Pomegranate seeds, Bob's Red Mill, Palestinian EVOO

Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Hot Cereal topped with non-fat Greek yogurt, pomegranate seeds and Organic Blue Agave syrup.

I added pine nuts, hemp hearts and dried dates to my whole-grain cereal, which cooked in less than 10 minutes in a covered pot.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss a great hot cereal to warm you in chilly weather, pomegranate seeds, a visit to Fatal's in Paterson, "room for milk" at Starbucks and the annoying habit of Greek diners to charge more for extra spinach.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

With the return of cold weather, I sometimes take a break from eggs at breakfast and reach for Bob's Red Mill, a hot cereal. 

This morning, I added pine nuts, hemp hearts and dried dates to the 10 Grain Hot Cereal as it was cooking and once it was in the bowl, topped it with pomegranate seeds, non-fat Greek yogurt and Organic Blue Agave nectar.

Everything but the cereal came from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

I ate the cereal from a blue Miya of Japan bowl ($6.99), which I found at New King Fung Supermarket, 625 Kinderkamack Road, in River Edge.

My wife bought the large Pom-brand pomegranates, weighing a total of 8 pounds, for $14.99 on Nov. 4; removed the seeds from one of them and refrigerated them in a container.

I had three-quarters of a bag of Bob's Red Mill in my cupboard from last winter.

In reading the label, I saw refrigeration is recommended once the bag is opened.

Three cups of water, a little salt and 1 cup of Bob's Red Mill yield 2.5 cups of hot cereal.

Bob's Red Mill has other cereals besides 10 Grain, as well as an organic line. I bought mine at ShopRite.

Pomegranate seeds, Campari Tomatoes and two kinds of Italian cheese with an Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix salad, dressed in extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Za'atar and EVOO at Fatal's

On Wednesday, I drove to Fattal's in Paterson to replenish our supply of Al Shark Sardines in Tomato Sauce from Morocco (99 cents for a 4.38-ounce can).

I bought more than two dozen cans of the wild-caught fish, which is low in mercury.

We use the sardines, along with anchovies, in pasta sauce.

We also use canned sardines, with canned tuna and salmon, to make a salad with chopped onions, celery and apple, dressing them in Dijon mustard, lime juice and ground cumin.

Fattal's sells crushed red pepper by weight, but I could get only about a third of a pound before the store ran out ($6.99 a pound).

I use the mildly spicy pepper, which I refer to as Aleppo pepper, to accent eggs, fish and other dishes.

I bought packaged crushed red pepper from Turkey, but it contains salt. 

A package of za'atar thyme mixture from Jordan contains wheat, an ingredient I don't believe is found in the mixture Fattal's sells by weight.

Za'atar is good with bread dipped in olive oil, and sprinkled liberally over fresh tomato slices or omelets and other egg dishes.

The predominate taste is not thyme but sour sumac, as well as the crunch of sesame seeds.

I also picked up another 3-liter bottle of Al Defah Extra Virgin Olive Oil for a low $13.99 or only $4.66 a liter.

On the label, there is nothing in English on the origin of the oil, but one of the employees pointed out a Palestinian flag and said the oil is from Palestine.

Six store-made Spinach & Cheese Pies were $8.99.

On Saturday at Starbucks on 1st Avenue and 69th Street in Manhattan, I asked for a Tall cup of Veranda Blend with "a little room for milk." The young woman behind the counter said she would put my coffee in a larger, Grande cup, and leave room for milk, and she did, giving me a full cup of coffee.

On Thursday, I ordered a Greek omelet with feta cheese, spinach, onions and mushrooms at the River Edge Diner (516 Kinderkamack Road), and asked for extra spinach. I was charged more for what looked like frozen spinach ($8.75 or $9.60 with extra spinach). But at the suggestion of the waitress, I asked for the home fries well-done, and they were the best I've ever had.

Tasting and cooking notes -- in pictures

One of my favorite breakfasts got healthier when I asked the Golden Grill, on Queen Anne Road in Teaneck, to grill or broil fresh whiting fillets, which are normally fried.

Frozen sea scallops from Costco Wholesale were a little tough and a few contained fine grit. I made them with organic diced tomatoes, white wine and lemon juice.

I made a faux Cuban sandwich for my son, above, using a crusty baguette from Balthazar Bakery in Englewood. I had only two of the four ingredients, roast pork and Swiss cheese, and no heated press. My son doesn't like mustard, so I used Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, and melted the cheese under the broiler, below.

I used pre-washed organic spring mix to garnish a sandwich of canned fish salad with sweet pepper, onion, garlic, apple, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and ground cumin.

A fluffy 10-inch frittata, above and below, was made with 7 organic whole eggs, smoked wild salmon, shredded cheese, low-fat organic milk, fresh and sun-dried tomatoes, and no-salt organic seasonings. I started it on top of the stove and finished it under the broiler, and served it with orgnaic brown rice and sweet plantains. Almost all of the ingredients came from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

At Whole Foods Market in Paramus, a briny Lobster and Corn Bisque is made without heavy cream. A small, 8-ounce cup is $3.74, including tax.

A 16-ounce cup of Organic Indian Chai, a spiced black tea, is $1.93 at Whole Foods.

Whole Foods' gorgeous antipasti will set you back $9.99 a pound. I'm happy with the assorted Italian olives with whole garlic for $3.99 a pound at Jerry's in Englewood.

A perennial favorite in our home is Valentina Mexican Hot Sauce (Extra Hot), with a black label, which we buy at Hackensack Market on Passaic Street.

An earlier version of canned-fish salad went great with Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix, cucumber, tomato, kimchi and za'atar thyme mixture.

I cook ahead hot cereal, pasta with sardines and other dishes in larger than unusual quantities to cut the time it takes to put a meal on the table. Here, fresh blackberries and low-fat milk were added to reheated 10-grain cereal and rough-cut oatmeal with pignoli nuts, dried cherries, black chia seeds and goji berries.

An unusual breakfast in South Paterson

Image via Wikipedia

I dashed out this morning for bread, sardines, canned hummus, spinach pie and Lebanese extra-virgin olive oil from Fattal's Syrian Bakery in Paterson, then went looking for breakfast.


I drove a few blocks to Luna Bakery & Sweets (1071 Main St.), and asked for a Turkish breakfast (thick bread, hard-boiled egg, cheese, tomato and cucumber, and strong tea). 

Not wanting to turn a customer away, the Syrian baker served me tea; strained yogurt with nuts, which I ate with a spoon; a round, thin, flat bread spread with the thyme-based za'atar mixture; dough and cheese baked into a boat shape, and a pizza made with Syrian and mozzarella cheeses that was dusted with mint and a little red pepper. 


There was enough food for two and I took a few items home. After I told the baker my parents were from Aleppo, he said he was a native and described the many changes he's witnessed. Change also was evident around his business in South Paterson, he said, but he believes the quality of his dough has kept him afloat.


Across the street, the shuttered Syrian bakery Mondial is getting a makeover and a stylish, brick restaurant called Grill House is expected to open soon. On Getty Avenue, near Main Street, a storefront that once claimed to have the best falafel sandwich in the world has closed.



At Fattal's (975-77 Main St.), the sardines from Morocco and canned Lebanese hummus can't be beat (99 cents a can). Three liters of La Ziza-brand Lebanese extra-virgin olive oil rang up at $17.49. Six of Fattal's long, sesame-seeded spinach pies are $8.99, and freeze beautifully.


I turned off Getty at East Railway Avenue to check out produce in the Farmers' Market. But I ended up buying a small dogwood tree at Brothers Produce for $10, and driving home. 

(Photo: Aleppo, Syria)

Layers of flavor for breakfast

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How much can you cram into your breakfast sandwich?


This morning, I started with two toasted slices of 100 percent whole grain bread, spread hummus on one and added organic salad greens, a small egg-white omelet with Aleppo pepper, a slice of muenster cheese, smoked wild sockeye salmon and Dijon mustard.


If  I had pesto, it would be at home in this sandwich. I ate a Campari tomato with za'atar thyme mixture on the side, along with kimchi, but tomato slices with za'atar would work, too. I'll try that tomorrow. Everything in my sandwich -- except Aleppo pepper and za'atar -- can be found at Costco. Fattal's Syrian Bakery in Paterson stocks the pepper and thyme mixture.


My eating habits have come a long way since the 1980s, when I'd eat an Egg McMuffin (photo) for breakfast, drink coffee and finish with a cigarette.

Breakfast spans the globe

Image via Wikipedia

I opened the refrigerator, bottles and a can to assemble a delicious, globe-spanning breakfast this morning. I only had to warm pocket bread and pour some iced tea to make it complete.


On a small plate, I covered tomato slices with za'atar thyme mixture, and placed some cabbage kimchi next to it. On a larger plate, I arranged stewed tofu in red pepper sauce, two fat Moroccan sardines in spicy oil, a ball of Lebanese yogurt cheese, an Egyptian preserved lemon and the warm bread. I also had imported hummus, made from a can.


The instant black tea came from ShopRite -- I added water, fresh lemon juice and mint from my garden. Most of the other ingredients came from Fattal's Syrian Bakery in Paterson. The kimchi and tofu were from Arirang Kimchi in Englewood and H Mart in Little Ferry, respectively.


All this great food found a home in my kitchen.

A new restaurant in South Paterson

Restaurants come and go in South Paterson, the Middle Eastern section of Paterson, and I had a terrific meal at one of them, Aleppo, named for the city in the north of Syria dominated by an old fortress. Two friends joined me for a filling lunch Tuesday before we shopped for pita bread, sardines and za'atar, the spice mixture of thyme and wild sumac. (This restaurant replaces Kafe Teria, one of my favorite Turkish places.)

We started with three appetizers: hummus, muhammara and fried kibbe (filled with ground meat and pine nuts), plus a small salad of diced cucumbers and tomatoes. We also shared an entree, the Aleppo mixed grill: chicken and lamb kabobs and ground-lamb skewers, plus rice, tomato, onion and a hot pepper. The appetizers were great, especially the kibbe, also known as torpedoes, and the poultry and meat in the entree were moist. Muhammara is a hot pepper-and-nut dip that originated in Aleppo, and this version was excellent.

After lunch, we stopped at Fattal's Bakery for pita bread, canned hummus and Moroccan sardines, and at Corrado's Family Affair supermarket for fettuccine with squid ink, ground cheeses and wine. Does any other supermarket have a bread aisle like the one at Corrado's, which carries Italian, Syrian, Turkish and other ethnic breads from two dozen or more bakeries? Our last stop was Taskin, the Turkish bakery, where I picked up two kinds of borek filled with cheese or spinach and cheese.

We couldn't find any place that served small cups of strong Turkish coffee, but noticed a new pastry shop called Sham (Damascus) that looked promising for our next visit.

Last wild salmon of the week

After our first dinner of Copper River wild salmon on Tuesday, I put the five leftover cooked pieces in the refrigerator. My son had one in a sandwich the next day. I finished the last one today.

In late morning, I put a fistful of pre-washed organic spring mix on a dinner plate, the bed for the last fillet and some tuna fish salad (extra virgin olive oil, scallions and cumin). I added slices of tomato and cucumber, showered the plate in fresh lemon juice and added more cumin and some za'atar, a spice mixture containing thyme, wild sumac, oregano, marjoram, salt and sesame seeds. 

Two slices of toast and hot tea completed the meal.

Flavors I can't live without

For breakfast today, I stuffed some warm pita halves with organic spring mix, hummus, a small sardine or canned red salmon, tomato, sliced yogurt cheese and ajvar, a roasted red pepper and eggplant spread from Macedonia, one of the flavors I can't live without.

Ajvar makes a great sandwich spread or you can just put a couple of tablespoons of the stuff on your plate to eat with a sandwich or entree. I buy the spicy version made by Vava, because it has no added sugar. I've found it at Zeytinia in Englewood, $4.99 for a 19-ounce jar.

Another great flavor is za'atar, a Middle Eastern spice mixture you can sprinkle on sliced tomatoes, roasted chicken, fish and so forth. If you put a pinch in your mouth, it has a wonderful sourness. Some za'atar and extra virgin olive oil on a plate makes a great dip for fresh bread or you can sprinkle the mixture over pita and spreadable yogurt cheese. The mix includes thyme, wild sumac, marjoram, oregano, salt and sesame seeds. I add black sesame seeds to mine.

You can find two kinds of za'atar, green and brown, at Fattal's in Paterson's South Paterson section. The store also carries another great flavor, Aleppo pepper, a coarsely ground and mildly spicy red pepper that is great with hummus, eggs fried in olive oil and roasted chicken, among other dishes.

Along with my pita sandwiches, I had a small bowl of mahk kimchi from Arirang, a kimchi factory in Englewood. I like my kimchi "fresh," meaning it hasn't been fermented too long and the nappa cabbage retains a nice crunch. How much do I like kimchi? It's a morning staple.