Ah, Julia! Julia Child once said the first meal she had in France was fish, eaten at a simple little cafe, and that it was simply the best fish she had ever eaten. Today, so much of the fish we eat is either fried or falls out of a
box from the freezer section of the grocery. If fish is supposed to be healthy, just what constitutes a healthy fish? OK, Julia, lead me to the good stuff!

Years ago, I was told that to eat healthy fish, it should be baked, so I baked it. Perfectly good pieces of fish went into the oven, and out came dried out, tasteless stuff. The only way to get good fish, it seemed, was to go out to eat in a fancy restaurant that offered walnut encrusted red snapper. The price tag was healthy, too. Aaargh!!!

Remember the movie (and book) “Julie and Julia?” The movie was actually a combination of that book plus the book “My Life In France” by Julia Child. Ms. Child had written “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” to help get American women away from the prepared glop offered in grocery stores and back into the kitchen to cook real food. I bought the book. It’s not really technical, more instructional, and I LEARNED TO COOK FISH!!!

Today, we can go onto the Internet to find Julia Child’s old cooking shows. Take some time to watch how she puts together wonderfully tasty meals with simple, real ingredients in a way we can all understand. If cooking intimidates you or if you feel that good food is complicated, take a look at Julia, relax and get cooking!

If you’d like to learn “hands on” how to cook great, simple fish, join our Finleys’ Kitchen Cooking School on Friday, March 20, 2015 for a couples’ night out. Check out the Cooking School Schedule to register for the class. Hope to see you there!