Fish Stew With Some Support and Encouragement….

Hi everyone and please click on the title of this post to read more. Well, today, I’d like to talk about how a little encouragement and a little support can go a long way. I had received emails from friends in the last few weeks to go to PA to get people to register to vote, and to make phone calls to get people out to the polls. Because I am so busy, I had a hard time doing either, knew it was the “right” thing to do , and felt guilty for not doing it.

I want to thank my friends and commend them for their efforts to galvanize their friends to make a difference in the election, namely Patti, Amy, another Amy, Liz and Julie. These women are very busy but sacrificed their free time and not- such- free-time to help the cause, to get people to vote.

When election day was almost upon us, the day before, my friend Julie called and asked me to go with her to PA. Riddled with guilt but knowing my babysitting limitations, I didn’t feel I could make it happen. She then asked if I could make calls. I did not feel confident that I could navigate the website system myself (I am computerly challenged) so she invited me over after my younger kids went to bed to make calls WITH her from her living room. This I could do!

With the support of my husband who would deal with putting the older kids to bed, I was able to go to her house, make some calls and feel like a part of the process. I did what I could and was able to do so with the encouragement and support of my friends and family. (P.S. Julie is the amazingly skilled kitchen designer of my Take Back the Kitchen Kitchen. Her company is MK Designs, Merit Kitchens and their number is 973-751-7700-what? I’m not allowed to plug a friend who deserves it??)

Now, this really reminds me of my Portuguese stew, you’ll see. I read about a Codfish Portuguese stew in a Rachael Ray magazine. That Rachael is always encouraging us to make our quick, easy meals, isn’t she? I was supported by my husband who always likes a hot meal when he returns home from work. He supports me by saying “thank you” and by telling me how good it is, even when he thinks it’s too salty (what does he know about bacalao-dried cod preserved in salt that needs to be soaked for 24 hours before serving?).

Anyhow, as much as I do love Rachael Ray, I have been to Portugal probably more than five times and I know how the stew is supposed to taste, so I made my own version. It was nice to see her version because I had never thought to make it before and it gave me the kick or encouragement I needed to make that stew a reality in my own kitchen. Thanks, Rachael! Also, see in the video below what one can do with the extra time saved from making a quick and easy recipe….

Here’s my tasty stew and I hope you like it:

Portuguese Fish Stew:

3 medium sized cod filets (or dried cod that is soaked for 24 hours in water, changing the water a few times) cut into one inch chunks
2 chicken sausages, such as Amy’s Brand, cut into 1/2 inch slices (you can use whatever sausage you want, even vegetarian)
1 tsp paprika, preferably Spanish paprika
1 medium potato, cut into 1/2 inch chunks and steamed or boiled before you make the dish
1 14 1/2 oz.can diced tomatoes
1 red or green pepper, chopped small (don’t forget to take out those pesky white seeds)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBS Olive oil

In a big Sauce pan, or large sautee (frying) pan, on medium heat, heat up the olive oil. Add the garlic and stir until it starts to smell garlicky. Then add the chopped peppers. Don’t let the garlic burn! When the peppers have cooked down a little and start to get wilty, quickly add the tomatoes with their juice from the can. Stir. Add the paprika, the cod, the potatoes and then the sausages which are usually precooked. Cook and stir until the cod and sausages are cooked and heated through and serve with rice. The whole thing takes about 10-15 minutes if you have done your prep work. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

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