More food photos: Home cooking sparkles with flavor, but holds the fat

GLOBAL BREAKFAST: Clockwise from top, two prepared items from H Mart in Englewood, Stewed Tofu and Stewed Alaskan Pollock; a baked sweet potato and a wedge of black-olive frittata.

GOOD FOR YOUR BRAIN: Last week, the H Mart at 25 Lafayette Ave. in Englewood put two large bunches of spinach on sale for 99 cents. They cooked in minutes in a large covered pan with olive oil and sake, with added sea salt, garlic powder and other seasonings.

NO SHELL GAME: I ate the spinach with a generous serving of leftover organic whole wheat shells from Whole Foods Market ($1.49) prepared in marinara sauce with anchovies and sardines. I used a 40-ounce jar of sauce, 1 pound of pasta, 1 can of anchovies, drained and rinsed; and 3 cans of sardines, plus red wine, extra-virgin olive oil and seasonings.

SUNNY SIDE UP: I fried two organic eggs with grated cheese and Aleppo pepper, and ate them with leftover pasta, tofu and stewed pollock, a member of the cod family.

CRUNCHY SALSA: Fresh organic salsa from Costco Wholesale (2 pounds for $7.99) brightens a breakfast of sweet potatoes, mashed with extra-virgin olive oil, and a simple egg-white omelet dusted with Moroccan spices.

TASTES GREAT: Big Taste Tomatoes were on sale last week for 99 cents a pound at the ShopRite in Paramus. They taste as good as the smaller Campari Tomatoes sold at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro for more than twice the price. Here, I enjoyed them with a bowl of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix ($4.29 at Costco).

SNOWY FISH: A 1.86-pound skinless-and-boneless halibut fillet from Costco Wholesale ($18.99 a pound) served four. I prepared the fish with fresh spinach, pitted olives, fresh tomatoes, shredded cheese, sea salt and fresh lime juice in a large pan, and the meal was ready after 15 minutes in a pre-heated 400-degree oven. I served it with organic quinoa made in an electric cooker.

-- VICTOR E. SASSON

Great seafood and going organic to avoid GMOs

Two organic brown eggs served over organic quinoa prepared in an electric cooker with organic diced tomatoes and organic chicken stock, all from Costco Wholesale. In the absence of a labeling law in the United States, going organic is the only sure way to avoid genetically modified foods and the safety issues they raise.

Wild-caught Pacific halibut is the most expensive fresh fish sold at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, but it's a breeze to prepare and the taste is worth every penny.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

I've seen fresh, wild-caught halibut in the cold case at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack for at least a couple of years, but the price has always stopped me -- until last week.

At $16.99 a pound, the fillets are only $2 or $3 more a pound than the Copper River sockeye salmon that I enjoyed this year.

When I got it home, I didn't have to do much more than slice the 1.16-pound skinless fillet into four serving pieces, place them on parchment paper in a large pan, squeeze lime juice over them and add a few pinches of Aleppo pepper.

Then, I put them in a 375-degree oven for about 10 minutes, took out the pan and spooned refrigerated Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto on each fillet.

My snowy fillet flaked beautifully and tasted wonderful. I served the fish with boiled sweet potatoes mashed with extra-virgin olive oil and seasoning.

A halibut snack reheated in the microwave for 1 minute.

Here is more about halibut from the Environmental Defense Fund:

"Halibut are flatfish (like flounders and soles) and can grow up to 7 feet long and weigh 800 pounds. They have both eyes on the same side of their head, which enables them to better see predators and prey as they lay camouflaged on the sea bottom."

EDF gives its "Best-eco" rating to Pacific halibut (sold at Costco), notes it contains a "moderate" amount of mercury and advises adults to limit their consumption to about 4 times a month.

A takeout dinner of calamari stuffed with shrimp and crab meat; spaghetti with red-clam sauce and whole shrimp; crab cake, broccoli and beets was only $5.99 after 4 p.m. at Jerry's Gourmet & More, 410 S. Dean St., Englewood.

A serving of jumbo shrimp with vegetables; dry sauteed string beans and brown rice delivered by Zen Kitchen, 1443 Teaneck Road, Teaneck.

Avoiding GMOs

The European Union has a law calling for labeling of food containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs), but the United States doesn't.

Going organic is the only sure way to avoid GMOs, but in the United States there are some organic and non-organic foods that carry a label from the NON GMO Project.

The NON GMO Project Verified label appears on Tru Roots Organic Quinoa, right, and  non-organic Lundberg Wild Blend Rice.

Click on the following link: nongmoproject.org

The European Union's Web site is: GMO Compass

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