A Georgia Girl in Germany

MacKenzie really enjoys the field trips she gets to go on with her Summer Camp program. They go just about everywhere from amusement parks and the bowling alley, to a skate park and a nursery. Wednesday, they went fishing.

I thought for sure she’d enjoy the fishing adventure, and she definitely did! When I picked her up at the end of the day, she insisted on showing me the fish that the group had caught. For some reason, I thought they’d do “catch and release” all day. Nope. There in the kitchen was a cooler chock-full of freshly-caught fish on ice. Next thing I knew, she was being handed a bag with two fish! Yes, she caught two fish, although they were all grouped together, so she didn’t necessarily bring home the two exact ones she caught. She explained how she needed help casting the line, but that it didn’t take her long to catch them. She also explained that she had to “hit them on the head” to kill them once they were caught, otherwise they’d squirm too much...and to put them "out of their misery" (even though fish can't feel pain). Definitely not a girly-girl trait there!

Fortunately, one of the counselors had already gutted the fish. I’m not sure what species they were -- perhaps rainbow trout. As the reality of what I was about to bring home sank in, the counselor asked me if I knew how to scale them. Um, no! (All I could think of was how Grandpa Walker would catch a slew of catfish from one of his water holes and bring them home for Granny to gut, prepare and fry -- and how she didn’t particularly relish doing so!) Thank heavens for internet Google searches to help educate me on these things!

When we returned home, fish in hand (actually, in the bag), and Zachary saw MacKenzie’s bounty, he ran to his room and hurried out with one of his Boy Scout knives -- with the fish-scaler apparatus out and ready to use. He readily agreed to scale the fish, which then piqued MacKenzie’s interest -- so he retrieved a second fish-scaler-equipped knife for her to use. They were soon outside on the front steps, scaling away.

Yes, this was the typical look on MacKenzie’s face as she scaled her fish. She and Zachary even swapped fish when they were done so they could check each other’s work. They both did great – so great that at this point in time I had still not touched either of the fish! However, I soon had to chop off the heads and fins to get them ready to cook.

Here are "Bob and Joey" battered and frying. I'm not sure why MacKenzie decided to name them, but she did. Fortunately, it didn't stop her from eating them.

Of note, I had actually managed to plan our meals so Zachary and MacKenzie could help empty our freezer before they depart for the states on Friday. Alas, these two fish threw a wrench in my menu-planning. So, I cooked pork tenderloin AND fresh fish for supper tonight. Surprisingly, she and Zachary opted for eating fish instead of tenderloin, which means I now have leftover tenderloin to last me over the weekend as I prepare for the movers to arrive on Monday. Yup, Bob and Joey are gone, and Zachary and MacKenzie enjoyed devouring them.

Labels: Cooking, MacKenzie, Zachary