Cooking with Love

May Newsletter

As a Roman Catholic, the month of May was designated as "The Month of Our Lady.'

I dedicate this Newsletter to the mothers in my life, that being my mother, Anna and my mother in law, Vi.

Upon pondering my mother's favorite foods, I remember her really enjoying fish. She cooked a lot of fish in all different styles. I should mention that my mother's birthplace was a seaside village, Giovinazzo on the Adriatic side of the southern part of Italy. They had an abundance of sea urchins, mussels, cuttlefish, calamari, octopus, eels and oysters.

Whenever I would go shopping with my mom, it would be so embarrassing for me because she was so fussy with the freshness of the fish. She would insist that he not give her old fish. Now, I am the same way and embarrass my children. Just passing on tradition.

While shopping for fish, mom would always pick up a pound of spearing for lunch. Spearing were tiny little silver fish. Mom would clean them thoroughly by removing heads and salting them while shaking them between 2 plates, vigorously. She'd rinse them and dress them with olive oil, fresh lemon juice and fresh parsley. With bread, we would eat them by using the bread as a fork. I didn't know that I was eating sushi. It was a private time I had with my mother, all to myself.❤️

My mother in law, Vi was married to an experienced fisherman. He would take my husband fishing and catch lots of fish and bring them home.From blue claw crabs, flounder, fluke, black fish, blue fish, striped bass, weakfish, whitting, cod fish and blowfish. All local saltwater species.

Comments

30.04.2021 20:13

Jill Clark Gardner

I could read your newsletters ALL DAY. I learned a lot from this latest one. Thank you, dear friend.