Seasonal Sundays: Fish for Lent & Spring

This week's "Seasonal Seven" is all about fish, recipes hand-selected for everyone from the fish-hesitant (me, only 5 years ago) to the fish fiends (me, today). The timing is by design. Not only are we coming up on a season when many elect to eat fish, especially on Fridays during Lent, but we're also coming upon the start of spring, when lighter, faster suppers let us enjoy the longer days and warmer temperatures. Join me?

~ Skip Straight to the Good Stuff ~

~ PIN This ~

Welcome to Seasonal Sundays ...

THANK YOU for stopping in today ... and last week and next week too. "I appreciate you." I do ... and always love hearing from many of you throughout the week. Don't be a stranger! PS And if you like this week's recipes, perhaps you'll share this newsletter with a friend or social circle? If you forward this message, others may subscribe for free right here. Thank you!

Call me surprised to find enough fish recipes in Kitchen Parade's archives to make a real collection.

Sure, I grew up with fish, my dad used to joke that I could clean a fish before I could ride a bike. It helped to grow up in the Walleye Capital of the World; that it was about 20 yards from our front door to the river; that the fish-cleaning table was a permanent structure behind the goat shed.

In those days, the only fish the resident fisherman found edible was the walleye, any other fish was a "bottom feeder". That was a most parochial perspective, mind you.

Fast forward to my vegetarian years. At first, I did eat fish but then when playing "animal sounds" with my young nephew, he shaped his lips to silently "speak fish" and suddenly, I bent like a fish hook and fish became off limits.

Once I returned to meat, I was still couldn't do fish. I would literally yell at all the nutritionist recommendations for everyone to eat fish "twice a week" — what the eff were they thinking, when the oceans' fish populations are so depleted because of both rampant overfishing and unforgivable fishing practices?

I share this history to say that if you're "fish hesitant", I get it. I've been there. To some extent, I'm still there.

My personal turning point came during the pandemic when we decided to try a fish subscription service, kinda like a CSA, but for fish.

We chose Sitka Seafood Market (formerly Sitka Salmon Shares), the Alaska fish subscription service, all wild-caught, all by independent fishing families, all sustainable.

We love the monthly deliveries of flash-frozen salmon, cod, halibut, sablefish and some times other seafood. It's not cheap but when I did the math back in 2020, it was only slightly more expensive than buying fish at Whole Foods.

FYI this is NOT a sponsored post, we just really love having good fish, caught sustainably, in the freezer.

It's taken me awhile to learn to cook fish in ways that let the fish stand on its own, not get covered up by other flavors. (And I still owe you my #1 way to cook salmon.) But as that happens, admittedly still in the process, fish has become my go-to last-minute supper. The fish filets thaw in cold water in about 30 minutes and cook up in in half that time, my kinda cooking!

Truth is, fish has become my favorite protein. I'll choose it over a freezer full of beef and venison. I can't bear chicken at the moment (ugh, that bad chicken I bought last summer).

Fish it is. Join me?

ISO Advice ...

Who has a good way to cook fresh tuna? We have this great flash-frozen tuna in the freezer but for the life of me, I can't figure out how to cook it.

Yeah, I can cut the filets in thin slices to pan-fry just a minute or two in the skillet, leaving the centers near raw, this is a classic restaurant method. It's good but too fancy for our everyday meals, especially because dang it, I overcook the slices every time.

Thoughts? Ideas? Recipes?????

In Praise Of ...

... Canadians, who have new-found motive to buy Canadian. Is your Facebook feed like mine, filled with folks shunning American products, forgoing some things entirely but mostly, finding a similar/better something Made in Canada?

Wow. So inspiring!

So for Friday's economic boycott, I did my pre-boycott shopping at one of St. Louis' three local grocery chains, knowing that any higher prices would go back into the community, not shipped elsewhere. It took me awhile to shop but I came home with several new store-brand products. I also took note that the chain has a new kinda Walmart-like everyday low prices on some 2500 products, several were already on my list.

So thank you, Canada! This country owes you so much and now, I owe you this, too.

Democracy Matters

The country needs calm, thoughtful and assertive voices amid the chaos inflicted by a minority hellbent on taking/retaining generational power by strangling democratic principles and equal rights. None of us have to personally change the world. We just have to do our part. Pick one thing for the top of your To Do List this week.

Gutted.

Like many Americans, Friday's ambush of President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office hit me harder than all the totally-awful actions since the inauguration. Ever since, I've spent way too much time doom-scrolling and way too little taking action.

I also dreamed of Natasha, a young Russian woman I met when I lived in Finland, which of course shares a long border with what was then the Soviet Union. Maybe by next week, I can find the words to tell you her sad, sad story. Maybe.

It's now so very obvious that the U.S. government has switched sides.

It (I can't say "we" but it is, "we" by proxy) now votes with Russia, North Korea, China and other authoritarian countries. It now votes and acts against the democratic countries which until January 20th were our closest allies, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Japan and more.

And that means that the United States is now the enemy of our democratic allies only a few weeks ago.

All this, because eggs were too expensive.

David Pepper explains it way better on his Substack, Switching Sides in the Global Battle.

Me, I'm trying a new mantra.

Action Is a Form of Self-Care.

Action Is a Form of Self-Care.

Action Is a Form of Self-Care.

Action Is a Form of Self-Care.

Action Is a Form of Self-Care.

PS As I do the last editing for this week's Seasonal Sundays, a new friend I met testifying against new anti-abortion legislation just invited me to go to an Indivisible meet 'n' greet this afternoon. Was it a self-fulfilling prophecy? Maybe. And yes, I'm going!

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THE SEASONAL SEVEN: Fish for Lent & Spring

For this week's recipes, I aimed for recipes with easy supper-friendly flavors and combinations that ...

• ... lean on everyday ingredients from your pantry and fridge
• ... allow the fish itself to shine, that's especially important with salmon but also halibut
• ... are a mix of "just fish" and "fish and a whole meal"

• THE RECIPE Potato Bites with Smoked Salmon An easy appetizer with an elegant appearance.
• ANOTHER TAKE Smoked Whitefish Spread on Cucumber Healthy, easy summer appetizer.

• THE RECIPE Smoked Salmon Quiche Quick to make, reminiscent of a lox and bagel. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Smoked Salmon Spread Healthy appetizer, tastes rich and indulgent. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Finnish Salmon Soup (Lohikeitto) Finland's "soul food," fish and potatoes in a creamy chowder broth. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Lazy Man's Ciopinno A simple but celebration-worthy fish and shrimp stew in a light tomato broth.

• THE RECIPE Roasted Salmon & Asparagus The original sheetpan supper. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Easy-Easy Broiled Salmon with Olive Salad Just three ingredients, on the table in 20 minutes. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Salmon with Crispy Crust Moist, flaky fish topped with a golden bread crumb crust. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Salmon with Pesto Zucchini Noodles & Warm Tomatoes Simple-simple summer food.

• THE RECIPE Easy Baked Fish with Red Pepper & Cucumber Salad, a Quick Supper, made with pantry ingredients.
• ANOTHER TAKE Herb-Coated Broiled Fish Fish filets coated in fresh herbs, then broiled. So simple, yet seductive.

• THE RECIPE Fish with Herb Butter A Quick Supper, one of my favorite simple meals.
• ANOTHER TAKE Cornmeal Catfish with Warm Potato Salad Another Quick Supper, Cajun-seasoned catfish fried crisp in bacon fat. (PIN This)

• THE COLLECTION Kitchen Parade's Fish Recipes, many Quick Suppers, many healthy meals.
• AND ANOTHER Kitchen Parade's Seafood Recipes including shrimp, oysters, lobster, crab.

What's Brand-Spankin' New?!

Wondering about a recipe from the last while? Check Recent Recipes from Kitchen Parade and Recent Vegetable Recipes from A Veggie Venture.

• THE RECIPE Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup A hearty classic with tender beef, vibrant vegetables and a rich, savory broth. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Jam Jar Vinaigrette Don't pitch that jar, use the last bits for an easy salad dressing. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Orange & Cumin Vinaigrette Bright and vibrant with earthy spice.

• THE RECIPE Easy Shrimp & Noodles Slurpy-good comfort food in 30 minutes with just five ingredients. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Quick 'n' Easy Shrimp Bisque Part shrimp chowder, part traditional bisque. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Buffalo Chicken Dip Just five ingredients, lightened up with a hidden secret ingredient, spaghetti squash. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Chicken Nachos with Homemade Pickled Jalapeño Rings Party food in a flash.

Compliments!

Please know, YOU really matter here. Your comments and email (my current address is in the FAQs) encourage and inspire and motivate and some times make me laugh out loud or turn a little teary. It's a good day when I can "see" what you're cooking, "hear" how a recipe worked out, "know" what you're loving.

• SHE/HE LIKES IT "Simple and delicious!" ~ Anonymous
• THE RECIPE Peperonata with Potatoes The classic Italian side dish, now with potatoes. (PIN This)

March: Reader Favorites

• THE RECIPE Refrigerator Pickled Beets No canning required! (PIN This)
• THEN JAZZ 'EM UP Pickled Beet Salad with Fresh Blueberries & Mint So fresh & summery.

• THE RECIPE Cook’s Illustrated Foolproof Oven-Baked Brown Rice Moist and nuttry, thanks to a special but easy technique.
• ANOTHER TAKE Perfect Stovetop Brown Rice Water volume and timing make all the difference.

Trending NOW ...

• THE RECIPE Scalloped Potatoes & Beets ("Those Pink Potatoes") A dramatic vegetable casserole, served warm or cold as a side dish or simple supper. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Mashed Potatoes & Carrots Why haven't we done this forever? (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Weight Watchers Mexican "Zero Points" Soup It's spicy!
• ANOTHER TAKE Weight Watchers Zero Points Garden Vegetable Soup The original Weight Watchers soup.

March: Recipes Lookin' for a Little Love

• START WITH Spiced Preserved Lemons A cornerstone ingredient in Moroccan cuisine. (PIN This)
• THEN MAKE Spiced Chicken Tagine with Roasted Cauliflower A one-pot supper with warm spices. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Carrot & Chickpea Salad with Tahini-Lemon Dressing Familiar ingredients in an unfamiliar combination. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Simple Chickpea Salad Lunch in five (minutes) and three (ingredients) ...

The Kitchen Parade Almanac: Looking Ahead ...

• March 2nd (tonight!) - Academy Awards
• March 4th (Tuesday) - Mardi Gras / Shrove Tuesday / Pancake Night
• March 5th (Wednesday) - Ash Wednesday / Beginning of Lent
• Fridays During Lent - Friday Fish
• March 8th (Saturday) - International Women's Day (IWD)
• March 9th (Sunday) - "spring forward" time change
• March 14th (Friday) - Three-One-Four Day, a Celebration of All Thing St. Louis (314 is our area code!)
• March 14th (Friday) - Pi Day
• March 16th (Sunday) - St. Urho's Day
• March 17th (Monday) - St. Patrick's Day
• March 20th (Thursday) - First Official Day of Spring
• March 22nd (Saturday, 8:30pm your local time) - Earth Hour
• March 25th - Equal Pay Day (2024 was March 12th, way to go, ladies!)
• March 27th (Thursday) - Baseball Opening Day!
• April 1 (Tuesday) - April Fool's Day
• April 12 (Saturday) - 20th - Beginning of Passover
• April 20th - Easter (yikes! so late!)

• THE COLLECTION Mardi Gras Cajun and Creole straight from N'awlins.
• ALL THE HOLIDAYS All the Holidays Year-round food for fun and celebration.

• THE CONCEPT Make Tonight a Pancake Night Move over Taco Tuesday and Pizza Friday. (PIN This)
• AND ANOTHER #PieDayFriday Because good pie deserves more than one day a year.

• THE COLLECTION Pies & Tarts, Crusts & More from a life-long pie-baker.
• HOW TO CELEBRATE #PieDayFriday week in, week out.

• IS IT FOR REAL? St. Urho's Day is celebrated on March 16th by people of Finnish heritage.
• IS IT TO MATCH? St. Patrick's Day Why should the Irish get all the fun?!

• THE COLLECTION St. Patrick's Day Recipes including fun ideas for "green food".
• ALL THE HOLIDAYS All the Holidays Year-round food for fun and celebration.

Looking Back ...

THIS WEEK, YEARS PAST
• 2020 Early March & the First Week of Lockdown (Week 10)
• 2021 Early March (Week 10)
• 2022 Early March (Week 10)
• 2023 Rotisserie Chicken Recipes (Week 10)
• 2024 March Bucket List (Week 10) (PIN This)

RECENT WEEKS
• Everyday Cajun (Week 9) (PIN This)
• Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner (Week 8) (PIN This)
• Sweet Little Somethings (Week 7) (PIN This)
• Super Bowl Spread (Week 6) (PIN This)
• Spinach for Any Occasion (Week 5) (PIN This)
• Project Cooking (Week 4) (PIN This)
• Snow-Day Suppers (Week 3) (PIN This)
• Feeding Our Vegetable Cravings (Week 2) (PIN This)
• Best of 2024 (PIN This)

Bridging the Seasons: Soups & Salads Especially for March

March is such a funny month for cooking, some wintry days (yo, soups!), some spring-like days (hey, salads!) and so many days neither one nor the other, just smack in the middle. So what grabs us depends on the day, yes? That's why I spent a year gathering all of A Veggie Venture's best soup and salad recipes into easy-to-scan month-by-month collections.

• THE COLLECTION Seasonal Soup & Salad Recipes for March So many choices!
• BUT REALLY, DON'T MISS Polish Dill Pickle Soup Completely potato-y but also pickle-y, dill pickle-y to be exact.
• OR THIS Seductive Kale Salad The slow seduction of quick-cooked kale.

Good to Know!

• THE THINKING Is a Stand Mixer Better for Kneading Bread Dough? The Case For & Against
• PLUS A RECIPE Easy Everyday Bread for the Stand Mixer Better bread, no kneading by hand! (PIN This)

Silly (But Fun?!) Food Holidays

• March 2 — National Egg McMuffin Day (Homemade Egg McMuffin)
• March 3 — 33 Flavors Day (Master Homemade Ice Cream Recipe (Skinny))
• March 3 — Soup It Forward Day (soup recipes)
• March 6 — National Frozen Food Day (Frozen Steaks)
• March 7 (first Friday Lent) — Friday Fish Fry Day (fish recipes)
• March 7 — National Cereal Day (Make-Ahead Bran Muffin Batter)

A Quick Peek Into a Real-Life Kitchen

Just so you know, everything's not all pretty pictures around here, in the background is a pile of dirty dishes. And just like many (all?) of us, come five o'clock, I too draw a blank about what to make for supper, despite so many recipes I so dearly love. Here's a quick peek from this week.

• THIS WEEK So I did a thing: a big batch of marmalade! (Recipe to come next year, I think though if anyone would like to do a test the recipe before then, just say, I think we could figure out how to make that happen.) The first thing I did, with omg warm marmalade was to pull out my favorite Finnish crackers. Dang. So good!!
• THE RECIPE Finn Crisp with Marmalade & Cheese A typical Finnish breakfast. (PIN This)

• THIS WEEK I had big plans to cook Cajun all week but only got this far. Then the ham bone I thought was in the freezer, wasn't. Instead of a trip to the store for a ham shank, I thawed and fried some pork sausage. I missed that ham flavor but still, so good! Unlike other recipes that are sooooo hot, my Red Beans are "spiced" not "spicy". I love 'em!
• THE RECIPE Red Beans & Rice Slow cooked Creole comfort food. (PIN This)

• THIS WEEK Instead of the usual white rice for the "rice" part of "Red Beans & Rice" I decided to use up some leftover coconut milk and soon-to-wilt spinach. I definitely do not make this often enough. No kale this time. Still, so good!
• THE RECIPE Green Rice with Spinach & Kale Hello, gateway greens. (PIN This)

• THIS WEEK I'm working on a new recipe that has me baking one (Sloooow) Baked Potato after another. So this week, I just cut the potatoes skins 'n' all, added some broccoli and cauliflower plus the all-important ricotta. Note to self, not as good as with real mashed potatoes but still, so good!
• THE RECIPE Mashed Potatoe & Broccoli Casserole Use up leftover mashed potatoes. Or make extra, just for this!

• THIS WEEK Speaking of those baked potatoes, for the first time, I tried baking Yukon golds and lawdy lawdy, I think that Yukons make even better baked potatoes than russets do. The skins are a little more tender. Most of all, it's easier to find small Yukon golds than small russets. I dunno 'bout you but I'm all for a baked potato but not a baked whale.
• THE RECIPE (Sloooow) Baked Potatoes (How Long to Bake a Baked Potato) One Hour Is Just Not Enough.

Don't Be a Stranger ...

I'd love to hear from you. Comment, send me a quick e-mail (my current address is in the FAQs), dot-dash in Morse code, build a fire for smoke signals, launch a message in a bottle, send a Christmas letter, get the dog to yip, toss me a note wrapped in a rubberband, write a message in the sky, scratch a note in the sand, listen to a seashell, tuck a question into a plastic Easter egg, whatever.

• Any advice for Seasonal Sundays?
• Just one thing that would make it more useful for you?
• Anything else? Chime in, chat away.

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail, you'll find my current address in the FAQs. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. When you make my recipes, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below or better still, on the specific recipe's page.

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