Health and Fitness News

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Welcome to the Stars Hollow Gazette‘s Health and Fitness News weekly diary. It will publish on Saturday afternoon and be open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.

Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.

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What To Cook

Tuesday is Christmas. So by now everyone most likely has their meal planned. But, what about Christmas Eve? Italian-Americans have a tradition of eating fish which. most likely, evolved from the Roman Catholic tradition of not eating meat the day before a holy day. They call it the “Feast of Seven Fishes” where there are seven different seafood dishes served. In Italy, it’s called La Vigilia, The Vigil, commemorating wait for the birth of Jesus. According to Wikipedia, it’s not clear where or when the term “Feast of the Seven Fishes” originated:

The meal may include seven, eight, or even nine specific fishes that are considered traditional. However, some Italian-American families have been known to celebrate with nine, eleven or thirteen different seafood dishes. “Seven” fishes as a fixed concept or name is unknown in Italy itself. In some of the oldest Italian American families, there was no count of the number of fish dishes. Dinner began with whiting in lemon, followed by some version of clams or mussels in spaghetti, baccalà and onward to any number of other fish dishes without number. Some have suggested that the idea of “seven” fishes originated in restaurants.

The most famous dish for Southern Italians is baccalà (salted cod fish). The custom of celebrating with a simple fish such as baccalà reflects customs in what were historically impoverished regions of Southern Italy, as well as seasonal factors. Fried smelts, calamari and other types of seafood have been incorporated into the Christmas Eve dinner over the years.

If you have a big family or lots of friends over for Christmas Eve, The Feast of The Seven Fishes can be a problem solver for what to cook. There are fifty one suggested recipes to choose from at Epicurious. Here are just a few:

Clam Toasts with Pancetta

Shellfish and pork are a power duo. The salty-sweet pancetta soffritto is the backbone of this clam toast.

Cioppino Seafood Stew with Gremolata Toasts

Feel free to experiment with your favorite seafood in this classic San Franciscan fisherman’s stew. And don’t forget to use the toasts slathered with zippy gremolata butter to soak up the flavorful broth. Bonus: This stew is great for entertaining since you can make the base a day in advance.

Lobster Fra Diavolo

To keep lobsters alive in your fridge for up to one day, pack in damp newspaper. You can substitute eight frozen tails; sear per recipe method, then use the meat from four in place of the knuckles and claws, and split the others for serving.

Crab Toast with Lemon Aioli

This dish is only as good as the crab it’s made with; buy the freshest you can find.

Seafood en Brodo with Tarragon Pesto

Most fish markets will sell you the bones you need to make the rich broth, but avoid those from oily fish like mackerel or bluefish, which will overpower the stew’s flavor.

Rock Shrimp Pasta with Spicy Tomato Sauce

A flavorful tomato sauce that’s a cinch to make and rock shrimp that come already peeled mean a weeknight dinner recipe has never been so easy—or delicious.

Charred Asparagus with Citrus Bagna Cauda