I’m not a fish person. For one thing, I am allergic to shellfish. For another, fish is just so… fishy. And bony. Ramona fans may recall the scene in one of the books where the family is chewing thoughtfully, as that is the only way to eat fish without choking on a bone.
But. In my garden, I have several lemony herbs: lemon basil, lemongrass, lemon balm. Surely one of them would tart up the fishiest of fish. So it was the herbs talking that got me to buy some ocean perch.
An aside: there is a fish market near my house, or I should say, was. The windows were dark and the doors were locked when I stopped by there yesterday. That left Kroger, where the fish selection is rather meager. Later, I asked my daughter where to buy fresh fish in this town, and she said, “Fresh Market! It’s expensive, but it’s good.” And they have vegetarian sushi!
Fish is easy to fix: drizzle some butter and lemon juice on it, sprinkle with herbs (I chose the lemon basil), and bake at 400 for 20 to 30 minutes. And yes, the lemon basil did produce a nicely seasoned fish dish. Very edible.
What is fish without cole slaw? The dressing makes or breaks the slaw, and I have not made good cole slaw since before my divorce. When I left, I took the ancient Betty Crocker that belonged to my mother, but left the one from the ’70s. I think that one must hold the cole slaw recipe I like so well. All I know is the recipe reaches the perfect piquancy and uses celery seed. The newer Betty Crocker’s slaw recipe is not the same, even with the addition of celery seed. Someday, somehow, I will get my hands on that slaw recipe.
