Simple supper?

Friday night. The first Friday in Lent. I am exhausted. School has been madness. I thought this evening would never come.

On Ash Wednesday I had all sorts of bright, pious ideas of what I could give up in Lent. By Friday, heading to open up chapel at 7am this morning, simple things were enough. The chocolate, the cake, the pastries - all those creature comforts I rely on to get me through the day....they were staying. I'll pray whenever you want me to, all the time if you please. I'll support charity fundraisers and give to those in need as much as I am able. But, to do those two things, I need chocolate to keep me going. And cake. And wine. Happily, to some extent, Isaiah was with me (check the readings for today).

And so it came to supper of the first Friday in Lent. Present in the fridge were:

500ml cream
milk
wholegrain mustard
smoked and peppered mackerel
potatoes
milk
rocket salad.


With a little salt and pepper, a meal could not go wrong...unless, of course, you were on a diet. I sliced the potatoes into pound coin slices, mixed milk and cream (all of it) with mustard, salt and pepper. I layered the potatoes into a small pyrex dish, and ripped apart a smoked mackerel fillet, layering it on top. More potatoes, more mackerel, more potatoes, more mackerel, more potatoes. I poured the cream, milk, salt and pepper over the top, until it covered the top layer just a little. The whole lot was in the oven for 1 hour at 200C. I served it with a handful of rocket and a cold glass of wine. It was heaven.