Costco tomato squeezer, Han Dynasty and ShopRite

Soup with Pickled Vegetable and Flounder at Han Dynasty in Manhattan, a branch of a Philadelphia restaurant known for its spicy, Sichuan-style Chinese food. The soup is rated 4 on a spice-level scale of 1 to 10. Servers wear black T-shirts with "(10)" printed on the back.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss an exchange with a Costco Wholesale shopper who was opening packages of Campari Tomatoes and squeezing them; a Sunday lunch at Han Dynasty, a Chinese restaurant in Manhattan popular with Asians; and a few sale items at the ShopRite in Paramus.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
Editor 

Before I spoke, I watched a man opening two or three plastic clam-shell packages of Campari Tomatoes at the Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, squeezing the fruit and closing them.

"Do you mind my asking why you are touching all of those tomatoes," I said.

"I want to make sure they aren't soft," he replied.

Thinking the only "soft" thing was his head, I asked him if he would want other people touching the food he buys.

"Don't you think people touch the tomatoes when they put them into the packages?"

I said it is probably done by machine, but as he left, I noticed the big letters "EMT" on his jacket and hoped he shows better judgment in a medical emergency.

You don't have to touch Campari Tomatoes to see if they are soft. The redder they are, the riper and softer they are.

If you want a harder tomato, choose those that are a paler red. And they ripen when left out on your kitchen counter; refrigerating them destroys the rich, tomatoey flavor.

Then, because the beefsteak tomatoes didn't look that good, I took his place in front of the Campari Tomatoes and tried to find a 2-pound package with fruit he hadn't touched.

Organic chicken

My Hackensack warehouse store has added antibiotic-free Coleman Organic chicken drumsticks ($1.99 a pound) and thighs to the whole Coleman Organic chickens ($2.49 a pound) it has sold for the last few years.

They are in free-standing refrigerated cases near the produce section. As with all organic products, they contain no genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Costco Wholesale usually carries sweet potatoes only around the holidays, but I found these in a 6.5 pound bag at my Hackensack warehouse store on Friday for $5.99. A 10-pound bag of Earthbound Farm Organic Carrots was $7.99.

At Costco in Hackensack on Friday afternoon, my haul included 3 pounds of bananas ($1.39), 2 pounds of salted cod-fish fillets from Canada ($11.99),  and two loaves of Kirkland Signature All Natural Multigrain 100% Whole Grain Bread ($4.49). Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix was $4.79 (1 pound).

On Sunday afternoon, we had lunch at Han Dynasty, 90 3rd Ave. in Manhattan's East Village (212-390-8685), and many of the other customers were young Asian couples with big bowls of noodles in front of them.

Han Dynasty

Our lunch at Han Dynasty in Manhattan on Sunday started with the tasty fish soup that was part of my takeout order from the original in Philadelphia last year.

The mildly spicy Soup with Pickled Vegetable and Flounder (4) includes lots of fresh garlic and ginger ($9.95).

Our entree was a non-spicy Scallion Style Shrimp ($19.95), and we also ordered Peas Leaves with Garlic ($12.95).

Brown rice was $1 extra. The serving is generous, much larger than in other Chinese restaurants.

The food was terrific, but the restaurant was full and service was a bit slow. 

We were brought a pot of tea and glasses of ice water when we sat down. I had to ask twice for extra napkins and we never got the fork my wife wanted.

Luckily, the utensil with one end buried under the pea leaves turned out to be a fork.

Scallion Style Shrimp at Han Dynasty.

Pea Leaves with Garlic: A simple, delicious and healthy dish.

Paramus ShopRite

On Monday, I ran out of 1% lactose-free milk and stopped at the Shop Rite in Paramus, where half-gallons of the store brand were $3.29 each, a discount of 20 cents.

Two Golden Pineapples were on sale for $5, and a 5-pound bag of Golden Delicious Apples was $3.99.

The biggest surprise was a 15-ounce container of Smart Balance Original for $1.75 or about half-price.
The sale price was $3.20 with $1.45 off.

At the Englewood ShopRite on Sunday, my wife bought 15 ounces of Smart Balance Original with Flaxseed Oil "on sale" for $3.59.

 

Jersey Fresh or fresh deception?

The smaller peach, upper left, is from South Carolina and labeled "Cotton Hope."

At the Paramus ShopRite this morning, I found boxes of South Carolina and New Jersey fruit below a sign for "Jersey Fresh" peaches at $1.49 a pound.

Many of the South Carolina peaches, labeled "Cotton Hope," were in boxes carrying the name of Sunny Slope Farms in Bridgeton.

The other peaches were yellow and carried yellow labels with a number, but no name. Did I get any Jersey Fresh peaches?

My only other purchase was a gallon of Lactaid 1% Lactose-Free Milk, which was on sale for $6.19 (a savings of 60 cents) -- for the second or third week in a row -- or less than the cost of two half-gallons of ShopRite Lactose-Free Milk at $3.39 each.

I was caught in ShopRite 'hell'

It started out innocently enough as a trip to the closest ShopRite to recycle a half-dozen plastic grocery bags bulging with more plastic bags and all manner of plastic food wrapping.

At the Paramus ShopRite, the bins for recycled bags are inside the store, and I should have deposited my bags, turned around and gone home.

Instead, in the spirit of conserving gasoline, I figured I'd pick up some celery for a canned-fish salad I wanted to make and a half-gallon of ShopRite Lactose-Free Milk.

The store wasn't that busy around 9:45 in the morning on Tuesday, and there was no waiting at the first Express Lane.

The store brand of lactose-free milk is usually $3.39 and sometimes $2.99 when it goes on sale. 

The 2% milk was $3.39 at the Paramus store, but the 1% variety was $3.29 or 10 cents off. And since I usually use 1% milk, that was the one I chose.

However, at the register, it rang up at $3.39, and I told the clerk the sign said it was reduced to $3.29. 

He hit a switch and the light designating his register as No. 1 started to flash, and we waited for a supervisor to come over.

It was only 5 t0 7 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity. At one point, I asked the clerk, "Are we supposed to just wait?" He said yes.

Finally, a supervisor came over, took the milk and headed for the back of the store. She returned a few minutes later and told the clerk to re-ring the item.

I heard no apology for failing to update the store's computer to match the shelf price. The supervisor didn't even speak to me. 

I asked the clerk what happened, and he said I was now being charged $3.29.

It certainly wasn't the 10 cents I was after.  

But this is "the attitude" I've encountered at other ShopRites when I've asked the store to live up to its fliers and shelf-price signs.

At the supermarket, organic lactose-free milk prices are defying gravity

Lactose-free milk at Walmart in Teterboro (2016).

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

At $4.99 or more for a half-gallon of organic, lactose-free milk, avoiding cramps and gas from eating dairy is getting expensive.

This summer, I started buying conventional, lactose-free, 2%-milk at the expanded grocery section of the Target in Hackensack, where a half-gallon of the store brand cost as little as $2.89 in August.

I was at the ShopRite in Englewood to fill prescriptions on Tuesday, and saw organic, lactose-free milk for as much as $5.19 a half-gallon. Instead, I bought the non-organic store brand for $3.39.

Lactaid, one of the first widely available brands of lactose-free milk, explains on its Web site: 

"Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest a sugar called lactose that’s found mainly in milk and dairy products.

"Normally, the small intestine produces an enzyme called lactase , which breaks down lactose into two simple sugars, glucose and galactose, that can be absorbed into the bloodstream.

"People whose bodies don’t make enough lactase can’t fully digest lactose, causing mild to uncomfortable side effects.

"Some people have a higher chance of being lactose intolerant. These groups include Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians and people of Jewish descent. It also affects adults more than children, since the body produces less lactase enzyme as people age."

Gas, cramping

Signs and symptoms are gas, cramping, bloating and diarrhea (sounds like my recent hospital stay, with constipation standing in for diarrhea).

Lactase, the enzyme that breaks down lactose, also is available in a pill, which you can eat before or with such problem foods as cheese. I buy mine at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, but the warehouse store doesn't carry lactose-free milk.

Although Lactaid milk has been widely available for a decade or more, you never see lactose-free milk served at Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts or in restaurants, forcing you to carry lactase pills or drink coffee black, as I do when I'm not at home.

Some yogurt and yogurt products are said to be naturally lactose free, including a sliced yogurt cheese available at Trader Joe's with and without jalapeno peppers.

Doctors talk food

In all the years I've been going to Dr. Glenn Brauntuch, my general practitioner in Englewood, he's never asked me what I eat, commenting only when I started gaining weight and urging me to eat less.

"I love food," my 228 pounds protested last year.

"Just love it less," he replied.

I was a food writer and news copy editor for a daily newspaper until 2008, so any food talk usually involved restaurant recommendations or complaints.

A decade or more ago, Brauntuch detected my heart murmur -- the swooshing sound of blood passing through my aortic valve, which was calcified and wouldn't close completely.

Heart murmurs aren't related to diet, he said, so I didn't have to stop eating milk, yogurt and other dairy food.

Open-heart surgery

Last Friday, my sluggish valve was replaced during open-heart surgery at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center. 

When I was discharged on Tuesday, I was given a sheet of paper from the hospital outlining what I should and should not eat -- the most comprehensive advice doctors have ever given me about food.

Foods to avoid include high-fat bakery goods, fried vegetables or those made with butter, cheese or cream sauce; fried fruit or fruit with butter or cream;  butter; whole milk and other dairy products; smoked meat or poultry; frankfurters, sausage, cold cuts and other cured meats; too many egg yolks and all canned beans.

Except for canned beans, I've avoided all of those foods for many years, preferring heart-healthy fresh fruit and vegetables; wild-caught, cold-water fish (salmon, sardines and so forth), and almonds.

In the past year, I've lost 30 pounds with a regimen of five weekly visits to the gym, weight training twice a week and virtually eliminating bread and pizza. And I was out of the hospital only four days after surgery.

Here comes the rain

Image via Wikipedia

Can the historic Church on The Green in
Hackensack survive Tropical Storm Irene?

It's been raining on and off in Hackensack -- mostly off -- since about 11:30 this morning and now, around 5:15 in the afternoon, rain is falling again as all of us in North Jersey await the arrival of Hurricane Irene.


I was watching New York's Channel 2 a little awhile ago, and heard a bit of good news. Irene will be downgraded from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm when it hits the metro area.


I left the house twice today -- once to pick up milk and eggs at Target, which is less than a mile away, and again around 4:30 this afternoon for a comforting bowl of seafood soup at Lotus Cafe, my favorite Chinese restaurant, where the kitchen closed early at 5.


Target was busy and not everyone was there for food. I found plenty of 2% lactose-free milk ($2.89 for a half-gallon) and a dozen cage-free brown eggs ($2.60).


At Lotus Cafe, a BYO in the Home Depot Shopping Center, I asked the waiter to hold the noodles and add water spinach to the soup, which had unusually tender shrimp, squid and scallop, in addition to fish cakes. I drank two glass of my own red wine from Argentina.


Here's to you, Irene. Be a lady tonight and tomorrow.

More on those ridiculous little signs

Image via Wikipedia
























I must be a glutton for punishment. When I needed a half-gallon of lactose-free milk for my morning coffee, I drove over to ShopRite in Hackensack, the supermarket with hard-to-read or missing price signs, and found myself in front of the organic milk section again.

I stooped, I squinted, I bent at the waist, trying to make out the prices for several brands on the small signs. Another problem cropped up Friday: The brand of organic, low-fat, lactose-free milk I wanted had a use-by date of the next day, and there were no store employees anywhere nearby to see if there was more in the back. Plus its price sign was missing, as it was on my last visit.

So, I selected the Lactaid-brand, but its price sign also was missing. At the register, I learned it was $4.99 -- 80 cents more than the brand I wanted. 


On the way to the register, I stopped at the courtesy counter to report the missing price signs. We'll see what, if anything, happens.

Why go back to the same ShopRite? It's the closest one to my home, and I had seven or eight bags of plastic bags and food wrappers I wanted to recycle.