For Lent this year I gave up sugar (hey, it was either that or wine.) For six weeks, I ate nothing but sugar in its natural forms, so oranges and melon slices were dessert. It's not as fun as it sounds. Sugar is an addiction, I found - at night, after dinner, I fantasized about chocolate, ice cream, and even just a Murray's Mint. Glumly, I went to peel myself another clementine instead. At other houses I was offered cake, brownies, cookies... and I had to politely decline. That was hard, especially when other guests grabbed the goodies and dug in, uttering cries of enjoyment. And the most cruel thing? None of this dreadful deprivation changed my waistline. My scales stubbornly remained on the same number, even though I was foregoing dessert and exercising every day; thank you very much, post-menopausal hormones. At the same time, in order to really scourge the flesh, I gave up computer games. I'm not a big gamer by any means - no WoW, no Assassin's Creed - but I do enjoy a quick turn at solitaire and Hidden Object mindless nonsense after a long day of writing, editing, and being a mom.
The six weeks passed, and on Easter I joyfully indulged in peeps and Malteaser bunnies. That night, I played some silly games before I went to bed. And then the insomnia kicked in. Somehow, so subtly that I hadn't noticed it, my sleeping patterns had smoothed out during the sugar- and game-free time. I was sleeping at least eight hours a night. That changed as soon as I put sugar and a glowing screen back in the mix. Sleeplessness came back, with the jolting memory of what it was like to wake up at 3 am and not be able to go back to sleep. It continued until yesterday, when I decided to give up sugar and night gaming again. And guess what? I slept sweetly for nine hours. I can still see Thornton's chocolates in my future, but perhaps only once a week. Friday could be my sweet night. My games will have to move to the middle of the day, if I play at all; my nighttime companion will be a book - in print.
Well, the Girl Scout cookies have arrived. I've hidden them from myself, but they're lurking out there, calling my name. "Come and hang out with us!" they cry in their thin minty little voices.
In order to escape, I've tried to convince myself that baby carrots are just as yummy, that every time I open a sleeve of Samoas a fairy dies. Yeah, it's not working.
Good thing I'm dashing around today. I have to edit a book, to write a book, and then go to a playdate. And clean and do laundry, but, pfffffffft
Because I'm so busy, I have to make my fallback Lent dish. It's super easy, and it's so yummy that my husband starts to fork it right out of the casserole as soon as he walks in the door. (Gross, right? I know!!!)
I'm going to serve it with wine, a simple salad and some rolls, and you already know what's for dessert.
Crabby Pasta
14 oz pack of that fake crabmeat. Louis Kemp is good, and I also like the Stop N Shop brand. Red or orange bell pepper, deseeded and cut in small strips 1 large onion, diced Pack of mushrooms, presliced Pound + of desired pasta (I use a box and a half of Farfalle, those little butterflies) Olive Oil Locatelli or Romano Cheese, grated Frank's Hot Sauce (I put that #$% on everything!)
Put on a bigpot of salted water. While it boils, cut your veggies.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, pour in a bunch of olive oil. I use quite a bit, at least three - four tablespoons - since the mushrooms will soak it up. Add the peppers and let them saute for a few minutes.
Pasta water should be boiling by now. Pour in the pasta.
Add the onion to the peppers and let saute a few minutes. When the onions are translucent, add the mushrooms and stir. Add the hot sauce when the mushrooms go limp and release their juice.
Add the crab meat to the veggie mix and allow to heat through.
Strain the pasta and pour into a large pasta dish or casserole. Pour the crab / veggie mix over the pasta.
I don't think of myself as a big meat eater, but when Lent sneaks up on me (and it always does) all of a sudden I feel like I devour Tyronno-steaks by the dozen. I know that during the year I happily serve entrees based on fish, shellfish, soy, and legumes, but add that meatless Friday element and it all goes kerblooey.
This is why diets don't work, for me, at least. I'm a healthy eater, but if I concentrate on what I eat, all of a sudden I want to buy Italian pastries and Twinkies.
I have some go-to recipes during Lent, the kind that I can type out without looking at a recipe card. Here's what I'm serving tonight, and it just happens to be my husband's favorite fish dish:
Baked Catfish
Preheat oven to 400.
Take six medium sized catfish fillets. Make certain they are cleaned of skin and bones. Pat dry with paper towel.
Prepare two shallow pans with:
Number one pan - Coarse cornmeal mixed with 1/2 tsp salt, dash white pepper, dash cayenne pepper (more if you like things spicy,) and the zest of one lemon
Number two pan - half cup skim milk mixed with juice of that fresh lemon you just zested. You can add a little hot sauce to this mix if you really like the heat!*
Now drizzle olive oil on the bottom of a large baking dish.
Take each fillet and dip it first in the skim milk mixture (which by now should have curdled and thickened a bit with the lemon juice) and then in the seasoned cornmeal.
Lay each fillet in the oiled baking dish. When they are all coated, drizzle tops with a bit more olive oil.
Bake for at 15 - 25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish and the heat index of your oven. Fish should be white all the way through when you test, with no clear or pink spots.
At the very end, I like to run a creme brulee torch over the top to really crisp up the fillets. If you don't have one of those babies, you can broil for 3-5 minutes to get the same nice, browned effect.
Sprinkle the top with a little chopped fresh parsley.
These are delicious served with a green salad and a side of basmati rice. A glass of wine wouldn't go amiss, either.
*I just have to add this Frank's Red Hot commercial our friends clued us into:
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