If you don't know what to have for dinner tonight ...

This very summery light, refreshinig dish is just what you're looking for. Top with the low fat mustard sauce and you have the perfect healthy salad that can be made in just 15 minutes! You will also enjoy those hard to find omega-3 fatty acids from the salmond. Chinook (king) salmon has the best omega-3 content.

Prep and Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1½ lbs salmon filet, cut into 4 pieces, skin and bones removed
• 1 TBS Dijon mustard
• ½ TBS honey
• 1 large cucumber, peeled (if not organic), cut in half lengthwise, seeds scooped out, diced in ½ inch cubes, 3 cups
• 1 large ripe fresh tomato, seeds, excess pulp removed, diced
• 1 medium ripe, but firm avocado, diced in ½ inch cubes
• 2 TBS chopped chives
• 3 medium cloves garlic, pressed
• 1½ TBS chopped fresh dill
• 2 + 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
• 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Press garlic and let sit for 5 minutest to bring out its health-promoting properties.
2. Mix together cucumber, tomato, avocado, chives, garlic, and dill, in a bowl and set aside.
3. Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper in a separate bowl. Toss with cucumber mix when ready to serve.
4. Preheat a stainless steel skillet over medium high heat for 2 minutes. Rub salmon with 1 TBS lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Place in hot pan bottom side up. Cook for 2 minutes. This is our Stovetop Searing cooking method.
5. While cooking, mix together honey and mustard. Turn salmon and spread honey mustard on top of fish. Continue to cook for another 2 minutes, depending on how thick salmon is. You want it pink on the inside. Season with pepper.
6. Divide cucumber mixture between 4 plates and serve with salmon.
   Serves 4

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Daily Food Tip

If organic products from China may contain heavy metals, can you tell me whether this means organic does not preclude heavy metal contamination?

Q. In your comments about organic foods, you mention the benefit of avoiding heavy metals. I had heard that China's "organic" products still possibly have heavy metal contamination because there is no restrictions on the heavy metals that may be in the water used in agriculture. Therefore, I am afraid that "organic" does not preclude heavy metal contamination. Can you please comment on this?

A. When we talk about organic foods on our website, we are talking exclusively about foods that have been certified as organic under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, or in some cases, about food that has been certified organic under state law in one of the more active "organics states" in the U.S. (like California). We are very confident that the level of heavy metals and other contaminants in federally certified organic food in the U.S. is far lower than the level found in non-organic food.

All food imports or food ingredient imports into the United States must meet the national organics standards in order to be certified as organic in the U.S. The importing of organic ingredients is becoming more and more common in the U.S. since the supply of organic foods is not presently keeping up with the increase in demand. Companies that sell organic food bars, for example, may run out of organic almonds for their bars, and look to another country-like Spain-to supply those organic almonds. The source of the almonds in the food bar does not matter, however, in terms of the organics regulations. All of the same standards apply to imports as well as crops grown domestically.

As the organics food niche in the U.S. marketplace expands in size, and as reliance on imports becomes greater, the challenge of adequately monitoring food quality will become greater. Assuring compliance with organic food regulations is already difficult, and we can see how increased imports will add to this difficulty. We'll try to keep you informed on our website about new trends in this area as they develop.

Thank you once again for writing to us with details on the China organics issue. This is going to be an important topic as we move forward since the growing demand of organics is causing "outsourcing" of organic food production in other countries, like China. We hope that concerns about these issues will prompt regulators and other interested parties (like the Organic Trade Association or the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) to press for additional testing and other verification processes that will help to ensure a stringent definition of organics as a trustworthy "label" on food regardless of country origin.