White Pants and Space Heaters

There is something inherently American about going to Target on Memorial Day. You almost feel like it's your patriotic duty to wander around a massive climate controlled space full of consumer goods you never knew you needed but suddenly do, and leave with fourteen shopping bags full of things like pencil cases with birds on them, body lotions made from Dead Sea mud, and economy packs of entree-portion-sized Tupperware containers. All of these things, incidentally, were purchased yesterday. Did I need any of them? No. Did I suddenly realise my life would be bereft without them? Yes indeed. 

Target is very soothing. And it was miraculously quiet for a Memorial Day afternoon, so Mum and I spent a happy time looking at greeting cards, running socks, cardigans, and (very excitingly) kitty litter. And yes, dear reader, we did get matching oatmeal heather bracelet sleeve cardigans. That's just how we roll. 

Outside of Target it was a fairly uneventful Mem Day. We missed the parade down Main Street due to the aforementioned Target expedition, and spent the majority of it drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. (Basic format of those days is one of us interrupts the other to read out a paragraph or quote, then gets told off for interrupting, then silence, then the roles are reversed. Repeat for several hours. Insert an occasional political name calling session or a fact challenge via Wikipedia.) 

As I may have mentioned, however, it was unseasonably cold. And by that I mean bloody freezing. To try on what was ostensibly a summer dress in Target I had to remove four layers of shirts/sweaters, then quickly decide it made my neck look weird before frantically pulling everything back on. And so the Memorial Day supper that should have been some sort of vegetarian barbecue or corn on the cob or something that screamed "summer is here it's finally here thank God" was instead something that Earnest Shackleton's men might have enjoyed in their tents on the sea ice. 

IT WAS STILL DELICIOUS. I want to stress that. It was amazing. But. Well. You'll see. 

MEMORIAL DAY SUPPER

FILLET OF COD WITH FRESH THYME SERVED OVER PARSNIP AND SPINACH MASH

My uncle hates cod. Chalk it up to growing up Irish, Boston Irish, and the son of a Boston Irish fisherman. I'm sure there was a hell of a lot of cod served in that house, and perhaps he overloaded. I, thankfully, do not suffer from that affliction, and nor does Mum. We LOVE cod. ESPECIALLY cod that is so fresh it doesn't even smell like fish, just of clean salt water and happiness. 

The object of my current affection.
So unassuming. So delicious. 

I also found parsnips which made me SO HAPPY. I have been craving parsnips for about a month now (other people crave chocolate, I crave parsnips, whatever you guys) yet have been unable to find good ones in any of the stores we normally go to. There must have been some kind of parsnip shortage (ps if anyone knows this is a real thing PLEASE TELL ME SO I CAN PREPARE A PARSNIP BUNKER FOR THE APOCALYPSE) because everything I looked at was totally not up to my standards. BUT ON SUNDAY THAT CHANGED. 

And so, armed with several plastic produce bags, I calmly purchased about 15 pounds of parsnips, smiling brightly at the bewildered 15 year old at the farm stand who clearly thought I was a mentalist. We'll be eating parsnips for a good long while. But you won't hear me complaining because it's rude to talk with your mouth full. 

And what better use for parsnips than mash? WHAT BETTER USE, DEAR READER?

The mash is a especially Beetle Friendly version, no olive oil, just steamed, mashed, and mixed with Thyme and salt and pepper. 

One thing to remember is that even though parsnips are closely related to carrots, they take A LOT LONGER TO COOK. I learned this the hard way one night when cooking for a friend and dinner was essentially breakfast because they were rock hard for ages and ages. Frankly speaking they need about half an hour. What I generally do, especially when I'm going to mash them, is cut them up pretty small and throw them in the steamer before I even get any of the other things out on the counter. Timing wise it almost always turns out for the best as everything is done together and then there's no moment of "oh this part is cold but this is tongue burning hot and I've failed at life." Avoid that if at all possible.

As they are steaming, line a baking sheet with tinfoil and spread the fish fillets out. Rub the surface with a little bit of olive oil and lots and lots of fresh Thyme. 

I once saw a recipe that said to cook the cod FOR 45 MINUTES IN AN OVEN SET TO 250 DEGREES. I swear the person who wrote that a.)was not a native English speaker b.) did not understand the Fahrenheit scale and c.) was potentially an escapee from a mental institution. THERE IS NO NEED TO DO THIS. Especially when it's super fresh like this, it should spend as little time as possible in the oven, otherwise you've ruined that just-caught-awesomeness. 

Cook it on the bottom rack of the oven at 450 for about 10 minutes. It should still be juuusssttt translucent when you pull it out. It's the difference between omgthisisthebestthingever and ehitsfinebutivehadbetterfishatmacdonalds.

Timing wise, when the parsnips came out of the steamer, the fish went in. I kept the water boiling under the steamer and added a few handfuls of baby spinach, which we all know just has to look at a pot of hot water and goes phlump. For the five minutes that that needed, I mashed parsnips like it was my job, adding thyme at various intervals, then took the spinach off the heat and threw that in. 

Parsnip and Spinach Mash dished out, waiting for a fish hat. 

Fish hat donned. 

I think I bought enough fish for 8 people. I cooked it all. There were no leftovers. I actually think that when I say to you that "I ate my weight in cod" I'm not being hyperbolic at all. I am speaking the truth. 

There were leftovers of the parsnips (I'm not totally disgusting, you guys, jeez) and last night I threw those in a saucepan with some carrot puree and a little water and made a thick and ridiculously delicious carrot parsnip soup. I know it's a winter vegetable. I know. But hey, a Beetle needs her beta carotene year round, right? I can't exist solely on lycopene until September, I'd die of . . .  I don't know. Something. I'm sure there's a House episode about someone who has an excess of lycopene and they don't figure it out until the last minute and save her. There has to be. 

In conclusion, I hope everyone had a delightful Summer Kickoff Weekend and is managing to live through the first day back in the office, and that we all get our sunshine and lazy days soon. I need some more freckles. 

Oh and hey, I almost forgot. The ultimate show of seasonal faith? I bought white pants yesterday. 

IT'S ON.