Spicy monkfish with organic mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes and olives

Monkfish coated in Asian-Indian and other spices is ready in 20 minutes when popped into a preheated 400-degree oven with fresh spinach, organic mushrooms, tomato, olives and grated cheese.

Editor's note: Heart-healthy food doesn't have to be boring, as you can see from two easy to assemble dishes -- a quick-cooking Fish & Vegetable Medley, and a sweet-and-savory egg-white frittata.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

My plan to prepare a quick-cooking fish-and-vegetable dish hit a snag last week when my wife went to Costco Wholesale and was told the usual shipment of Icelandic fish hadn't arrived.

That meant the Teterboro warehouse store on Tuesday was offering only farmed tilapia fillets from Colombia, and had no wild-caught cod or haddock.

Plan B was going to the Whole Foods Market in Paramus not far from our home, and seeing if the best fish counter in North Jersey had any fillets on sale for $7.99 or $8.99 a pound -- the usual price for Icelandic fish at Costco.

No luck, but whole monkfish tails, which plump up in the oven and have the texture of lobster, were an easy to swallow $11.99 a pound.

I only needed a pound to make a big dinner for two with fresh spinach, organic mushrooms, fresh Campari Tomatoes and chopped pitted olives.

I coated the fish in Asian-Indian and other spices, which I keep in a container in the refrigerator to bread chicken and beef, as well as seafood.

Then, I assembled the ingredients in a pan lined with parchment paper, drizzling the spinach with extra-virgin olive oil. 

I squeezed fresh lemon juice and sprinkled grated cheese over everything, and put the pan into a preheated 400-degree oven.

Dinner was ready 20 minutes later.

Fresh fish fillets on ice at Whole Foods Market in the Bergen Town Center mall in Paramus.

A Fish & Vegetable Medley I prepared on Dec. 1 began with fresh spinach drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil, above.

I preheated the oven to 400 degrees while I assembled the other ingredients. 

One pound of monkfish fed two people with leftovers.

For a frittata, you'll need to boil skin-on slices of a medium to large sweet potato until they are fork tender. Meanwhile, prepare a mixture of 16 ounces of egg whites and several generous tablespoons of grated cheese, and pour it into a 10-inch non-stick pan with olive oil heated over a medium flame. Drain and distribute sweet potato slices and fresh Campari Tomato slices in the egg mixture on the stove as the crust sets.

When the crust sets, transfer the pan into the oven, where it will brown and finish cooking under the broiler. Add Costco's Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto when the frittata is cooling on the counter. Cut into wedges with a spatula and serve.

Editors from Bon Appetit can't teach you anything about cooking eggs

Chopped fresh herbs and Aleppo pepper are two way to elevate an egg-white omelet, which you can stuff with grated cheese, smoked wild salmon, Mexican-style salsa, pesto or a dried thyme mixture called za'atar -- or all of them at once.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I didn't learn anything from a Leonard Lopate Show podcast on cooking eggs with two editors from Bon Appetit magazine.

The WNYC-FM segment sounded like it was aimed at people who have never prepared their own breakfast, and still scramble eggs.

Why ruin organic brown eggs -- like the ones I buy at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro (2 dozen for $6.99) --by scrambling them?

In the Aug. 5 segment, the magazine editors, Christina Chaey and Rick Martinez, didn't even mention egg-white omelets or frittatas. 

I prepare eggs almost every morning, and often pair them with such bread substitutes as organic quinoa or organic whole-wheat pasta.

A big breakfast usually allows me to skip lunch or get by on a snack bar, and helps me to control my weight.

Forget butter

I use olive oil, the only fat that's both good for your heart and non-GMO, and I favor a blend of pure and extra-virgin olive oils from Costco.

We use that same blend for frying whole fish and antibiotic-free chicken.

I use non-stick pans, and medium heat for both omelets and eggs sunny side up. I've found that even with a non-stick pan, eggs will stick at higher heat.

For a stuffed omelet, I pour a little olive oil and then liquid egg whites to cover the bottom of a 10-inch pan, and when the eggs turn white and set, add smoked salmon, pesto, za'atar or other ingredients.

I then use a thin spatula to fold the omelet in half, and accent it with fresh herbs or ground red pepper.

See: How to make a sweet-potato frittata

I usually enjoy a pair of organic brown eggs, sunny side up, once a week and prepare egg-white omelets the rest of the time. Here, I accented the eggs with chopped fresh basil and mint from my garden, and served them over leftover organic quinoa with organic tomatoes and beans, and whole garlic cloves prepared in an electric cooker.

Store-bought Korean-style stewed tofu, top, and homemade shredded cabbage are just two of the side dishes you can serve with a stuffed egg-white omelet.

A stuffed-egg white omelet with sauteed fresh spinach and a store-bought sushi roll with cooked shrimp.

Two organic eggs served over organic whole-wheat pasta in a red sauce with canned sardines and anchovies -- left over from our dinner the night before.

Restaurant-quality takeout, espresso beans from Italy and more

A Stuffed Tiger Shrimp Dinner with Gnocchi alla Sorrentina, Broccoli and Roasted Potatoes from Jerry's Gourmet & More, 410 S. Dean St., Englewood.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

At Jerry's in Englewood, the price of roasted coffee beans from Italy goes up and down more frequently than the stock market.

On Wednesday afternoon, I stopped at the discount Italian food and wine store, looking for Jerry's wonderful restaurant-quality takeout dinners, which are reduced to $5.99 after 4 p.m.

I found three shrimp dinners, then walked into the back room to look at the prices for roasted espresso beans from Italy.

A 2.2-pound bag of Gimoka Gran Gala beans were labeled $9.99, which I thought was a misprint. 

Other 2.2-pound bags from Italy were priced as high as $24.99.

But at the register, the two bags of Gimoka beans rang up at $9.99 each.

Jerry's Meals To Go are reduced to $5.99 after 4 p.m., though the selection often is limited. On Wednesday afternoon, I got the last three dinners, all with crab-stuffed shrimp.

On Sunday, two heads of red-leaf lettuce were on sale for 98 cents at H Mart in Little Ferry, and part of one head made a nice salad on Wednesday night with tomatoes and cucumbers from Costco Wholesale. The Korean supermarket also had fresh wild-caught whole porgy for $1.49 a pound, allowing us to put a fish dinner for four on the table for under $10.

I've been making egg-white omelets stuffed with fresh spinach, salsa and reduced-fat cheese, but taking short cuts results in a mess, above. It's best to use two pans, one for the omelet and one to precook and season the spinach before transferring it to the omelet and folding it. At Costco Wholesale, six 16-ounce cartons of Kirkland Signature 100% egg whites were $7.49.

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

Teaneck Farmers' Market, sweet potatoes with garlic and more

On my first visit to the Teaneck Farmers' Market this summer, I bought fruit and lettuce from Sunden's Stone Pointe Farm in Old Tappan.

Editor's note: I won't make a special trip to a farmers' market to shop for pricey fruits and vegetables, but will stop at one if I happen to be passing by. Today, I also discuss garlic mashed sweet potatoes, and how I've come to rely on Costco Wholesale's pure egg whites to make a quick open-face omelet. 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

New Jersey farmers' markets are terrific, but their higher prices discourage me from making a special trip to one.

When I lived in Englewood, I loved the downtown farmers' market, and even Hackensack had one for the first couple of years I lived here.

Closter's market is one of the bigger and better ones, but I've been there only two or three times on Sundays, when I've driven up for a haircut at a Korean barber shop.

Now, the closest market to me is in Teaneck. Today, I stopped in on the way home from doing an errand in town.

Two farms set up stands at Garrison Avenue and Beverly Road in Teaneck on Thursdays, and Sunden's Stone Pointe Farm from Old Tappan seems to have better produce.

Two ears for $1

You know I haven't been to a farmers' market in years when I tell you I was shocked that $1 now buys only two ears of sweet Jersey corn.

Sunden's cantaloupes were much bigger than the other vendor's, and they were $4 each, compared to $4 each or two for $7.

I also picked up beautiful Jersey peaches with the fuzz still on them for $1.99 a pound, and big heads of romaine and red-leaf lettuce for $1.99 each.

One good thing about a farmers' market is that produce generally looks better and is bigger than what you find in a ShopRite or other supermarket.

More signs needed

One disadvantage is a lack of signs. Most items I saw at around 10:30 this morning were unlabeled -- no prices and nothing on where they were grown.

After I wrote this, I got a call informing me the hours of the market are noon to 6 p.m., but vendors will sell to you before the official opening.

I only want Jersey produce when I go to a farmers' market, yet I saw boxes of pineapples, bananas and other fruit that clearly aren't from the Garden State.

And all that other stuff they sell -- Amish pies, fresh mozzarella, empanadas and whatever -- why bother?

This year, the market's last day will be Oct. 30.

Don't spare peeled California garlic from Costco Wholesale when making mashed sweet potatoes, a terrific substitute for a bagel or bread at breakfast, below.

A simple, open-face omelet with a slice of reduced-fat Swiss cheese takes only minutes when you use Kirkland Signature Egg Whites from Costco Wholesale.

Sweet potatoes and garlic

I stopped at the Paramus ShopRite looking for sweet potatoes on Tuesday, and saw only loose yams, which are starchier and probably have more calories.

In the week since my last visit, some produce department fixtures were moved.

Then, on a low shelf, I saw net bags of Southern's 10 in 1 Sweet Potatoes, a reference to 10 ways they can be prepared as shown on the label (3 pounds for $2.99).

They are triple washed, and all about the same size.

When I opened the bag the next day, one of the sweet potatoes was rotten and inedible, but I cut up the rest -- skin and all -- and boiled them with fistfuls of peeled Christopher Ranch Monviso Garlic from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

They take about 45 minutes to soften. 

After I drained them and returned them to the pot, I added liberal amounts of extra-virgin olive oil, a little salt and just about any other seasoning I had around:

Black pepper, red-pepper flakes, cinnamon, dried onion and no-salt seasoning.

Then, I mashed and served them. There were plenty of leftovers.

An egg-white omelet with sliced reduced-fat cheese, Wild Alaskan Smoked Sockeye Salmon from Costco Wholesale and Aleppo pepper.

An egg white-smoked wild salmon omelet with leftover organic whole wheat spaghetti in bottled pasta sauce with added anchovies, sardines, red wine and organic diced tomatoes, below.

My wife used more peeled garlic from Costco when she made escoveitched fish on Wednesday, frying fresh whole porgy she bought at H Mart in Englewood for $2.49 a pound. Onions, sweet pepper, garlic and whole peppercorns are stewed separately in vinegar, then spooned over the plated fish.

Teaneck Farmers' Market.

Don't invite American Cellars Wine Club to the party

A luscious Dublin Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon from American Wine Cellars Club, but this is one club I won't be joining.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss a bad experience with one of those online wine clubs, and the newfound pleasure of shopping at Costco Wholesale after 5 p.m.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Some of the best values in wine are found by accepting the introductory discount offers of clubs that send bottles right to your door.

For as little as about $5 a bottle, I have enjoyed delicious, drinkable wines from around the world, with no obligation to buy more at regular prices.

So, I gladly accepted an offer from United Airlines -- six bottles of California wine from the American Cellars Wine Club for $41.95, including shipping ($6.99 a bottle).

And my first two shipments also would earn frequent-flier miles.

But American Cellars Wine Club sent out my first shipment of six bottles and then, without notice, another six that cost me $127.26, according to my credit card statement ($21.21 a bottle).

Unlike other wine clubs, including those sponsored by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Zagat, I wasn't given the opportunity to turn down the wine or cancel my American Cellars membership. 

What followed were a series of calls to customer service at American Cellars -- just one of the clubs operating under the banner of vinesse.com -- and exchanges of e-mails.

I didn't want to return the second six bottles at my expense, so I offered $41.95, what I paid for the first six, and my offer was accepted.

On Feb. 7, a credit of $85.31 showed up in my card account.

Shopping at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack is a pleasure after 5 p.m., as it was on Friday, when only one other shopper was ahead of me in the checkout line, above. I bought salt-free raw almonds, organic baby spinach, fresh blueberries and more.

I use another Costco item, whole peeled garlic cloves from the Christopher Ranch in California, when boiling skin-on sweet potatoes and Kabucha Squash to mash with extra-virgin olive oil, a little salt and Kirkland Signature Organic No-Seasoning.

Liquid egg whites

On Friday, I bought a six-pack of Kirkland Signature Egg Whites for $8.79 or about $1.47 for each 16-ounce carton.

That's about half of what you'd pay for liquid egg whites with coloring or with such additions as diced sweet peppers.

An 18-ounce package of fresh blueberries from Chile were $6.99 and pleasantly sweet. A 1-pound package of organic baby spinach was $4.29, up from $3.99.

A package of Rabbits -- hard, chewy organic granola bars with oats, seeds, nuts and dried fruit -- were $12.74 or about 85 cents each after an instant $4.25 discount.

The product is called 18 Rabbits, but contains only 15 bars.

Why are my Costco bananas sweating?

A new "Controlled Ripening Bag" I found at Costco Wholesale promises longer-lasting bananas, but I found one with a split skin a day after I brought these home on July 29.

The bag explains that "a little more moisture" is "just part of the natural respiration of the fruit." My bananas were wet.

This is what the bananas looked like on Sunday, 6 days after I bought them.

Editor's note: The new plastic banana bag from Costco Wholesale is a puzzler. Today, I also discuss using good ingredients and keeping meals and snacks simple.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

No one sells bananas cheaper than Costco Wholesale, but they come in a new plastic ripening bag that splits their skins and makes them "sweat."

Three pounds of bananas are only $1.39.

I'm not crazy about the new bag, though, especially the split skins and the resulting moisture.

I used to buy bananas when they were green and let them ripen in the bag on the counter.

But the new bag's promise of "longer-lasting bananas" has me buying them when they are already yellow and ripe.

I'm going back to buying them green.

UPDATE: After I wrote and posted this, I found a fold-out pamphlet attached to the bag:

"Del Monte proprietary CRT Bag extends the life of your bananas for up to 3 days longer."

So, if they are ripe when you buy them, you have to eat them within 3 days.

What was wrong with the old bag?


Keeping it simple


Costco Wholesale continues to provide me with quality ingredients at the best prices for meals and snacks.

I've even started warming up to the new Kirkland Signature Egg Whites, which are the main ingredient in the cheese-and-tomato frittatas I make every weekend.

I find the thin, watery, 100% egg whites are at their best when they are thickened with grated cheese, whole eggs or chopped green pepper.

Roll up and enjoy as a snack: Romaine lettuce leaf, sliced reduced-fat Jarlsberg Swiss Cheese, Kirkland Signature smoked wild salmon, Dijon mustard, fresh mint and oregano.

Items from Costco Wholesale make for a filling breakfast, below.

Three kinds of fruit from Costco with Trader Joe's Raisin Brand.

A frittata with Sunset-brand Campari Tomatoes, Kirkland Signature Egg Whites, whole organic brown eggs, sweet green pepper; and reduced-fat shredded and sliced cheese. Set the crust on the stove and finished the frittata under the broiler.

A filling breakfast: A cheesy wedge of the frittata served with Lundgren Wild Blend Rice and Stewed Alaskan Pollock from H Mart.

Chinese Broccoli from H Mart with mashed Organic Sweet Potatoes from Trader Joe's. All the sweet potatoes need are extra-virgin olive oil and a little cinnamon.

Fresh Wild Salmon with Organic Diced Tomatoes

Fresh, wild-caught sockeye salmon from Costco Wholesale was $10.99 a pound this week, but a 1.5-pound fillet is enough to serve a family of 5.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

If you can open a can, squeeze a lime and chop fresh herbs, Fresh Wild Salmon with Organic Diced Tomatoes is a snap to prepare.

I rely on Costco Wholesale for wild-caught fillets of sockeye salmon caught in the U.S.A., as well as for limes and cans of Organic Diced Tomatoes.

The herbs come from my garden. 

I cut a 1.5-pound fillet ($10.99 a pound) into 5 pieces, squeezed fresh lime juice over them and sprinkled them with chopped mint and oregano, and ground Aleppo red pepper (optional).

Then, I spooned Organic Diced Tomatoes over the salmon pieces and placed them into a pre-heated 375-degree oven.

I line the pan with parchment paper from Costco, and don't have to use spray oil.

 

The thickest part of the fillet was cooked rare after 10 minutes. Add 3 minutes to cook through.

I served the salmon with leftover Lundberg Wild Blend Rice, a GMO-free mixture of wild, brown and black rices available from Costco.

The sockeye salmon was $10.99 a pound this week, up a dollar from the week before.

I also picked up a 2.5-pound bag of frozen wild-caught Hake Loins, a meaty, white fish that makes for excellent eating ($13.99).

As with other frozen fish, I will probably steam the hake or bake the fillets in parchment-paper pouches.

A package of Michigan Blueberries, the equivalent of 3 pints, was $4.99. And 2 pounds of those incomparable Campari Tomatoes were $4.49. 

A 'pan pizza' without the fattening dough.

A gooey frittata

A frittata with tomato sauce, pesto and gooey cheese can fool you into thinking your eating a pizza, but you won't have to worry about fattening dough.

I used slices of reduce-fat Jarlsberg Swiss Cheese,  fresh Beefsteak Tomato slices and Organic Tomato Sauce -- all from Costco -- and my own homemade pesto sauce.

A wedge of frittata with Wild Blend Rice.

A mixture of 4 whole organic brown eggs, 8 ounces of Kirkland Signature Egg Whites, a little low-fat milk, grated cheese and Organic No-Salt Seasoning go into a preheated 10-inch pan with extra-virgin olive oil. After the bottom is set and the other ingredients are added, the frittata is finished under the broiler until the cheese oozes and the top browns (low setting).

Two real time savers: Cooking ahead and leftovers

A 10-inch frittata with smoked wild salmon and sun-dried tomatoes is enough for several meals, especially when you serve it with such leftovers as brown rice and pasta.

Here, a wedge of the frittata made a filling breakfast with leftover brown rice and garlic-sauteed Black Tiger Shrimp.

For dinner, I enjoyed a wedge of another frittata, with reduced-fat cheese and homemade pesto, above, over leftover whole-wheat fusilli and sardines, below.

For the frittata, I used a mixture of 8 ounces of Kirkland Signature Egg Whites, 4 Organic Brown Eggs, grated Pecorino-Romano Cheese and low-fat organic milk, all available from Costco Wholesale. I added slices of reduced-fat cheese and spoons of pesto once the mixture had set in a 10-inch non-stick pan on the stove, then finished the frittata under a low broiler setting in the oven.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss real time savers in the kitchen, Costco Wholesale's Greek Yogurt, the Summer Can Can Sale at ShopRite and other food-related matters.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

I buy good ingredients -- including organic eggs, brown rice and pasta -- and I cook them in quantity, ensuring leftovers.

Those leftovers cut down on meal-preparation time, allowing me to plate them and reheat them in a microwave in just 2 or 3 minutes.

I use 2 full cups when I prepare brown rice in an electric cooker, and 1 pound of pasta when I make whole-wheat spirals with sardines.

If I'm making mashed sweet potatoes with extra-virgin olive oil, I use 2 pounds or one bag from Trader Joe's.

Then, I can enjoy rice, pasta or sweet potatoes at breakfast or dinner in the next week with a main dish I prepare fresh -- such as wild salmon with ripe peaches and tomato.

My wife and teenage son nag me about many things, but I nag them about only one thing: Eat the leftovers.

My wife bought six fresh, wild-caught sea bass at H Mart in Englewood for $4.99 a pound, and we enjoyed the leftovers over the next couple of days.

When boiling 1 pound of Trader Joe's Organic Whole Wheat Fusilli or other pasta, use  only enough water to cover. It isn't necessary to salt the water, because bottled sauce and other ingredients already contain plenty of sodium.

A 24-ounce bottle of vodka sauce, an 8-ounce can of tomato sauce, a drained and rinsed can of anchovies; and four plump Moroccan sardines, from 2 cans, also drained and rinsed, go into the preparation of fusilli with sardines. I chop the sardines with a wooden spatula, and also use a few ounces of extra-virgin olive oil, a little red-pepper flakes and dried Italian herbs.

The selection of vinegars and olive oils at Jerry's Gourmet and More in Englewood, above, and part of the dried pasta section, below.

Garofalo 100% Whole Wheat farfalle, left, and pappardelle, right, are more expensive than the organic whole-wheat pasta available at Trader Joe's, but the latter is available in only three shapes.The farfalle was $1.99 a pound at Jerry's and the mouth-filling papardelle was $2.59. Trader Joe's spaghetti, fusilli and penne are $1.39 a pound.

Imported clementines in July? These 5-pound boxes I saw at H Mart in Little Ferry were from South Africa, not Spain or Morocco.

I bought a 3-pound bag of salt-free, raw almonds at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack on Monday ($12.99), and roasted them at 275 degrees on parchment paper for 1 hour and 20 minutes. After they cooled, I dusted them with Saigon Ground Cinnamon, also from Costco. The warehouse store now offers plastic jars of roasted mixed nuts without sodium.

Also at Costco, a 6-pound box of large California peaches was $8.99, and a 5-pound box of Beefsteak Tomatoes was $6.29. When they are ripe, I'll use them to prepare wild sockeye salmon with cinnamon (suggested by my teenage son), capers and garden herbs. A 1-pound package of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix was $4.79, little to pay for the best-tasting, store-bought salad in the world.

On Saturday, 11-ounce dry pints of New Jersey blueberries were 2 for $4 at a D'Agostino in Manhattan, the same price I paid at H Mart in Little Ferry on Sunday ($1.99 a pint) and ShopRite in Paramus on Monday (2 for $4).

Pricey Greek yogurt

Greek yogurt is strained -- so it's thicker and more concentrated than other yogurts, and has more protein. 

Is that why it's so expensive? 

Does a 6-ounce cup of Greek yogurt have "more" yogurt and less whey than a 6-ounce cup of ShopRite yogurt, which is about half the price?

At Costco Wholesale on Monday, I picked up 15 6-ounce cups of non-fat Chobani Greek Yogurt with peaches, blueberries or strawberries for $13.69 after an instant coupon of $4.20.

That's about 91 cents each.

Costco also sells its own Kirkland Signature  plain non-fat Greek Yogurt in a 32-ounce size (2 for $6.99) that I use in smoothies with bananas, frozen strawberries and juice, all from Costco.

Four boxes of Ziploc Gallon Freezer Bags at Costco contain 152 bags for a total of $11.99 or less than 8 cents each. They also are BPA-free.

A poster inside a Starbucks at Spring and Crosby streets in the SoHo section of Manhattan.

Three men hunched over their fast-food meals appear to be ignoring the suggestion they "Savor Each Moment" on the idealized photos inside a Burger King near the New Jersey entrance to the Holland Tunnel. I had stopped for coffee.

Summer Can Can Sale

The Can Can Sales aren't what they used to be at ShopRite, the dominant chain in North Jersey and the acknowledged low-price leader.

Manufacturers aren't subsidizing the sale as they did in the past, and that's reflected in higher prices.

The Summer Can Can Sale, which began on Sunday, is offering 12-can packs of Adirondack Seltzer at 2 for $5 or $2.50 each, compared to $1.99 in the past.

But 33.8-ounce bottles of Adirondack Seltzer are 5 for $2, a better buy than packs of 12-ounce cans.

Buying the bottles also addresses my chief complaint about the cans -- 12 ounces really isn't enough for one meal and 2 cans are too much. Half a 33.8-ounce bottle is just right.

I stopped drinking teeth-corroding Coke and Pepsi in the early 1970s, and lost a lot of weight.

My waist size dropped to 34 inches, and I recall buying the last two bathing suits in that size at Bloomingdale's in Manhattan, as two other customers who flanked me at the counter waited in vain.

Poland Seltzer

At the Paramus ShopRite, I saw 33.8-ounce bottles of Polar Seltzer for 80 cents each -- twice the sale price of the Adirondack Seltzer.

I also noticed Polar Quinine Water contains high-fructose corn syrup.

Also at the Summer Can Can Sale, red grapes were 99 cents a pound, a discount of 50 cents a pound.

Pure Instant Tea

But I searched in vain for ShopRite Pure Instant Tea, a black powder I've been using for years to make iced tea, adding water, fresh lime juice and mint from the garden.

A 3-ounce jar makes 30 quarts of unsweetened tea, according to the label on a half-empty bottle I have left from last year.

A ShopRite employee said the item has been discontinued, which I confirmed today in a call to Wakefern Food Corp., an Elizabeth-based, retailer-owned cooperative that supplies many ShopRites.