244.99) was the third this year.

Two checks containing several hundred dollars came from American Express' True Earnings credit card for purchases at Costco, restaurants, gas stations and other stores.

My executive membership costs $110 annually.

Fresh whole red snapper were on sale for $4.99 a pound on Sunday at H Mart in Englewood, a discount of $3 a pound. Mustard greens also were on sale for 99 cents a pound.

My wife cut up two wild red snappers weighing a total of more than 5 pounds, and seasoned and pan-fried them before pouring hot vinegar, sweet pepper, onions, garlic and pimento berries or allspice over the fish.

I sauteed two 5-ounce packages of triple-washed Organic Baby Spinach, Bok Choy and Kale on their expiration date with olive oil and sake, then used them as a side dish or to stuff an egg-white omelet, above. The packages were on sale for 99 cents each at the International Food Warehouse in Lodi.

Greens and sweets for breakfast: Leftover mustard greens with chopped fresh garlic, fresh callaloo with sweet peppers, and sauteed arugula, all served with mashed and baked sweet potatoes. A 5-ounce package of pre-washed arugula was on sale last week for 99 cents at the International Food Warehouse.

When sun hides, homemade comfort food can help to lift your spirits

The yolks of two organic eggs from Costco Wholesale, served over organic brown rice, are the closest things to the sun I've seen lately.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Northern New Jersey has seen one dreary day after another, and the sun isn't going to be visible until Friday, according to the forecast I saw this afternoon.

That may be why, for breakfast today, I fried two organic eggs sunny side up, and added grated Pecorino Romano cheese before sliding them out of the pan over organic brown rice.

Another comfort dish I prepared for dinner this week were organic whole-wheat pasta shells from Whole Foods Market with anchovies and sardines.

My wife thawed hake fillets from Costco Wholesale and smothered them with onion, garlic, sweet pepper and fresh thyme.

When gloomy weather prevails, eating well is a sure way to lift your spirits. 

A glass of red wine with dinner doesn't hurt either, especially when it's California Cabernet Sauvignon from Costco, a great value at $4 a bottle.

My wife baked hake fillets with onion, garlic, sweet peppers and thyme. I added fresh lime juice at the table.

Grated Pecorino Romano from Costco Wholesale is the finishing touch after you've plated organic whole-wheat pasta shells with anchovies and sardines. I used cans of tomato paste, tomato sauce and diced organic tomatoes -- along with red wine, olive oil and seasoning -- to make the sauce.

I used homemade creamy Italian Dressing from Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood to dress my salad of organic spring mix, cucumber slices and pomegranate seeds. The dressing is made with mustard, anchovies and fresh garlic.

At Bloomingdale's in Hackensack today, I saw this French-made pot. The price: $521.

Fresh wild-caught shrimp join two canned cousins for dinner

I bought 1.5 pounds of Fresh Wild Gulf Shrimp from the beautiful seafood display at Whole Foods Market in Paramus, above and below. The fishmonger deveined them for me.

Whole Foods also had previously frozen Wild Gulf Shrimp for $18.99 a pound

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

On Wednesday, I need something to lift my spirits after the dismal results of the election the day before, and I found it in fresh wild shrimp.

At Whole Foods Market in Paramus, I splurged on 1.5 pounds of Gulf shrimp at $19.99 a pound (16-20 per pound), enough for four with a side dish of pasta.

That's pretty much what the Paramus ShopRite charges for large wild shrimp, and it's about $5 more a pound than Costco Wholesale's previously frozen farmed shrimp from Vietnam.

I served the Gulf shrimp with Whole Foods' organic whole wheat shells prepared in bottled pasta sauce with added extra-virgin olive oil, red wine, and canned anchovies and sardines.

Whole Foods has raised the price of a 1-pound box of the 365 Everyday Value pasta shells, which are imported from Italy, to $1.49 from $1.39, but they are still a bargain.

After sauteeing chopped garlic and sliced onion in olive oil, I added the shrimp, which were marinated in fresh lime juice, salt and other seasoning. I turned them once, and they cooked in about 5 minutes. They were crunchy and delicious.

I went shopping for naturally raised 2-pound rotisserie chickens while the fishmonger was deveining my shrimp at Whole Foods. At $7.50 per chicken when you buy two, these are a much better choice nutritionally than the bigger and cheaper low-quality birds sold at Costco and ShopRite.

The Paramus Whole Foods is trying a new fast-casual concept with bowls of Korean food, called "Bibimbap," the name of a popular comfort dish made in a stone bowl with rice, seasoned vegetables and ground meat, all topped with a fried or raw egg and eaten with a spicy sauce. What Whole Foods serves couldn't possibly compare to the bibimbap served in Korean restaurants in Fort Lee and Palisades Park.

Here is why you should never, ever put salt in your pasta water

There is plenty of sodium in my organic whole-wheat shells with canned sardines and anchovies -- in the bottled sauce and canned fish I use, and in the grated sheep's milk cheese I sprinkle on before I eat it. So, there is absolutely no reason to add salt to the water I boil to cook the pasta, above. Nor do I use gallons of water; enough water to cover the dried pasta works fine.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss making pasta without salting the water and the appeal of comfort foods at every meal, and provide an update on a shortage of Christopher Ranch garlic at Costco Wholesale. 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I'm here to ignore decades of advice from Italy, instructions on the box and American chefs on adding salt to the water I boil for cooking dried pasta.

And while I'm at it, don't waste water. You don't need the several gallons of water called for on the package when you are making spaghetti or other pasta.

Usually, as with the pound of shells I prepared on Thursday night, water to cover the dried pasta is enough.

Adam Weiss, a 37-year-old Ridgewood chef who thinks he will live forever, was quoted in the paper the other day on his "simplest tip for improving home cooking."

"When a box of pasta tells you to put one teaspoon in for a gallon of water, no! It has to be salted like the ocean because ... you want the salt to adhere to the pasta," Weiss claims.

"I use a quarter to half a cup."

Disgusting.

Take sodium out

I certainly don't want to add salt, because every time I prepare shells with canned sardines, anchovies and capers in bottled pasta sauce, I try to reduce the sodium of the dish.

I drain the anchovies and rinse them under the faucet. 

The two to three cans of Moroccan Sardines with Tomato Sauce that go into the sauce I use have the lowest amount of sodium of the three varieties sold at Fattal's in Paterson (99 cents a can).

I also rinse the capers under the faucet.

Bottled pasta sauce contains a lot of sodium. 

I use Kirkland Signature Marinara, sold in 32-ounce bottles at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, adding several ounces of red wine and extra-virgin olive oil, plus red-pepper flakes, dried Italian seasoning, powdered or fresh garlic and black pepper.

There is more sodium in Pecorino Romano, a grated sheep's milk cheese from Italy sold at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, where I get most of the ingredients for the dish.

The organic whole-wheat shells from Italy are sold at Whole Food Market in Paramus for $1.39 (1-pound box).

Adjust cooking time

If you buy the 365 Everyday Value Organic Whole Wheat Shells from Whole Foods, be sure to adjust the recommended cooking time (14-15 minutes) to 10-11 minutes.

The box recommends five quarts of water and "a pinch of salt," if you use the entire pound.

Luigi Vitelli-brand Organic Whole Wheat Capellini also recommends using five quarts of water, but calls for one tablespoon of salt and a cooking time of 3 minutes. 

I usually drain the pasta a little early, add it to the sauce, which I prepare in a large, non-stick pan; combine them well and cook them with the cover on for a couple of minutes to combine flavors.

Other sauces

I've followed the no-salt rule even when I don't use sodium-laden bottled pasta sauce.

When I made my own pesto sauce, using a blender recipe from the late Marcella Hazan, I eliminated the teaspoons of salt she called for, knowing there was plenty of sodium in a chief ingredient -- a half-cup plus two tablespoons of grated Pecorino Romano Cheese.

I also eliminated the butter she used.

Now, I buy Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto from Costco Wholesale and add nothing but the sauce to whole-wheat pappardelle or other pasta.

Costco's pesto contains 26% of your recommended intake of sodium in a quarter-cup serving, so adding salt to the pasta water would be foolhardy.

Organic Whole-Wheat Shells with Sardines, Anchovies, Capers and Pine Nuts is a comforting dish for dinner, above, or for breakfast with an egg-white omelet stuffed with reduced-fat sliced Swiss cheese and Mexican green salsa, below.

After plating and heating up the leftover shells in the microwave, I drizzle on extra-virgin olive oil.

Another comfort dish, mashed sweet potatoes and kabocha squash with extra-virgin olive oil, is a great foundation for two organic eggs sunny side up with shaved Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese from Costco, and Aleppo pepper and za'atar thyme mixture from Fattal's in Paterson.

Grilled wild Canadian sockeye salmon, $8.99 a pound at Costco, and mashed sweet potatoes and squash are delicious accented with bottled Mexican green salsa, above and below. Medium-hot green salsas are available at Hackensack Market, Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe's, Target, ShopRite and other stores.

The salmon spends 8 minutes on a grill pan over medium to medium-high heat, turned once, for medium rare, and 10 minutes for cooked through, and continues to cook when the pan is taken off the heat.

Christopher Ranch garlic

I just got a return call from customer service at Christopher Ranch, which supplies garlic to Costco Wholesale.

On my last trip, the Hackensack warehouse store was out of the refrigerated 3-pound bag of peeled California garlic, which I use with pasta, rice, egg, mashed sweet potatoes and other dishes.

The woman says Christopher Ranch has been unable to keep up with the demand from Costco members, and also supply the other stores that sell its garlic.

The shortage at my Hackensack warehouse store isn't related to the drought in California.

A 3-pound bag of peeled Christopher Ranch Monviso Garlic is only $5.99 at Costco.

Peeled California garlic from Christopher Ranch makes it easy -- perhaps too easy -- to add this healthy ingredient to home-cooked meals, including boiling it with sweet potatoes before mashing, below. Better too much garlic than too much salt.