Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Fish Friday, (on a Tuesday)


No, I'm not all messed up from the time change, nor is this an advertisement.  It's just a recap, s
o don't try showing up to my parish hall this Friday.  I ran my church's Lenten fish fry this past Friday, which was a little mixed in the pros and cons department.  Before I get to that I'll give you a little background.  Catholics tend to skip meat on Fridays during lent.  Why?  Well, Friday was the day Jesus was crucified, and the abstention from meat is in memory of him giving up his body (his flesh).  Hence, Fish Fridays.  It's not a sin to forget, or even skip it intentionally, but it is a sacrifice that we try to make to focus us as a form of penance.  It also can help us get a little more into the spirit of the Lenten season which is one about prayer, fasting, and penitential sacrifice ahead of our Lord and savior dying on the cross, and the best part- rising again!



To be perfectly honest, not eating meat on a Friday during Lent is not much of a sacrifice for me.  Yes, I know fish is a meat, but historically, we consider fish more of a plebeian entrée than the flesh from livestock, which was more expensive, eaten only occasionally, and was associated with feasting and rejoicing (Scallops, Lobster, and Chilean Seabass are notable exceptions!) Still doesn't make sense to you?  Dig deeper if you want more.  But as I was saying, me skipping meat is no big deal.  Not that I don't enjoy having something meaty at pretty much every meal, but I really enjoy fish and we are often having seafood or pasta as an entrée.  Fish tacos are close to the top of that "meatless" list, and San Diego definitely does that well.

If you didn't figure it out from that lead photo and missed me mentioning it in past posts, I'm a member of that fine organization, the KofC, and I pretty much head up the group of us at my church.  So when things need to be scheduled, planned, and coordinated, that duty falls to me. It might be "Keeping Christ in Christmas" by selling religious Christmas cards, running the beer garden at our parish school carnival, or during Lent, running the Lenten fish fry.  Some parishes run one every single weekend, but we are a small parish and have an even smaller handful of men who are willing to step up and help, so we just run a single dinner during the season.

I've been doing it for going on 16 years now- going back to when I PCS'd back to SanDog from duty in Tampa Florida.  I took it over from the previous Knight in 2008 who decided he didn't want to be a member anymore.  Always willing to step up, I was asked to help run it and I have been doing it ever since, never able to take a step back.

On the positive side, it was our most successful one to date, at least when it comes to the food.  Everyone that attended thought it was our best effort at making fish, tilapia in this case, and everything was prepared just in time for us to open and everything was still warm when the guests started showing up. We've often struggled with the timing and having people need to wait as we wait for the first or next batch to finish up.  We've baked the fish, grilled it, fried it, and usually gotten mixed reviews in the past.  But this year, we used some Old Bay, then quick fried it in a pan with butter, then finished it off in the oven which made it cook much faster and helped keep the supply going.  Most of our patrons thought it was better than any other attempt.  


It's always a challenge with our ancient kitchen to get the oven right and get the fish cooked through properly on all sides of the pan, in all corners of the oven, or keeping the fryer at the right temperature, and to make sure we have enough ingredients and servings for everyone that shows.  It's also a balancing act to charge enough to make a little money for the church and the council, but not too much to scare anyone away.  Or have too many leftovers which means I overbought and wasted money that could have been profit for us.  We usually do it to benefit one cause or another, sometimes the school, sometimes the maintenance of the church, pro-life efforts or what have you.  This year it was for the repairs to our church bell tower which was discovered recently to be separating from the main structure of the church. Not sure what that maintenance bill is going to run, but my little parish has not recovered after covid and we have a very small collection plate and an even smaller maintenance fund through a second collection which is only once a month.

There are quite a few well-off parishes in the diocese that probably do well with their collections.  The diocesan tax on them probably helps some smaller parishes get by (barely), like mine, as we rarely bring in what it costs to sustain our parish needs.  We are cut to the bare bones though, trying to make ends meet, going down to just one part-time office staff member, more CCD costs shifted to the parents, and plenty of deferred maintenance.  I only explain that to show how much need there is for successful fundraising from any effort.

But anyhoo, I said it was a mix of pros and cons. While the food was delicious and no waiting was required, it rained quite heavily last Friday evening.  That severely dampened the turnout, despite the weeks-long announcements from the pulpit, church bulletin notices, and a couple emails to the parishioners from the church office.  I planned for 80 people which is actually very small compared to a lot of parishes but it's about 10% more than I usually serve, thinking the heavy advertisement would help.  That rain though.  We only served 20 total meals.  I had a small group of men to help, so each of us took home rolls, potatoes, and fish- enough to make us tired of fish for the rest of the season.  Assuming we eat it all of course before the already thawed-out fish needs to be tossed.  Yes, I considered donating to a local foodbank, but most of it was already cooked, and the fish that wasn't, had been sitting out waiting to be cooked.  I couldn't risk donating it to the general public.  

Fortunately we covered our costs.  We charged $15 this year ($10 in years past since the pastor wanted to make it affordable) as we need some funds for that tower.  I spent $268 on supplies so there are a few small bills I can throw towards the tower maintenance.  If only the rain had come some other day, we could have brought in over a grand, especially with beer and wine sales, of which the product was donated at no cost to us.  

Oh well, there's always next year.  However, I announced that someone else has to take the lead next year.  It's pretty stressful for me, buying all the supplies, shopping around to get the lowest prices, coordinated the volunteers, running the kitchen, etc.  I don't sleep well the week of the event, and the preps invade my dreams.  16 years in a row is some dedicated service to the parish if I do say so myself.  We'll see if any other Knight steps up next year, or if another group at the church wants to take it on.   




My last post alluded to me growing tired of my job.  This one has me tired of running a fish dinner.  

Maybe I'm just tired.


31 comments:

  1. Several years ago we tried tilapia entire family thought it was disgusting. A few years later we were eating at a buffet restaurant and there was this unidentified fish available so I took a piece and thought it was pretty darned good. I had to ask what it was and was told tilapia. You could've knocked me over with a feather. Had to find out what had been done to it to make it eatable. The person went back to the kitchen and returned with the info that it had been sprinkled with a dry bbq rub. I learned that if I took black peppercorns, garlic powder, paprika,a dash of,seasoned salt, and a very small amount of red pepper powder and used the spice grinder to powder the whole thing,it was close enough. two mins. on 1st side 3 on the other in our grill pan with a combo of butter and oil and everyone is a happy camper. I'm NOT saying you are doing it wrong. I'm just passing along what makes it possible for my family to eat tilapia.(it didn't give me the option to say that I post elsewhere as Uninformed)

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    1. Tilapia is pretty much the flavor you make it. Mostly tasteless, mostly eh, a very bland freshwater fish.

      Trout is better, but more expensive. Freshwater catfish also ranks better but more expensive.

      Supposedly the flying silver carp that has pretty much taken over the Mississippi tastes better, but I've never tried it.

      Saltwater fish is far better, having more flavor and tending to have better texture, but smells more fishy.

      Then again, I like my fish to taste like fish and some/lots of people don't want their fish to taste fishy.

      The perils of being raised by a Cajun I guess.

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    2. Yeah, I know it's not the best fish, but it's the best we could afford. I would have taken it in the shorts had we bought something better. Old Bay and butter seemed to make the few guests happy.

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    3. Hard to go wrong with Old Bay and Butter.

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  2. If you were nearby, you would have fed this Lutheran Badger. Badgers love fish frys! Especially traditional Wisconsin All You Can Eat Deep Fried Cod ones.

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    1. Fish and Chips has been on the menu in past years.

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  3. And I imagine it too multiple showers to get the fish/oil smell off of you.

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  4. Yummy, great fish in Sandy Eggo. DAMHIK

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  5. Tired yesterday and tired again today. I'm re-tired. ;) Well done Tuna... wait......

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  6. My childhood friend Uisdean Ruadh is a KoC member, so for the past three years when I have traveled back to my parents, we have had at least one round of KoC fish fry. It has become something I look forward to - so I was crushed when this year, due to a request by the parish priest, the are doing soup instead this year (clam chowder is fine and all, but I look forward to my fish and fries).

    A lowered turnout after all that effort has been put in is disheartening, even if it was beyond your control (but congratulations on covering costs!). Hopefully the weather will be more co-operative next year (and since you are not running it, a much less stressful time for you as well).

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    1. Clam Chowder is a good idea- probably much easier.

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  7. Local KC back home (SE Texas-Lapland..where La. & Texas lap over into each other) does take out Shrimp Gumbo on Friday during Lent. It used to be the fund raising event of the year...but the Cajun who was doing the cooking passed on. From local sources I learned fund raising is suffering, as they need a new volunteer to make the base roux. Don't know if it's legal to have females in the KC but if not, those local KC's better find a "real" Cajun Mamere and figure out a way to get her into the group if they want their fund raising to increase.
    Cletus

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    1. Roux isn't hard to do. It's just browned flour gravy base, with the Trinity in it. That would be, onions, peppers and celery, diced fine, cooked till clarity of the onions and celery. I prefer red or yellow pepper to green pepper, but I'm only half-Cajun.

      Heck, even my mother, full Ohio Buckeye, can cook a good roux. Though it did take years for my dad to teach her.

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    2. No, just for the men, although the insurance is open to our spouses. When challenged we just say that they are welcome to attend and participate in all our events, they just don't have to go to the meetings!

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    3. Beans, sounds like the Cajun side of your heritage was the "expert". I've seen some interesting roux over my eating career...roux with black spots in it..cooked too long or at too high a temp...too pale, too dark with a bitter taste, etc. Such a "faux pas" can ruin the seafood. The "art" part is know just when the flour is browned enough for whatever dish one is cooking. Making a bisque or a gumbo? Use oil (what type), lard, butter with the flour and how much? My timer for making a roux is the length of time it takes to consume 2-12 oz. bottles of my favorite beer.

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    4. Cletus made the post for the issues of making a roux.
      Cletus

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  8. Sadly the covidiocracy and some other issues have really put a damper on organized religion across the board. Especially Roman Catholics. And part of the problem is the aging of the parishioners. Just not as many young catholics to catholic, so to speak.

    Small parishes especially suffer, as more and more work is shuffled onto the shoulders of fewer and fewer people, contributing to burnout. That and outright flight from metropolitan areas and crazy state politics in certain states.

    Tuna, ifn you ever wanna move, Brevard County is very pro-ex military and has some really nice parishes. Grew up in Holy Name of Jesus just south of the Eau Gallie Causeway on the beaches in Indiatlantic. Just saying...

    Of course, staying where Home is is always the best. Mayhaps you all can sell 'reserve tickets' for next year, that way if people buy but don't show you still have sold some.

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    1. Our parish is half the size it was before our last beloved pastor for 15 years retired, and before covid. A few left here and there after the former, and a lot during the latter.

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    2. I mean a few left after the pastor switch up, and a lot left during COVID.

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    3. Our little rural Lutheran Church will have the 175th anniversary of its founding this summer. It has dwindling numbers as well (there are more on the prayer list than can attend, and more now in the cemetery than either). But we are flexible. We share our organist with another church. The order of service can change until she arrives. Rode through COVID well and agreed how we still could have Communion (disposable little cup of Wine and the Host on a small paper plate covered with an inverted disposable plastic glass). Good weather, we held outside services (someone discovered we had loudspeakers in the bell tower). The Cemetery Board (I am treasurer) mows the churchyard and cemetery each week. And after Services, there are coffee and treats. Good Fellowship!...

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  9. Crusty Old TV Tech here. Also a Knight, doing the purchasing for our Council's Fish Fry. I know what you mean Tuna, by Week 6 (we run every Friday for 6 weeks), it's time to put the FF thoughts way in the back of the ole brain locker, get back to less "spicy" pursuits When you check your supplier's website every few hours after putting in an order, checking for shortages...you're in the Fish Fry Zone! Been doing it (Fish Fry) 8 years now, and the big draw was the guys in the council. We're like an Infantry platoon in a way, similar sort of cameraderie, similar sort of good natured joshing and leg-pulling. We get the job done! Finding a place in 2023 where 15-20 guys can be guys, and do their thing for God, Church, and Community without collateral PC grief, it's rare.

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    1. VJ TV Tech! I enjoy the camaraderie for sure, but it's time to hand the reins over.

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  10. Down here in Bandera, TX, the local Roman Catholic parish puts on a fish fry the first Friday of every month. It is good food. Now I can imagine the planning and work that goes into the event.

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    1. It's a lot, but some, like TV Tech, have it down pat and a platoon of help.

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  11. Our Council 6076 sells tickets after Mass the two weekends preceding event. This gives an idea for ordering supplies plus cash.. Rain is handled by having take out boxes. Selling tickets involves members that have little time due to family and other commitments but want to do KofC work but cannot get there to cook or set up or clean up. Many cannot make business meeting or planning meeting but can be counted on to commit to work an activity. Wives and family can schedule to work alongside.Every member has a niche.Thank God and Internet.
    Our big thing is St Patrick's Day Gala. Anotherin-county church's KofC handles the Lenten Friday fish fry and Octoberfest.

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  12. Our KofC is out on a highway between 2 towns. They have a plastic sign between 2 poles that go up on the road 1 week prior to the fish fry. There's probably 4 signs coming from the interstate and 2 on other side of highway coming out of smaller town. They've been using them for years and the turnout is outstanding. Fish, 3 ways, fries, baked potatoes, coleslaw, potato salad, salads, baked beans + all the deserts. Great meal. It's done from Lent till fall.

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Just be polite... that's all I ask. (For Buck)
Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

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