What do mandarins and fish fries have in common?

Absolutely nothing.

Aside from being a touch time-consuming to peel all those little oranges, canning clementines was a neat little project. Inspired by Marisa's recipe over here at Food in Jars, I bought a five-pound box of clems at HyVee and set to work with Tracy Bonham and Laura Veirs to accompany me. I adjusted the simple syrup to one cup of sugar to six cups of water and that was plenty sweet-- next time I'll try paring it down even further to 3/4 cup, like Marisa did. All things considered, I was quite pleased with the result.

Five beautiful jars crammed full of mandarins! I gave one to my mother-in-law for her birthday and she must have liked them, because I got the jar back only a few weeks later. I gave another to Jason and Rebecca and they promptly invented a slew of cocktails in which to drop the little slices.

Verdict? SUCCESS. Whatever shall I make for March?

On Friday, I FINALLY got to attend one of my most favorite series of events of the year, the Holy Name Fish Fry. (That is a Facebook page and may not show.) This amazingness puts you through the ringer with a long-ass line and this year's trademark cold-ass weather matched only by the coldness of the beer, but the end result of a happy, heady buzz and crisp-hot, juicy fish are soooo worth it.

We go again this Friday!

I have more blog material but little time and have to hit the books....or book....and later tonight it will be a Sookie Stackhouse book. BUT FIRST THE OTHER BOOK. QUIT TEMPTING ME, SOOKIE!

Jeesh, I am great at updating this thing, aren't I?

So the Magnusons haven't been doing much of anything exciting, which is one reason why this blog is sooo dead! I have been studying for my Series 4 exam for work (options strategies and blah di blah) and it's a rather grueling process. Eric has been sick with what appeared to be salmonella, then we figured out was a crazy violent flu virus, then that regressed into a cold, and now it's bronchitis. Delicious. We've made some progress in the kitchen but I'd prefer to take pictures of it when the pretty morning light is shining--I'll post those sometime soon.

In the meantime, here are pics of our traditional Lenten Friday night jaunts at the Holy Name Fish Fry. Eric inducted me into this giant club of rabid fish fans when we started dating nearly ten years ago (holy carp). This fry is the most popular one in Omaha, often serving over 2000 dinners each Friday, and represents my absolute favorite time of year. It's so great I've never even been to another fish fry. What could top this?? I NEVER have more fun than I do at fish fry time!



Here is the entrance to the moderately crowded entrance to the main hallway underground. In nice weather, this line usually stretches over at least a couple city blocks. Our line last Friday wrapped around the building and doubled up in the parking lot. It's one of the best parts though! Hanging out in line with some of your family, best friends and a cooler of drinks is a fabulous time, and if it takes a couple hours, it's a couple hours definitely well-spent.

Once underground, the church provides each thirsty adult with two free cups of beer from strategically placed stations.






We run into people with whom we haven't been able to catch up in a long time--and sometimes we run into people we only ever see at the yearly fry.



It's crazy and crowded, your clothes hold the fish fry stank until you wash them (and sometimes the reek still perseveres), the fish is hot, crispy and juicy, and the beer is cold and perfect.



It is an excellent way to start the weekend.