Ash Wednesday - and a fish salad

Today is March 1st,  and this year it is also Ash Wednesday.

So Happy March and, well, I'm not going to wish you a happy Lent, but I do hope you have a blessed one that is spiritually rewarding.

One of my students was telling me today of the big ceremony they'd had at her church last weekend, locking the Hallelujah banner in a dark crate to keep until it was reopened on Easter. I'd never heard of that tradition, but it seemed very dramatic and it certainly made an impression on her!

So, fish on Ash Wednesday and Fridays.

When I was growing up, eating fish on Fridays (or at least abstaining from meat) was still a regulation (All Fridays, not just during Lent). My husband and I always eat fish on Fridays, not because of any rule, but because we like fish (and maybe family tradition).

So, that got me pondering. If we are supposed to eat fish - to abstain from eating meat - as a penance or sacrifice, what happens when you actually like fish better than meat?

I mean giving up meat on Fridays isn't much of a sacrifice for a person who doesn't really eat it.

And the fish - I mean really - fried fish???  How is that a penance? It's delicious!!!!!

So, I decided to look up some information, and I stumbled across a review of this book.

Why Do Catholics Eat Fish on Friday?: The Catholic Origin to Just About Everything

I love the Amazon description:

Did you know that the origins of Groundhog Day stem from a Catholic tradition? Or that the common pretzel was once a Lenten reward for the pious? Why Do Catholics Eat Fish on Friday is a fascinating guide to the roots of all-things-Catholic. This smart and concise guide will introduce readers to the hidden heritage in many commonplace things that make up contemporary life. The reader-friendly format and the illuminating entries will make this guide a perfect gift for Catholics and anyone who loves a bit of historic trivia.

The review also contained this gem that answered the Why Fish question.

Technically, it's the flesh of warmblooded animals that's off limits — an animal "that, in a sense, sacrificed its life for us, if you will," explains Michael Foley, an associate professor at Baylor University and author of Why Do Catholics Eat Fish On Friday?
Fish are coldblooded, so they're considered fair game. "If you were inclined to eat a reptile on Friday, you could do that, too."

Um, Fried snake anyone????

And DO NOT come on here telling me it's a "southern thing" or a "Texas thing" or I may, I don't know. Scream or something. The idea of eating reptiles, *SHUDDER*.

I guess that would be doing penance!


Okay, so I decided I would try to find a healthy fish recipe to share that did not involve frying, because you know, tradition says we used up all the fat in the house on Mardi Gras.


Actually, confession time. I made this last week because I had some salad that was on its last legs and I'd just gotten some lovely haddock.  But I decided it really would be the perfect Lenten dish.

Except for the pomegranates. I'm still not convinced that it wasn't a pomegranate Eve used to tempt Adam. 


So here goes ~

If you have some lettuce that is wilting, this is a great use. I just dry roasted it briefly to crisp it up.

If your lettuce is fresh, you could easily make the salad with just the uncooked lettuce.

Next, my broiled haddock. Um, it did have butter and lemon on it. I feel like that merits a deduction. (Trying very hard not to sound sacrilegious here).

The lemon made a sort of dressing. I sprinkled pomegranate arils on top because I found a bargain of super, extra-ripe, end of season pomegranates last week.

Doesn't it look pretty?

It tasted delicious.

Which may defeat the point of fish on Fridays.

Anyone have a good reptile recipe?

Simply Saturday Fish Fry!

Duh.

I forgot it was Saturday.

Because I had off yesterday.

And we did our Good Friday fish fry dinner.

Prepared by moi.

BUT...

I wasn't thinking about today being Saturday. I was thinking about Easter.

Planning.

Cleaning (oh my stars.... lament... lament...)

Painting. Maybe.

And getting music ready for tonight's vigil Mass...

For Holy Saturday.

OH MY STARS!!!! IT'S SATURDAY AND I'M MANNING THE CAFE!!!

So I'm going to show you fish fry, Rochester style, delicious!

Here is fresh haddock:

Now haddock is a North Atlantic white fish. It's not available everywhere.

More's the pity.

And we always, always, always always breaded the haddock using flour, then beaten egg, thinned with 1/3 as much water, and then dredged in fresh bread crumbs.

(I use my Cuisinart to make bread crumbs whenever I've got bread on the verge of being wasted. Old rolls... Heels.... crusts.... bagels (not sweet or seasoned).

And then I pop it into a gallon freezer bag and I always have fresh bread crumbs on hand.

Julia Child taught me about using fresh bread crumbs years ago.

Possibly decades.

Make that absolutely decades.

How did I get so old, so quickly????

Anyway, we tried beer batter last night:

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cups flour

12 ounces beer

2 tsp. salt

Mix together. Dip fish into batter. Drop into deep fat fryer. Cook until dark gold.

OH. MY. STARS.

This was restaurant quality deliciousness. 

My one regret???

WHY DIDN'T I REALIZE HOW EASY BEER BATTER WAS BEFORE?

Duh.

I did discover two things. That if you drop the fish (using tongs) into the oil with a basket in place, the batter cooks into the grooves of the basket.

So I removed the baskets from the fish fryer.

I use the big Presto fryer for the fish.

And a smaller one for the french fries. But not much smaller.

And I kept the basket in the one for the French Fry fryer.

And the coleslaw?

Freshly made. Very old world Brit Fish-n-chips.

I think they may possibly have Western NY fish fries in heaven.

I am not absolutely certain of that last fact.

Bless you all and may God our father in heaven and on Earth grant you peace and health this blessed Easter Resurrection Sunday....

A holy day indeed!

This is a photo of Dave, 'Lijah and Grandpa in April...

We had such a lovely night together. I made fish fries, deep-fried breaded haddock, a favorite up here in the Rochester, New York area. I keep a fryer in the garage and on fish fry nights I take fresh haddock filets and dredge them in flour....

then dip them in beaten eggs thinned with water, about a 3-to-1 ratio, eggs to water.

And then I dip them into fresh bread crumbs I make on my Cuisinart. I used to have a DEATH MACHINE... I don't think that was the brand name, but it came free with the blender Mandy bought us. The blender is awesome, just what I wanted, but Lacey took one look at how the blade on that food processor was actually striving to free itself from the cheap plastic assembly and bought me a Cuisinart for Christmas that year.

The Death Machine is now gone. Thank you, Lacey.

I learned years ago from Julia Child that fresh bread crumbs make all the difference. She was right. And she made more money than I did. How could I argue? So I never throw away scraps of bread, rolls, etc. I turn crusts and pieces into bread crumbs and then throw the big gallon zip-loc bag into the freezer. Instant bread crumbs as I need them. Perfect!

Then I fry the fish at 375-400 degrees until deep golden brown. Easy peasy. Totally.

And then I eat the fish with tartar sauce.... Now, I never measure for tartar sauce and I never buy it because it's that simple. Figure about a 2-1 ratio of Hellman's mayonnaise to sweet pickle relish. Then add a tablespoon (and by tablespoon, of course I mean a scant handful) of parsley flakes and stir. Done!

Here's a picture of Grandpa and part of my crew this fall... He'd been in hospice care all summer, and then regained some strength, but you can see the difference, God love him.

Logan, Seth, MacKenzie, 'Lijah, Dave, Beth holding newborn Xavier with Grandpa in the middle!

We're REALLY NAUGHTY on fish fry nights. French fries, too. And cole slaw. Very traditional meal around here. And Grandma and Grandpa loved to go out every Friday to the local eateries and grab a fish fry. That's not possible now, so we make the fish come to them. With a dessert, of course.

Grandpa loves cookies. Me, too. And my little friends love making cookies, so it's a win/win, right?

Grandpa loved to work with wood when he retired from Kodak thirty years ago. Imagine that: Thirty years of retirement. Are any of us prepared for thirty years of retirement, financially or otherwise? Mind-boggling.

Here are some pics of the amazing train he built that's in their back yard now:

Logan, on top of the caboose... Seth LOOKS calm, but I can guarantee you he suspected imminent death and destruction. Obviously 'Lijah is prepared to run for help if such occurs, LOL!

Isn't it wonderful? Here's another picture from Easter, two years ago:

Okay, this one is gratuitous eye candy... this is my oldest son, Matt...  Celtic gorgeous, right?

Fish fries have become a symbol of "casual family night".... I man the fryer and everyone gathers. No holiday... no agenda.... no time frame except as set by tired kids.

I wouldn't have it any other way.