Okay, so it wasn't so much Princess vs. Fish as it was Princess vs. Princess, because to be fair, the fish was already deceased so there was not really anything required from the Princess to make it any more so.
We are referring to the feat accomplished by the Princess of cooking a whole fish, defined as a fish with all its outer parts intact except scales and possibly marine freeloaders. Heretofore she had never even eaten a fish that did not already, before reaching her, undergo so great a transformation during prep and cooking that if contestants on some game show were asked to identify it, they would be more likely to label it a Schwinn Mesa 2 Mens Mountain Bike sooner than a fish.
But, as outlined in the previous post, two whole fish were presented to the Princess for cooking by the CSA people, who have no sympathy whatsoever. She was very brave, and although she did lay a sheet of paper towel over the head of the first fish while preparing it, by the second fish she was emboldened enough to lay just half a sheet of paper towel over its head.
The fish heads did undergo a rather alarming alteration in appearance during broiling, which made the Princess regret not buying those little things you can put over fish eyes while they cook. Let's just say they resembled a strange sea creature of the deep. Way deep.
The Hero, hero that he is, chopped off the offending fish heads before serving the meal. Even a Princess can make only so many culinary strides in one day.
For skeptics who may not believe the Princess could actually accomplish this feat, we have provided a photo of the conquered fish, sans head. Bon appétit!
Here are some excerpts from a little conversation we had this week with our CSA.
Me: Hi, the list for this week says we are getting a whole branzino fish. Um, does that mean the whole fish -- like, head, eyes, all that stuff?
CSA: Yes! You'll love the branzino. Each fish is about a pound, but of course you won't actually get a pound out of it to eat, if you know what we mean.
Me: So, there will be eyes.
CSA: Yes. But it's already gutted. Just the head is on. And tail. And fins.
Me: And the eyes.
CSA: Yes. Yes, there will be eyes.
Me: Two eyes. Dead ones.
CSA: Uh, yes, we anticipate there will be two eyes per fish. And the fish are definitely dead when they reach the customer.
Me: You don't, um, cut the eyes out first?
CSA: Nope, you can cook it right in the oven or in a pan on the stove just the way it is!
Me: I put it in my pan WITH THE HEAD ON??
CSA: It'll just need a little lemon and butter, and you're all set!
Me: There is a fish with dead eyes staring at me from my frying pan, and a little lemon and butter is supposed to FIX that??
CSA: Really, ma'am, it'll be fine. You'll love it. Let us know how it goes! (heh heh heh)
In an attempt to comfort the Princess (and himself) about cooking eye-infested fish, the Hero sent her this link. Now all she can do is hum the song. We are thinking of passing it along to the CSA people so they can hum it all day long, too.
The Princess has been reminded by a concerned reader that it has been quite some time since she has communicated via the blog. With deepest apologies, she promises to return soon, although possibly not real soon. She is deep in the throes (writers are always "in the throes") of learning the art of mystery writing, which has caused her to pretend she knows something about how to kill off characters. This is something that has never happened in the blog, of course, unless plants count as characters, in which case plenty of murder has occurred. Someday she might write a post about the plants getting their revenge. Stay tuned.
