In our kitchen, the egg comes before the chicken

Two organic eggs with tofu, quinoa and black beans made for a filling dinner.

A simple egg-white omelet with shredded Italian cheese and sun-dried tomato.

Which came first -- the chicken or the egg?

In our home-cooked meals, the egg comes first, along with fish, tofu, sweet potatoes, quinoa, squash and other ingredients that fill me up and help me follow a meat-free, bread-free diet.

And the chicken has to be organic or antibiotic-free or I won't buy it for family members who eat poultry.

Mashed sweet potatoes and squash with black beans and organic diced tomatoes.

I don't need all of the carbohydrates in one of those enormous New Jersey bagels for breakfast, and I can certainly do without artery clogging cream cheese.

The other night, I boiled sweet potatoes and Kabocha squash, drained and mashed them, and then added olive oil, butter substitute, a little salt and other seasoning.

The mash, with black beans and organic diced tomatoes, served as a filling breakfast side dish with a simple, egg-white omelet.

There's nothing wrong with comfort food first thing in the morning.

For breakfast, leftover haddock with mashed sweet potatoes and scrambled egg.

 


My wife brought home Costco Wholesale's fresh, wild-caught haddock from Iceland ($7.99 a pound); dipped the fillets in egg and then flour, and pan-fried them for dinner.

A single, leftover piece was perfect for breakfast the next day. 

Two organic eggs with shredded Parmigiano Reggiano and sun-dried tomatoes.

Pan-fried porgy under a blanket of onion, garlic and sweet peppers.

A Sunday dinner of pan-fried porgy with mashed Kabocha squash.

An egg-free breakfast of hot cereal with fresh pineapple and banana.

On Wednesday, I picked up a big dinner salad and a delicious root-vegetable soup from the Garden Cafe at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, where I volunteer.

A dinner salad with tofu, beets, peas and beans from a hospital cafeteria.

This morning, half of an omelet with pesto and sun-dried tomatoes went beautifully with mashed sweet potatoes and sweet plantains. I also had a side of cabbage kimchi, below.