We were really... fat... on Fat Tuesday. We went out with a bang, having my very favorite ice cream ever. It's from a farm about 30 minutes away, called Maple View Farms. We went there once and it was awesome. Then we noticed an ice cream place in Raleigh called Fresh. It carries MVF ice cream! It pretty much made our life when we discovered it. Hormone and antibiotic free, and such delicious flavors!!!! And no, ice cream isn't the only way we were fat... but I'm too ashamed to say the rest ;).
Speaking of Lent, the link up was an awesome way of letting me know that we need to take our Lenten challenges a little further (oh and the awesome homily I heard on Ash Wednesday). I think I subconciously thought that because we are doing so much more in general than this same time last year, we didn't need to do anything besides 'give something up'. All your posts were inspirational so we are working on a few more things to try and accomplish this Lent. I love the idea of picking something for each of the pillars. We decided on Mardi Gras that we will go to Adoration at least twice during Lent (the goal is more but that is minimum). I love Adoration but have never gone besides when it's been offered at retreats. We've been talking about it for months... but just never did it. Now we have the perfect motivation!
You want to know how this blog helps me grow closer to God? Well, there are a few ways, but the main one is accountability. I feel like if I type it here, I have to do it. It's out there for the (Catholic blogging) world to see, so I can't just pretend it was a fleeting thought in my head that I didn't really commit to. So another thing we decided to do for Lent is to eat fish each Friday (well unless we have some other plan for that day like going to his parents' for dinner or something, but that should be rare). I am the one who thought the idea up, and then I totally skirted the idea when Steven asked this past week if we were still going to do it. I really, really, really, really dislike all seafood. I'm a land food girl. I don't even like shrimp (except Outbacks' coconut shrimp). No lobster. No crab. No sushi. And especially no fish. We don't eat a lot of meat, so going meatless on Friday isn't a big deal. But eating fish, which I know is really good for my body, will certainly be a big deal. I'm starting with salmon and, honestly, might not make it off of salmon. Any ideas of fishes that don't taste... fishy? You can feel free to include your favorite way to prep/cook because I am clueless about fish.
Immaculate Heart Radio might be the best thing I've ever found. I'm sure there are tons of ways to listen to it, but we listen to it on AppleTV. Steven also has an app on his phone he can listen to it on. It's really fascinating and is on all the time. Our tradition has become to have it on while we clean on Monday evenings, but we put it on this week a few other times and every time there is something really good on. My favorite (which is on on Monday evenings) is Catholic Answers Live.
Steven made me a family tree this week. I asked for it before his mom throws us a shower in March. No, really. I need it. He has a huge family. Or I don't know, maybe it's normal sized. But when you're used to just having a mom, dad, sister, and brother to keep up with, almost anything seems huge. I keep meeting them at family events, and then not having a clue who they are the next time I see them. I really don't want to be opening some super awesome present from Aunt So&So and have to look awkwardly around the room trying to figure out just which lady I'm supposed to be thanking.
DE.LIC.IOUS!!!!! Simple, delicious, droolworthy, healthy granola bars . Edited to add: It's totally not granola. My bad.
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1 - we did too. Oh there was so much gluttony. It was marvelous.
ReplyDelete2 - how great was that link-up? Kayla's pretty awesome.
3 - totally agree. Now it's in writing you HAVE to do it. As far as fish goes, I always cook it the same way: plenty of lemon juice, pepper, a little salt, whatever other spices I feel like a clove or two of garlic, & into the oven at 375. Pretty good but does taste like fish.
5- good idea!
6. Awesome :)
We eat a salmon Cesar pasta salad every week. Just break up the salmon in a pan with some cooking spray and sprinkle some Cajun seasonings on it (I use Tony Chachere's), and cook until done. Then cook some penne pasta (use whole wheat if you want to go healthier), and chill them down. Throw it together with a bag of salad, some Cesar dressing, and top with feta cheese and avacado. SOOOO yummy. And because the fish is in little pieces with a lot of different flavors, you don't notice it as much).
ReplyDeleteYou just brought up a whole concept I hadn't even though of... making fish WITH something so it's not just a slab of fish lol. I'll have to improvise with what we have on hand, but I think I'll try something like that tonight to break us in gently!
Delete1) Same here. But hey somebody has to put the Fat in Fat Tuesday! :)
ReplyDelete3) I'm with you, seafood is gross! Good luck with that from a fellow land food lover.
5) Great idea! I wish my Steven would have done that. I'm just now getting pretty confident with everyone's names.
Try tilapia....it's totally not fishy tasting and its very low calorie and loaded with omega vitamins that are great for heart health!!! Def do a sort of rub with "spices" (whichever ones you like...I use garlic salt, pepper, and paprika)or you could do your own bread crumbs and broil/bake it. It's so quick and easy!!! I would try tilapia before salmon...to me salmon is an uber fishy fish (I like all seafoods and can't stand salmon). If you're feeling uber daring you could try to do a tuna steak (David grills them and LOVES LOVES LOVES it...esp in the summer) And P.S. I was about one date away from making all of David's brothers and sisters wear name tags....now I can name all 10 of them in order of brith date...you'll get it with time! :)
ReplyDeleteMy husband comes from a small family, and mine is a little bigger (no families with more than three kids in my generation, but my mom has three brothers and my dad has three sisters). The first night he met my extended family, we told him there would be a quiz. We always tell that joke when there's someone new. He waited until only the two of us, my parents, and my grandmother were there and then said "I know you all... You are Jeanne, Kathy, Charlie and Mo." I guess he passed the quiz. I still have to describe my aunts, uncles, and cousins to him when I talk about them.
ReplyDeleteJeanne G.
3 - My favorite seafood is Scallops. If you like chinese a lot of places serve scallops and brocolli in a white sauce it's pretty good. My favorite way is scallops in garlic sauce it's a dim sum dish (type of chinese) and I've yet to figure out how to duplicate it :(
ReplyDelete4 - I've seen several ppl talk about that radio station I might have to listen to it sometime.
5 - HAHA I have my family trees for my mom and dads families one day I need to combine them. My moms mom LOVED that kinda stuff hers is real detailed it even tells you where people are buried (morbid I know).
You asked the right girl about seafood! I wouldn't start with salmon--it has a very strong flavor and takes some getting used to. It's also very hard to cook perfectly at home, so I'd start by getting it at restaurants...or at least be prepared that it may taste gross at home for a while til you've had some practice.
ReplyDeleteThe easiest fish to cook AND to eat is tilapia. It also happens to be one of the cheapest! It has almost no flavor by itself, so it tastes like however you cook it. I always use a Lawry's 30-minute marinade, my favorite being Havana garlic and lime. You probably wouldn't want to use that since it's probably pretty processed or has a ton of ingredients or whatever, but you could make your own marinades or rubs pretty easily. There are a ton of ways to flavor tilapia and it's very easy to eat. Even Nicole admitted that "that's not bad, I might be able to eat that" when I made her taste one time...and she has a serious aversion to seafood. Tilapia is like Mom having Manischewitz because she doesn't REALLY like wine. :)
That's what I ended up going with after I read Jessica's comment, but I'm glad you feel the same way! I rubbed it in olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt, and pepper. It was pretty good!
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