Skip to main content

Shrove Mardi Carnival Gras Tuesday

We had a proper mash-up of a pre-Lent celebration this year.  Toby got the idea that it was a party, and wanted to decorate, so I dug out some carnival beads that we got as freebies a few years ago.  He also made a picture.



All that somehow put the idea into my head to go Cajun for dinner (New Orleans Mardi Gras and all that) so I tweaked my menu to include blackened fish (recipe below) and a very approximate vegetarian version of dirty rice.  The real thing, I discovered, uses chicken livers to provide the "dirty", which are not ingredients I tend to have lurking in the fridge.


And then, of course, we had to have proper English pancakes for dessert.  With lemon juice and sugar, which is traditional, and with applesauce, Greek yoghurt and golden syrup, which is not.  But tastes fantastic.


The one thing I did not do, I realised, was any shriving.  Confessing my sins and receiving absolution.  Starting Lent with a clean sheet.

It's a central tenet of the Christian faith that we are all sinners.  But I guess I can't be alone in not feeling much like a sinner.  Yes, I make mistakes.  Yes, there are things I wish I hadn't done.  But that no-health-in-us-miserable-sinner thing?  Um.  Well.  Not really.  Do you?

So I was sat here wondering what to say about that.  Is it OK not to feel like a sinner?  Is there anything we can do about it?  And are you just all waiting for me to get to the blackened fish recipe anyway?

But on the desk I am sitting at, there is a photo of a cross.  On the base of the cross is an inscription.  I had to lean forward to remind myself what it says.  It reads: Christus regit.  Christ reigns.  Christ is king - king on a cross.

Despite how it can often feel, Christianity is not about manufacturing suitable emotions.  Christianity is a statement of fact.  Christ reigns.  I do not.  However sinful I do or do not feel, Lent is a time of moving myself from a throne to a cross, in order that Christ may move from a cross to a throne.  There are deliberate acts that can help me to do that, that have been developed by the church down through the centuries.  And one, unsurprisingly, is confessing my shortcomings.  Shriving.

I may have missed Shrove Tuesday this year.  But maybe I'll own up to being a sinner after all.





(And yes, here's the fish recipe.)


Blackened fish

Adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe.

Stir together:

1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper

At this point, if there's only 2 of you, you can halve the spice mixture and put half in a jar for another time.  Then add just half the ingredients below.

To the spice mix add:
2 cloves garlic, mashed or grated
2 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
1 tbsp lemon juice (1/2 lemon)

Use the mixture to coat four fish fillets, of whatever variety you prefer.  Heat a good heavy non-stick frying pan.  Cook fish 3-4 minutes on each side until spices are blackened and fish is cooked through.  Serve with lemon wedges. This has a definite kick to it. so reduce the cayenne if you're not into Cajun spiciness!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

One hundred churches

About the middle of January, I was walking to school one afternoon when it occurred to me that I must have visited quite a few churches on my explorations. I started counting them. But I quickly ran out of fingers, so when I got home I plotted them on Google Maps. Not only was the number much higher than I was expecting, it was also tantalisingly close to one hundred. Only a few dozen to go. So of course, every walk since then has had to include at least one church! Last Monday I visited my hundredth church: St John the Baptist, Dethick. It was a beautiful little 13-century building with an unusual tower - I was glad it had claimed the 100 spot. I haven't been inside every church. Sometimes they were locked; sometimes I was in a hurry and didn't try the door. St Leonard's Church in Alton had bellringers practicing, and I almost interrupted a funeral when I stuck my head through the door of St Mary's, Marston-on-Dove. A few, such as St Oswald's, Ashbourne, and St Wys...

Derwent Valley Heritage Way: Steep drops ahead

It's been a long time since I fitted that much up and down into an eight-mile walk! 740m of steep climbs and steps. My legs were not very happy with me the next day. Between Matlock and Cromford, the Derwent River runs through a deep valley, with Matlock Bath - a landlocked town which pretends to be a seaside resort - down at the bottom. The ridge of high ground used to run all the way round to Scarthin Rock, cutting off Cromford from the rest of the valley, until somebody blasted a hole through it to build the A6. Matlock Bath: pavilion and amusement park I started in Cromford and climbed over the ridge at Harp Edge, then followed a path along through the woods, with the ground dropping sharply away to my right. There were a few small caves among the trees. At Upperwood someone had thoughtfully provided a bench. I wasn't in need of a rest just yet, though. In fact, I was feeling so bouncy that I went down an entirely unnecessary flight of steps, instead of staying on the reaso...

The Churnet Way: a wonderful walk

The loop from Oakamoor to Froghall and back was one of the most enjoyable walks I've done in a long time. It had a bit of everything: woods, ponds, rivers and railways; steep climbs and sweeping views; an unusual church, an ex-industrial wharf, and, as a final bonus, car parks with toilets. Of course, the sunny weather helped too. I parked in Oakamoor and set off along a quiet lane called Stoney Dale. This is the route of the Churnet Way, which deviates away from the river for a couple of miles. After a while I turned right and climbed up through the woods on a gravelly path, then dropped down to the B5417. a spring in Oakamoor   Crossing the road, I entered Hawksmoor Nature Reserve. It has some fine gateposts commemorating John Richard Beech Masefield, "a great naturalist". I found a photo of the opening of the gateway in 1933; unsurprisingly, the trees have grown a lot since then! A track took me down through the woods to East Wall Farm. Lovely view! Nice duck pond as ...