cooking costco

I've made it no secret that I am not a fan of Costco for groceries. I read wonderful stories from those with access to Coscto warehouses that stock foods very different from ours here. I also hear from those who say they're more concerned with cost than quality. I have for the most part not been thrilled with the selection available nor the care given to the food when I shop there.

That is for the most part. Not always. Sometimes Costco is great, and if not great, perfectly satisfactory. This time of year, wild caught Alaskan salmon is available fresh and reasonably priced at $8.99 a pound here in central California. We can also get frozen organic blackberries and raspberries at far less than a standard grocery store. Asparagus has been plentiful and affordable, and though it's not organically grown, I feel relatively comfortable buying it. Asparagus does not appear on the "dirty" lists. When we get over to the central coast, we have more buying options. In SLO the Costco carries ground bison for less than half the price I see in my natural foods store here, as well as organically raised chickens, both whole and individual parts. In SLO they also often carry organically grown strawberries when is season, Alaskan cold-smoked salmon (lox), and unbelievably good procuitto (its only ingredients are pork and salt.) I'd love to see more of that here. I might be able to get excited about shopping there.

I usually don't buy much meat at Costco, but this week I was tempted by the whole, peeled filet of beef. Since the filet is very low in fat, and almost all the surface fat is removed in this form, I made an exception. It's certainly not that I avoid fat. It's just that when I'm unsure about the quality of the fat, as in not grass-fed and commercially raised beef, I want to avoid as much of THAT fat as possible. It is not a budget choice, most definitely. At $17.99 a pound, I usually wouldn't give it a second glance. In need of a treat and a menu shake-up, I decided to give it a try. Still, even after deciding to be indulgent, I looked for the smallest piece they had. I can only carry indulgence so far. That said, this stuff is really, really good. The filet was between 3 and 4 pounds and will make many meals for the two of us. I cut the whole filet into ten good-sized steaks, a dozen or so large chunks for skewers, and a couple of smaller breakfast steaks.

The side of wild salmon we cooked on the Big Green Egg (alongside a grass-fed tri-tip) with Vital Choice Seafood's great salmon seasoning and a touch of olive oil. The asparagus, I trimmed and washed, tossed in a little sea salt and olive oil, and grilled when the salmon came off. The salmon and asparagus, along with a quick salad, were Sunday night's dinner and the salmon will be found in lunches for a few days and at least one more dinner this week. The tri-tip (not from Costco) will also find its way into a few meals. I have some packed for breakfast (at my desk) this morning.

So, I'll admit it, I owe Costco a bit of an apology. Still, I can't help wishing they were a little more careful and consistent.

yes, we celebrate valentine's day

food is the best part

I know many people are put off by the silliness and commercial exploitation, not to mention overt sexism, that are the public face of Valentine's Day. On some levels, I am one of them. That said, I'm almost embarrassed to admit that we have a few Valentine's Day rituals that have lasted over the years, traditions I cling to tenaciously. Some change a bit, sadly no dark chocolate decadence with whipped cream anymore, others go from one year to the next untouched.

We don't do gifts or flowers. No poetry, no love songs. For us, it's all about enjoying together some of our favorite things: the food and the Champagne. As good Californians, we very much support our great state wineries most of the year, but on Valentine's Day, Champagne---the real stuff---wins out. We've had this year's bottle for a few weeks now. After some back and forth argument discussion over which to choose, he we settled on a Piper Heidsieck. I was pressing for one of my favorites, Moet et Chandon Brut Imperial, but the Piper's great, too. I really cannot complain. As usual, too, this year we'll use the beautiful Waterford toasting flutes Bev and Gary gave us many years ago. There's something incredibly romantic to me in all of this. I think where celebrations are concerned, I love ritual above all else, not including the people, of course. I do believe if we'd somehow developed the ritual of paper cups and cream soda, I'd try to hold onto that health risks and all.

And the food is my department. No arguments, no debates, no discussions. I get to chose it and I get to cook it. We became painfully aware many years ago, long before I had begun to identify my dietary limitations, that, for us anyway, the combination of restaurants and special occasions were risky business. Valentine's Day, like Mother's Day, restaurants are packed, kitchens are harried, wait staff is rushed and often inattentive. Nah, I'll take my kitchen and my sweetly set table. Maybe even a fire in the fireplace.

This year we'll start with a salad much like that pictured above. My current menu includes skewers of Alaskan halibut and salmon from Vital Choice Seafood (my favorite) served on cauliflower rice. This is the only part of the meal I've finalized. I will be forever in awe of those who can plan meals for the week. I often change the menu of a meal as I'm cooking it. I have not yet found the perfect-looking asparagus I had in mind, but the plan is a a tender green vegetable. If not asparagus, possibly snow peas. Mushrooms have to be in the mix somewhere, so I'll either stuff a few with an herb blend to serve as an appetizer or lightly saute them to serve with the fish.

And for dessert, a real rarity for us, I'm torn between large long-stemmed strawberries dipped in a blend of coconut oil and raw cocoa powder with a hint of pure stevia and pistachio nuts stirred into the same chocolate mix. Maybe we should have both.