From the store to the plate with only a few simple steps in between

ISLAND SALAD: Using cooked conch I brought home from H&Y, a Korean supermarket in Ridgefield, my wife produced a colorful and delicious salad, adding minced garlic; chopped onion, sweet and hot peppers, and lime juice. The result reminded me of the spicy Conch Salad I once had in the Bahamas, where they say "conk."

AFTER DINNER: A quick after-dinner salad made with triple-washed Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix, tomatoes from our garden, extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. You can turn this salad into a main course by adding smoked wild salmon and shaved Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, both available at Costco Wholesale.

COMFORT FOOD: Mashed organic sweet potatoes from Trader Joe's, organic carrots from Costco Wholesale and Kabocha Squash from H Mart in Englewood were boiled with peeled garlic cloves for about an hour, below. Sweet potatoes, mashed or baked, are a great bread substitute that you can eat to your heart's content.

NO NEED FOR BUTTER: Drain, return to the pot and add extra-virgin olive oil and as many seasonings as you have on hand, including curry powder, cinnamon, black pepper, red-pepper flakes, a little sea salt and whatever else you like, then mash. I make enough to provide side dishes for several breakfasts and dinners or as a snack at midday.

GOOD BUY: At Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, 10-pound bags of conventional sweet potatoes cost about 79 cents a pound.

BAKED PLANTAINS: A baked sweet potato, with a little organic salsa, and baked -- not fried -- sweet plantains, all served alongside an egg-white omelet stuffed with smoked wild salmon and reduced-fat Swiss cheese. Most of the ingredients are from the Hackensack Costco.

BOTTLE-AND-CAN PASTA: Organic whole-wheat spirals in marinara sauce with drained and rinsed anchovies, sardines, red wine, extra-virgin olive oil and seasonings, including red-pepper flakes and ground garlic. Instead of grated cheese, I added panko bread crumbs as an accent. I used a 44-ounce jar of pasta sauce, one can of anchovies, three cans of sardines in tomato sauce and a 1-pound package of Luigi Vitelli-brand Organic Whole Wheat Fusilli from ShopRite ($1.25), enough for several meals.

-- VICTOR E. SASSON