Fish Soups

Fish soups can be easy to make, and  in ways that are wonderfully nutritious and very much an experience of solidarity.  It begins with shopping.  Try to find the least expensive flounder or whitefish that you can find.  Frozen works fine.  You don't need much.  A half to 3/4 of a pound is plenty.  (If you live in an area where you can get fish that is inexpensive and fresh, and are willing to experience a real treat, you will find that cooking with the fish bones creates a marvelous flavor.)

In a soup pot, sauté chopped onions (1/2 medium) and celery (3 stalks) in a small amount of oil until softened.   Add potatoes (2 medium) and carrots (3 medium), cut into spoon size pieces.  Add the fish, and cover with water, then double that amount of water.  Add a touch of salt and pepper.  Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  You just made a wonderful fish soup.  After it cooks for about 30 minutes, you can remove the larger pieces of fish and break them apart (if they haven't fallen apart already) and return them to the soup.  Feel free to add spice to the soup - like Cayenne pepper - or to add some small soup noodles or some broad egg noodles.  Then enjoy a soup that many people around the world might be making at the same time, with what they net from the water.
 
Imitation Crab Cakes

Pollock is a wonderful fish. It is tasty on its own or when used to make "imitation" crab.  It is inexpensive, much lower in cholesterol, and can be bought as frozen Alaskan pollock or as Imitation Crab (usually already cooked and with one side colored red).  A pound of this fish will make a lot of these delicious cakes.  The same dish can be made by substituting five or six yellow squash and/or green zucchini (peeled first, then peeled into shreds with a potato peeler, and then diced). 

If using frozen pollock, thaw in warm water for 15-20 minutes.  Then, cover with water in a sauce pan and steam for 15-20 minutes.  Pour off the water and let the fish cool.

While that's happening, finely dice one medium onion.  Place in large mixing bowl.  Add about 2 cups of seasoned bread crumbs and about a half of a cup of grated Parmesan cheese.  Add the cooked pollock (either the kind you cook or the imitation crab), crumbling it by hand so there aren't any large pieces.  Mix these ingredients.  Then add 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise or salad dressing, a half a teaspoon of dry mustard (or a couple of squirts of prepared mustard), a couple of shakes of worcestershire sauce.  (For a spicier crab cake, sprinkle in a small amount of cayenne pepper.)  Mix again.  Then crack 2 eggs into the mixture and stir again. 

With your hands, form the mixture into cakes about 1 inch thick and about 4 inches across.  Lay each of these cakes onto a plate of the seasoned bread crumbs, turning it over to coat both sides.  Then, when all the cakes are breaded, lightly brown them in a pan with only a small amount of oil.  As each cake is browned, remove to a baking sheet. 

Bake the crab cakes in the oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.  Left-over cakes may be frozen or shared with friends or someone who might need a meal prepared with such love and reflection.

The cakes may be served with a simple cold sauce.  One cup of mayo or salad dressing, a half a teaspoon of dry mustard (or a couple of squirts of prepared mustard), a couple of shakes of worcestershire sauce, a tablespoon of lemon juice (and optionally, a small amount of cayenne pepper).

Please, Lord, place me in greater simplicity 
and let me rejoice in humble food
that I might be opened to the nourishment you prepare for me.

Let me experience even small experiences of solidarity
with the people of this earth who work hard
to earn a living and feed their families.

I ask these graces with faith in Jesus,
who prepares a banquet before us
both now and for all eternity.