When winter weather is really miserable, shopping is a pleasure at Costco Wholesale

The Costco Wholesale warehouse in Teterboro was a pleasure to shop in before noon today, above and below.

When it was time for me to check out, there was only one other Costco member ahead of me, and he had purchased only three or four items.

--TETERBORO, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

A third snowy nor'easter in less than three weeks was predicted, but the storm fizzled this morning.

Still, wind and rain lashed my face as I bent forward to walk across the parking lot to the entrance of Costco Wholesale.

Inside, I found a far calmer shopping experience than usual: Uncrowded aisles and only one other Costco member in front of me at checkout.

I went for a couple of pounds of fresh, wild Cod from Iceland, but was surprised to find skinless-and-boneless fillets of wild-caught Silver Corvina from Suriname, a country in South America, for $8.99 a pound.

This is the first time I've seen that fish at Costco, and I'm looking forward to preparing a Fish & Vegetable Medley with the reddish fillets, fresh organic spinach, grape tomatoes and other ingredients.

Another standout was a 40-ounce bag of Organic Dried Smyrna Figs ($10.49), which are tender and juicy, and the closest you can get to the fresh fruit.

A few of them will be great with Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese and roasted almonds dusted with cinnamon after our fish dinner tonight.

And I also brought home a 5-pound bag labeled "Sweetie," containing small pomelos from Israel ($6.99).

Fresh wild Silver Corvina fillet from Suriname at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro. Below, a 40-ounce bag of Organic Dried Smyrna Figs was $10.49.

A 5-pound bag of pomelos from Israel are labeled "Sweetie."

Kirkland Signature Almonds are now steam pasteurized (3 pounds for $12.49). I roast the sodium-free, raw almonds in the oven for 1 hour and 25 minutes at 275 degrees, then dust them with cinnamon.

I usually grab two 40-ounce jars of Victoria White Linen Marinara when they are on sale at Costco, as they were today, but the high sodium content of this pasta sauce and others has prompted me to make a low-sodium alternative from cans of crushed tomatoes.  A half-cup of the Victoria sauce contains 18% of the recommended maximum sodium in one day.

A Kirkland Signature spread-collar dress shirt ($17.99), and a belt made from Italian leather (also $17.99) in my basket at checkout. A pack of five Kirkland Signature Dress Socks were only $7.99 after instant savings of $2.