Monday, March 18, AD 2024 10:20pm

Fish Friday

I don’t know about anyone else— at least this time of year, come Lent I know it’ll be a group obsession — but I’m constantly on the look-out for something to make that doesn’t involve carne.

Beyond the staples of fried cheese sandwiches (Thank you, George Foreman), the treat of deep-fried calamari, and various canned soups, my childhood only offers one option:

Clam chowder.

Take a big soup pot, put a glob of bacon fat in the bottom and heat it up to frying temp.

Chop a small potato per person into cubes and fry in the fat until tender or slightly translucent.

Pepper and garlic salt to taste, if you wish.

Turn down to simmering temp.

Add a can of chopped clams and add milk until the potatoes are covered, then about a quarter inch more.

Simmer until thickened and serve. (Has the big advantage of being something that doesn’t have a point where it’s ready and MUST be served right now—it can set on the stove for an hour, just fine.)

You can add some onion when you’re frying the potatoes, or add dried onion when you add milk, and probably add some other things to taste, it’s kind of like jazz.

As good as this is, my husband got tired of it pretty early, so I had to branch out; unfortunately, our budget was extremely limited at the time. Grandma to the rescue—she raised a whole flock of boys, mostly on casseroles or one-pan bakes. (To the point that we never had them when I was growing up, unless we ate at her place—my dad can’t stand them!) The format of a cup or two of carbs like leftover rice or pasta, a can or two of tuna, a cup or so of cheese and enough ranch dressing to make it stick together is very simple while leaving room for adjustment.

Substituting mushrooms or eggs for meat can also help with existing recipes.

Anyone have some favorites?  Should we make this a reoccurring TAC subject?

cross posted

0 0 votes
Article Rating
18 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Don the Kiwi
Friday, October 14, AD 2011 8:31pm

What a totally cool site – recipes for living, recipes for eating 🙂

well done Foxfier.

But I’ve no problems with fish returning on Friday. My older son has just purchased a 25 ft. power boat, and has told me that he’ll be going fishing at least once a week over the summer, and he wants me along – yum yum all that beautiful fresh fish.

Only one little snag – a 50,000 ton container ship just last week ran itself up on a reef about 7 mile offshore, and its been spilling oil all over our beautiful beaches, and a couple of outlying islands that are havens for fishermen, (and women 😉 ) divers and spearfisherman, especially during the summer months. The newsmedia, as usual have gone into “extreme exageration” mode, and it is now “the worst marine and ecological disaster in NZ’s history.”

What a crock. I looked at the beaches yesterday, and all the oil is cleared away by teams after each high tide. The winds have gone Westerly, so any remaining oil is being blown out to sea, where it will dissipate and be tidied up by marine bacteria. The damaged wildlfe birds, seals etc. – though sadly some have died – in 6 months nature will replenish all. Our fishing will now take place to the North of our harbour, rather than on Astrolabe Reef where the ship ‘Rena’ is – slowing breaking up with the pounding NE swell, and losing 20 – 30 containers overboard each day.

So how are you guys reacting to this post? Bet you never thought you’d get a comment like this, Foxie 🙂

trackback
Friday, October 14, AD 2011 8:35pm

[…] Comments Fish Friday | The Am… on Fish FridayDustin on #OccupyWallStreet Forces Food …#OccupyWallStreet Fo… on […]

Daria Sockey
Saturday, October 15, AD 2011 10:13am

Try the world’s easiest beans and rice, courtesy of Lent and Easter in the Christian Kitchen by Laurie Gill/Teresa Zepeda.
In a 13×9 glass casserole dump the following: 3 cans beans (black, kidney, pinto, mix+match), 1 can or bag of corn, 1 1/2 cups UNCOOKED rice, 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp oregano, and 4 cups liquid that the recipe says should be half V-8 juice and half picante sauce. But I have used regular tomato juice and salsa. You might even substitute water for some of this if you want things less spicy. Stir it around, cover tight with foil, and bake at 374 for an hour. Remove foil and cover with shredded cheese. Serve after cheese melts.

Pinky
Pinky
Monday, October 17, AD 2011 10:09am

I usually feel guilty on Fridays because they’re my best eating days. My local lunchtime restaurant has salmon, vegetable lo mein, tilapia, stir-fry vegetables, and a decent salad bar with tuna salad.

Templar
Templar
Monday, October 17, AD 2011 6:29pm

Saute about 6 cloves of garlic and a teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes in olive oil for about 30 seconds. Add 10 cups of spinach and saute until wilted. Add a pound of cooked penne and a half pound shredded smoked gouda cheese. Take off heat and stir until mixed well. Thin with some of the pasta water if too thick. Serves 8 and is awesome.

RR
RR
Tuesday, October 18, AD 2011 5:33am

Sushi and miso soup
McDonald’s 2 for $3 Fillet-o-Fish
Fish and chips
Subway’s veggie sub
Burritos
Fish tacos
Pizza
Tuna fish sandwich
Egg salad sandwich
Falafel
Pretty much any rice dish can be made meatless. E.g., fried rice, paella, curry rice, bibimbap, omurice.
Pretty much any pasta dish can be made meatless. E.g., baked ziti, ramen, pad thai.
Lots of soups and stews can be made meatless. E.g., bouillabaisse, minestrone.

Looking at that list, it doesn’t look that hard to go meatless everyday.

trackback
Thursday, October 20, AD 2011 10:58am

[…] Fish Friday – Foxfier, The American Catholic […]

Quid est Veritas?
Quid est Veritas?
Thursday, October 20, AD 2011 12:13pm

“Bake until Bubbly” by Clifford A. Wright has the best ever tuna casserole recipe(in the noodle chapter, I think) and also a whole seafood section. Everything is from scratch. A little extra work, but well worth it.
Also pizza (like RR mentioned) is a great meatless dish. We have a Friday tradition of eating pizza for dinner while we watch an action/adventure TV show.
Go to your library and look for magazine’s with recipes or for vegetarian cookbooks. You can land some really great ones that way.

G-Veg
G-Veg
Thursday, October 20, AD 2011 8:47pm

My seven year old calls Lent “fried fish season.”

The problem with Lent in our house is that my wife is allergic to shellfish and hates all other fish. Only during Lent does she relent… Which means Lent is, for me, my son, and my eldest daughter, a blessed season because it is “fried fish season.”

I suspect that I could convert my wife to fish if I could make a dish with olive oil, garlic, and pasta (three of her favorite things) if it was sufficiently mild that she’d eat it without immediately knowing it is fish.

Got a dish for that?

Heather
Heather
Friday, October 21, AD 2011 9:10am

I bake homemade mac & cheese. It is really good and the kids love it.
Also, I make a spinach lasagne that is really good with parmesan. If you want me to post recipes, I will, if interested.

RR
RR
Friday, October 21, AD 2011 12:36pm

Asian fishcake doesn’t even taste like fish. It makes a good stir fry. It might work as a substitute for meatballs in pasta.
Imitation crab meat is made from fish. It can be used in salads or maki rolls. It breaks apart very easily so you can’t really do any cooking with it.

G-Veg
G-Veg
Friday, October 21, AD 2011 3:29pm

My wife makes an excellent mac & cheese but I’m interested in the spinach lasagne if your of a mind to post it.

G-Veg
G-Veg
Saturday, October 22, AD 2011 5:09pm

My son and I had the fish sticks and pasta with creamy garlic and parmesan sauce for dinner. It was delicious! I’d give it four of five stars. I don’t think it will work for easing my wife over to fish though. The taste and smell are unmistakably fish. I’ll definately add it to the lenten menu though.

Mary Elizabeth Williams
Mary Elizabeth Williams
Monday, October 24, AD 2011 9:15am

If you visit a website called “Monastery Greetings” (just Google it) you can find a number of meat-free and very good cookbooks, whose purchase will support a monastery somewhere in the US – along with lots of other goodies, totally inappropriate for Lent, but hey – Christmas is coming, too.

G-Veg
G-Veg
Monday, October 24, AD 2011 11:50am

Thanks. Quick question about the “inappropriate for Lent” issue, is it true that we can set aside our sacrifices on Sunday?

RR
RR
Monday, October 24, AD 2011 2:00pm

G-Veg, yes. Sunday is a day of celebration so the 40 days of Lent exclude Sundays (Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday is 46 days if you include Sundays).

Discover more from The American Catholic

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

Scroll to Top