[Sca-cooks] Good Friday dinner and Lenten Thoughts

[kingstaste at mindspring.com]

Hullo, the list!

So, there's been some talk about people's attempts at a Lenten
dietary observance. Did anybody wrap it up with something interesting
for Good Friday? (Yes, Saturday is still Lent, but still...)

Nothing really exciting here; spouse and spawn requested and got
plainish sauteed shrimp and calimari with garlic and EV olive oil,
with bread for dunking and salad on the side...

Adamantius


	My Good Friday dinner was Green Beans Almondine, Golden Garlic Mashed
Potatoes (yukon golds and roasted garlic cloves - plus some Earth Balance),
and a salmon fillet covered in fresh dill and lemon juice before broiling.
	I have to say, I am seriously tired of eating fish, and I love fish, and
it's only been a week.  I am finding that being off sugar and chocolate is a
big plus now that I've adjusted, and I think I'll do my best to stay away
from both for as long as possible.  Eggs and other forms of meat protein are
right back on my list, however, did I mention I was seriously tired of fish?
	Today's lunch was leftover potatoes and green beans, plus three leftover
sole fillets rolled around a stuffing of spinach sauteed with fresh grated
nutmeg and slivered almonds.  Yummy, but still fish.  I don't know what I'll
be eating tomorow, I have some artichokes that need cooking in the fridge,
so I know I'll be cooking those up.  I have no plans to celebrate Easter,
and basically I'll be home alone so the biggest thrill will probably be not
eating fish ;)
I have some lamb in the freezer, I'm toying with the idea of getting it out
and treating myself, but I'm wondering if red meat will upset my stomach at
this point, and perhaps I should go with chicken instead.  I do know I'll be
eating eggs for breakfast, I may make myself some hollandaise to celebrate!
	This has been a worthwhile experiment, and I'm glad I did it.  I don't
think I could handle a month and a half of fish, though.  I did not do an
entire day of vegetarian cuisine at all, and would definitely do so if I was
doing this any longer.  I have found the 'no eggs' thing to be the biggest
deprivation, (I don't eat dairy anyway), and agree with Lainie about finding
the prohibition against mayo to be problematic when dealing with fish.  I
did like the blancmange I made, although it is bland, its still better than
I expected it to be.  I didn't do too much else in the way of period
cuisine, lentils, rice, fish, and whole grains being my mainstay.  More
salads would have been good.  I also liked the early-morning yoga
stretching, and will try to keep that up as well.
	I taught a class in persona development on Wednesday, and it was
interesting to be in the middle of a persona-building experiment while
teaching it.  Many years ago, I told my Mom (who was a Catholic although not
a practicing one) that I had given something up for Lent.  She got mad at me
and said if it didn't mean anything to me I shouldn't be doing it.   I have
not attempted it again until this year, when the reasons were good ones for
doing so.  While I don't feel any closer to being a Catholic (or wanting to
be one), I do feel like I've grown closer to an understanding of my
persona's life, and am glad for the opportunity to do that, and to share the
experience with those here.
	Happy Easter to those who celebrate it, don't eat too much chocolate
(Lainie), and try to spend some quality time with your loved ones.
	Christianna