Higgins Bend Song and Dance (and a recipe)
/A new fishing pier just opened in our neighborhood. We haven't caught anything (yet), but it's definitely a favorite desitination. It was fun to go down there recently and read a favorite fish tale, Higgins Bend Song and Dance.
Higgins Bend Song and Dance is the silly story of outlandish efforts to catch an elusive catfish. The illustrations are big and boisterous and so is the story. It's the kind of book that would have bothered me when I was little because it is so not-true. But it delights my children because, well, I don't know why. What makes a child better equipped to enjoy flights of fancy?
Our fishing pier is on a lake, so we didn't go all out and do river things. But we did talk about the critters who live near our lake. I printed this picture of a great blue heron (our are pretty fabulous) and then read at this site. I clicked on anatomy and showed them the picture and asked them to label their coloring sheets.
We talked about catfish, cheat sheet here. And then we tried our hands at drawing them. Drawings were watercolored. My intention was to do the actual watercoloring on the pier and use lake water, but it was too windy.
Finally, we made up our own tall tales. Again, the children are much better at that then I am. I think I struggle with willful suspension of disbelief.
That's about it for this book, here. Higgins Bend Song and Dance is a Five in a Row selection, so I'm sure there are all kinds of ideas out there if you want to make a whole week of it. We just did our little afternoon and then responded affirmatively to incessant requests for it at bedtime recently.
And I see a lot of fishing in my summertime future.
Since I didn't get to a recipe earlier this week, how about fish now?
Baked Fish with Lemon and Capers
- 8 tilapia fillets
- 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons butter, melted (we've discovered Kerrygold butter, oh my!)
- 3 or 4 cloves garlic , finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley flakes
- 2 Tablespoons capers
- a generous dash of white wine, if you like
- pepper to taste
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease the pan with olive oil.
- Rinse tilapia filets under cool water, and pat dry with paper towels.
- Place fillets in baking dish. Pour lemon juice over fillets, then drizzle butter on top. Sprinkle with garlic, parsley, capers, wine, and pepper.
- Bake until the fish is white and flakes when pulled apart with a fork, about 30 minutes.
I'm serving with roasted asparagus and a big salad.
