Rainy days and Sundays

Yesterday being such a glorious day we decided to take a trip out to Howth for a spot of lunch and a mooch around the market. We had a delicious lunch of fish and chips from Beshoff’s – full works for hubbie (cod, chips and mushy peas) and the “low-calorie” option for me (hake in light batter with a handful of chips and a side salad with gorgeous basil dressing).

We picked up some organic vegetables at the market and then headed down to my favourite fish shop, Doran’s. “Is that everything?”, the nice guy behind the counter asked as I ordered a whole salmon. “I’m just getting started”, I smiled! One cod, one monkfish tail, two sea bream, four mackerel and four fish heads (for soup) later, I toddled out with bags galore. Not only did I have a few weeks’ worth of fish, I also had a pleasant evening of gutting, filleting, skinning and stock-making ahead of me.

Today being the apparent beginning of Armageddon (how can the weather change so damn quickly?), and having a day off, I decided to put some of my fishy delights to use. I fried a little diced carrot, onion and garlic gently in some rapeseed oil, added a tin of mixed beans (drained and rinsed) to infuse with the garlicky goodness, and added the whole lot to yesterday’s fish stock for a light and brothy soup.

I made a quick pâté of kippers and cream cheese and served the lot with a whole grain bun (quinoa, wholemeal flour and pumpkin seeds – a whole other day’s conversation!). It was rainy day heaven. Now for a Johnny Depp / Tim Burton afternoon of “Alice in Wonderland” followed by “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”.

Who says you can’t have fun in the rain!!!

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