I’m in Memphis visiting my new grandson and his parents. While I’m here, I’m doing most of the cooking, and I’m preparing some freezer-to-crockpot meals they can have after I leave.
When I went to the grocery, I saw catfish nuggets at the fish counter. We get a lot of seafood in Seattle, but catfish nuggets are never in the fish counter. And I love catfish. So I picked up a pound of catfish nuggets. Then, in the produce department, I saw purple potatoes! Score! So, for supper on Saturday night, I fixed catfish nuggets in basil cream sauce, along with roasted asparagus and purple potatoes. Sounds fancy, but it was really super, super easy.
As fast and easy as it was, though, when I got done cooking, my tiny little grandson and his mommy and daddy were all three sound asleep. I tiptoed to their bedroom door, and tapped softly, and my son-in-law sort of almost woke up. I whispered that supper was ready, and he nodded.
I waited a while, thought about tapping on their door again, then decided to eat while they slept. When they woke up, I rewarmed the food. It was just as good reheated as it had been fresh off the stove.
Catfish in Basil Cream Sauce
Ingredients
1 pound catfish nuggets
Salt
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp olive oil
2/3 cup full-fat canned coconut milk
Juice and zest from one large lemon
Large handful of fresh basil leaves, shredded
Instructions
Heat the oil in a large cast iron skillet. Medium to medium-high should work. You don’t want the skillet to be too hot.
While the skillet is heating, pat the catfish nuggets dry, then sprinkle them generously with salt.
When the skillet is hot enough that a drop of water tossed in the skillet skitters and pops, add the catfish.
Cook the catfish about 3-4 minutes on a side for nuggets or thin fillets. When it’s done, remove it from the skillet to a warm plate.
Pour off most of the remaining fat and liquid from the pan.
Whisk in the coconut milk and lemon juice. Let it boil to reduce slightly.
Stir in the basil and lemon zest.
Pour the basil cream sauce over the fish.
Serve immediately.
Or serve it later. The catfish in basil cream sauce will be good either way.
Read More
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Justinian and Theodora: A Love Story: St. Theodora, the wife and co-ruler with St. Justinian the Great, is one of my very favorite saints.
Buy the Books!
These delightfully diverse books provide disability representation (Elizabeth, one of the main characters, is an ambulatory wheelchair user). They also give Orthodox Christian children the rare opportunity to see themselves in books, and children who are not Orthodox the chance to see cultural practices they may not be familiar with.
Catherine’s Pascha
FINALIST IN THE 2015 USA BEST BOOK AWARDS
Catherine doesn’t like vegetables. She doesn’t like naps. She doesn’t like it when her mom combs her hair. She loves hot dogs, chocolate cake, and her best friend, Elizabeth. Most of all, she loves Pascha! Pascha, the Orthodox Christian Easter, is celebrated in the middle of the night, with processions and candles and bells and singing. And Catherine insists that she’s not a bit sleepy.
Celebrate the joy of Pascha through the magic of a book: Catherine’s Pascha. Available on Amazon, Bookshop.org, and my webstore.
The Saint Nicholas Day Snow
Shoes or stockings? Horse or sleigh? Does St. Nicholas visit on December 6 or on Christmas Eve? Will a little girl’s prayer be answered? When Elizabeth has to stay at Catherine’s house, she’s worried about her grandmother, and worried that St. Nicholas won’t find her. The grownups, though, are worried about snow.
Celebrate the wonder of St. Nicholas Day through the magic of a book: The Saint Nicholas Day Snow. Available on Amazon, Bookshop.org, or my webstore.
