Mother's Day

First of all - Happy Mother's Day to everyone out there. Even if you are not a mother yourself you surely have, or have had, a mother, and therefore it's a fine day to celebrate for everyone. Where would we all be without mothers? :-)

It's a special Mother's Day for me, as it's the first year that includes my fine grandson, and my daughter-in-law's very first Mother's Day as a mother herself.

My son and daughter-in-law took me out to lunch at The Ship Inn in Milford, NJ, a British-style brew pub which has long been a family favorite. Their standard menu is one we have always enjoyed, although they often have weekend and holiday specials as well.

When you are on an eating plan that is not the "standard", and you follow various blogs and message boards, you will find those who exhort you not to deviate one iota from your plan, and others who tell you "it's a holiday. Eat whatever you like."

Hmm, well my own feeling is that option two is often a slippery slope that can lead to more and more reasons to find "special". But that option one is sometimes too stringent.

My own method tends to be more middle-of-the-road, as I tend to be about things in general. Does this make me wishy-washy? A mugwump? Hey, it works works for me. Try not to go wildly careening off center - no falling face-down into plates of pasta made with white flour. But don't freak out about every bite.

As for my own meal- I drank only water with a lemon slice in it. I split two appetizers with my son and daughter-in-law, so had one potato skin with crumbled bacon and Stilton cheese, and some chicken sausage sauteed with apple slices, both very tasty.

For my main meal I got the "catch of the day" fish, which came with some sauteed veggies, a small seaweed salad, and sweet potato fries. I did eat a few of the fries though most remained on my plate, but the few I had were tasty. And I gave in to a dessert as well, sharing a serving of cheesecake with my son.

But at the risk of TMI, on our ride home I was overcome with a case of intestinal distress and had to make an emergency stop at a Walmart, to run in and use the restroom. "Hmmm", I thought to myself, "something at the restaurant must have disagreed with me."

And as I was writing this post I decided to google on escolar, which was the type of fish I had eaten. I was not surprised to read that it is sometimes referred to as "super white tuna" as I have never seen a fish so white! It was so blindingly white it almost looked fake. The white-meat codfish my daughter-in-law had in her fish and chips looked outright dingy in comparison. The flesh was as true a white as glossy white paint, and had a rich buttery taste and texture. The fact that Wikipedia says it is often sold as "butterfish" or "oilfish" does not surprise me in the least.

But the fact that *did* surprise me was reading that its sale is banned in several countries because of the severe intestinal distress it has caused consumers, and that at one time the FDA had issued a bulletin recommending against its importation for sale because of this.

At least it solves a mystery for me, and I now have a good idea why I needed to make a stop at Walmart on the way home! But it certainly tasted good while I was eating it. However I think escolar will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me.