Hauls: Fun Finds from Costco

Shopping at Costco can be an absolutely nightmare, especially on weekends. It just gets too freaking crowded. Everyone loves Costco's meat, electronics, and gift sets. Bulk heaven and shoppers' hell. It's both. Thankfully, the branch closest to me is somewhat less frequented by area shoppers due to its less accessible location. Yay!

There are some individuals who will buy just about everything from Costco. My hubby and I get certain things from here, such as great quantities of paper towels and bottled water (nothing fancy, just Deer Park or something in that range), but we buy things like cleaning supplies and produce from other places.What we do love from Costco: oils, sauces, grains, and canned ingredients.

While you can always stock up on more well-known household brands, it's much more fun to buy Costco's imported products, more gourmet offerings, and luxury items, like their wine.

I'm pretty excited about trying the Explore Asian Organic Black Bean Spaghetti Shape. Having tried shirataki noodles and veggie noodles made from a veggie slicer, I'm always down for alternatives to traditional pasta. These black bean noodles resemble soba. As you may already know, soba noodles are made from buckwheat. These "spaghetti shapes" are made from black beans. They're vegan, glutenfree, and kosher. These babies also contain 25 grams of protein, which is definitely more than your standard pasta. I'm going to try using them with a red sauce (maybe homemade, maybe not) and show you how that turns out. I imagine these noodles would also be great for stirfries. Black bean pad thai, maybe?

Another cool item is Kirkland Signature Himalayan pink salt. I've seen Himalayan pink salt all over the blogsphere. It seems to be the in thing now. Can't wait to incorporate it into some of my dishes. :)

I'm also looking forward to using these canned sardines.

I keep seeing on gourmet cooking sites and shows how chefs melt sardines into a pan to make an umami sauce. I want to do that! And just so you know--something you should remember about me--I don't mind fishy or funky, at all. Pungent is fine by me.