Hello, everybody!

So, what to write about today?  It's been kind of a slow week, both in my life and in the news, and I've haven't got a clue as to what to write about.  The Grammys were a week ago, and the Oscar nods were announced a couple of days later (along with the Razzies, which "celebrates" the flip side of Oscar excellence).  Other than that, there just wasn't all that going on this past week.

Well, since Ash Wednesday and the official start of Lent is about a week or so away, I guess we could talk about seafood and other meatless dishes.  Yeah, I guess we could talk about that.  As many Catholics like myself know very well, Lent is a time when we abstain from eating meat, starting on Ash Wednesday and every following Friday until Easter Sunday about six weeks later, and traditionally, Lent is a time when we eat a lot of fish, crab, oysters, clams, and macaroni and cheese.  Tuna is a popular staple this time of year, and many of my friends and relatives do make cheesy tuna macaroni casserole with boxed mac and cheese and canned tuna, or salmon, which is a very good substitute.

Speaking of salmon, there is a lot of wonderful ways to prepare the canned version of this wonderfully delicious fish, but the most popular is making them into patties more commonly known as croquets, which is sort of like crab cakes, only you make them with salmon instead.  All you have to do is take a couple of cans of salmon, about a cup or two of cooked mashed potatoes, one chopped onion and one chopped garlic, and a lot of herbs and spices, mix then all together, form them into patties, and bake for about 45 min.

Canned sardines are also popular this time of year as well, and many of us kids bring sardine sandwiches to school every Friday during Lent.  I, for one, prefer sardines that were packed in ketchup, in between two pieces of wheat toast and two slices of 2% American cheese singles, with a small glass of Sunny Delight or Capri Sun.  Some people prefer kippered fish in between their sandwich bread, and some even use mackerel, if you can believe that.  My Yorkie Bootsie is also quite fond of sardines, but with the economy being what it presently is, I've been leaving the sardines for myself.  She'll have to be satisfied with Alpo instead.

I would like to say one lat thing about the latest fish that has been gaining in popularity.  Talapia is a very tasty whitefish that is as versatile as catfish and halibut, and can be prepared fried, baked, boiled, or grilled.  You can buy it fresh from the seafood section of your local supermarket, or you can buy it, boxed and already prepared, by Gordon's.  All you have to do is heat it in the oven.

Well, that's all the time we have for today.  Until next time, be well, stay well, and don't forget to donate to the Haitian survivors!

Sincerely,




Marley Sue