With my hectic life lately I feel like I am constantly juggling sour lemons.  So when life hands you lemons, what are you to do with them?  I say make something tasty to eat!

When life hands you lemons…

…shove them in a fish!!!

After a delightful morning of yoga on Labor Day and an insanely unhealthy lunch, I was craving seafood for dinner. I had not had any good seafood in a while, so we went to Central market and paroosed the seafood department.  With so many choices how would we ever decide?

I always want shrimp so that was an option.

I really love mussels but they did not look very good that day.

Lobster and crab are always too expensive.

We decided to get fish!  But which one?  Flounder, Sea Bass, Tuna, Cod, Snapper?  How would we prepare the fish?  Could we do something different?

When my husband saw the WHOLE Striped Bass on sale, he got really excited.  We had never bought a whole fish before, and we were ready for a challenge.  One whole striped bass scaled please!

Luckily, Central Market had taken out the yucky guts and they did a great job taking the scales off; so preparation at home was easy and fun.

How do you cook and eat a whole fish at home? 

Labor Day Whole Striped Bass

Ingredients: Whole Striped Bass, Fennel, Ginger, Lemon, Dill, Flat-Leaf Parsley

STEP 1:Prepare the charcoal grill.

STEP 2: Slice and prepare all of the fish ‘stuffing’.

STEP 3: Wash and clean Mr. Striped Bass.

STEP 4: Shove the lemons, ginger, parsley, fennel, dill, and salt into Mr. Striped Bass’s belly!

STEP 5: Coat Mr. Striped Bass with oilve oil and salt.

STEP 6: Put Mr. Striped Bass on the grill. (We improvised!  We did not have a fish grilling device to keep it in place, so we stuck him between two cooling racks…Genius!)

STEP 7: Watch Mr. Striped Bass get grill marks and smell the fragrant lemon.

STEP 8: Remove from the grill and serve!

We found that the best way to enjoy the fish was family style!  We plated Mr. Striped Bass as he was and set him on the table with two forks.  Alongside a mushroom salad and smashed potatoes, we dove in!

The bass was light and flakey, and cooked to a perfect Medium.  The lemon, fennel, and parsley were predominant flavors while the ginger and dill lingered on your palate.  It was the perfect light dinner to end a long weekend.

If you have ever contemplated the unknown whole fish, do it!  It is easy and delicious; just make sure the fish monger scales it or you will have a big mess on your hands.

What will I do next time life hands me lemons?  Perhaps make a nice Quinoa Salad or a lemon tart?

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…