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.

At Costco, one can yields several meal ideas

Organic Diced Tomatoes, left, are one of the new Kirkland Signature items at Costco.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Costco Wholesale has been offering cans of organic diced tomatoes from Del Monte and other companies for years, and I've been using them in several fish, pasta, rice and egg dishes.

Now, Costco has introduced its own Kirkland Signature-brand Organic Diced Tomatoes, Organic Stewed Tomatoes, Organic Tomato Paste and Organic Tomato Sauce.

Penne in marinara sauce with added diced tomatoes, left. The pasta made a rib-sticking breakfast when eaten with Korean-style stewed tofu and pollock from H Mart.

 

Comparing the nutrition labels of the Organic Diced Tomatoes from Del Monte and Kirkland Signature, the only difference for a half-cup serving size is calories. 

Del Monte lists 20 calories and the Costco store brand lists 15, none from fat.

Both are made from organic California tomatoes and both are certified organic by Oregon Tilth.

An 8-can pack of Kirkland Signature Organic Diced Tomatoes was $5.99. 

Diced tomatoes are a versatile ingredient in quick, no-recipe, home-cooked meals.

Diced tomatoes with fish

Empty a 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes into a large, non-stick pan and add extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lemon or lime juice, powdered garlic and other seasonings; cover and warm over medium heat.

When the mixture starts to boil, uncover and place fresh, wild-caught fillets in the pan, season with Costco's Kirkland Signature Organic No-Salt Seasoning and cover.

My Costco in Hackensack usually has wild-caught haddock from Iceland, as well as wild-caught flounder and cod fillets ($7.99 and $8.99 a pound).

This also would work with frozen, wild-caught salmon or cod fillets from Costco.

Depending on the thickness of the fillets and whether the fish is fresh or frozen, cook for 15 to 30 minutes, place a fillet in a plate and cover with diced tomatoes. 

You can do the same with those large Black Tiger shrimp available at Costco, but they would be ready in 5 minutes or less -- when they curl up and turn white.

I prepare organic brown rice in an electric cooker, and often mix a can of diced tomatoes with the rice to add moisture, texture and color to the finished dish.

A can of drained diced tomatoes adds texture to bottled marinara or other pasta sauce, which I supplement with extra-virgin olive oil, red-pepper flakes, garlic powder and Italian seasonings, and a can of anchovies in oil.

To cut the sodium content of the dish, I drain the anchovies in a colander and rinse them under water before adding them to the sauce.

The anchovies cook away, but give the sauce a robust flavor it wouldn't normally have.

Good in omelets

   

You can also drain a can of diced tomatoes, place them in a plastic container and refrigerate them for use with egg dishes.

I make open-face egg-white omelets with buffalo-milk mozzarella or sliced, reduced-fat cheese, all available at Costco. 

Adding a tablespoon of diced tomatoes is a natural -- sort of a pizza without the fattening crust.

On Tuesday, I bought a 1-pound plastic bottle of Kirkland Signature Shredded Parmigiano Reggiano from Italy, where the cheese was aged for 24 months ($13.79).

This flavorful shredded cheese would be perfect in an open-face omelet, supplemented by grated Pecorino Romano and dice tomatoes.

If you use whole eggs to make a frittata -- such as the Organic Brown Eggs from Costco -- you can mix the grated and shredded Italian cheeses, diced tomatoes, sweet peppers and other ingredients with the eggs.

Pour the egg mixture into a heated non-stick pan with oil and cook over medium heat.

When the bottom is set, put the pan under the broiler for about 5 minutes or until the top is browned.  

Organic eggs with grated Pecorino Romano cheese.

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