Lent, seafood and my papa’s agua Chile

Lent is described as a 40 day remembrance period that honors the time that Jesus Christ spent fasting in the desert, in which he endured temptation by Satan. In commemoration of Christ’s fasting and sacrifice, Christians across the words observe lent by fasting, praying, giving up something they enjoy and eating a special diet for the duration of 40 days of lent. One of the traditions of lent is eating seafood. My family observes lent by fasting and praying on Fridays. Usually, my family fast during the early part of the day and offer their fast in prayer as a sacrifice before they serve and eat dinner. The menu on Fridays during lent usually consists of a seafood dish such as agua chiles, seafood cocktail, fried tilapia, and seafood soup. On the last day of lent my family would usually celebrate by going out for dinner at a seafood restaurant.
My husband’s family’s lent tradition is usually observed by not eating beef, chicken or pork on Fridays for the duration of lent. His family concludes by having a traditionally big seafood dinner that includes eating fish soup, but this soup is not just any fish soup. It is made from dried fish with id battered with flour, egg, spices and boiled in a broth. Other dishes served during the end of lent are paella and shrimp ceviche.
One of my childhood memories involves eating seafood with my father and uncles. Before my dad’s family became evangelical, they would often drink and to get rid of their hangover my father and uncles would cook different seafood dishes. One of my favorite dishes my father and uncle would prepare is agua chile. I decided to share this dish with the class for my presentation because it’s easy to prepare and does not need to be heated to serve.
The way my family usually prepares agua chiles for about 20 people is by using 5 pounds of washed, peeled and deveined shrimp, 2 cilantro, dicing 8 cucumbers into small pieces, 5-8 serrano peppers, slicing 4 red onions and squeezing 8 pounds of limes which will produce about one litter of lime juice. First, slice the shrimp in halves and place the shrimp in a large bowl. Then blend about 2 cups of lime juice with 5-8 serrano peppers, one cilantro, and one eight red onion. The consistency of the sauce should be watery. Add the sauce to the shrimp, add salt and pepper to taste. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes. Then remove from the refrigerator add the chopped onions, and cucumbers. Now it is ready to serve, serve the agua chiles with tortilla chips or saltine crackers. Enjoy!
Facts about shrimp:

· Over five billion pounds of shrimp are produced every single year and one billion pounds of shrimp are consumed in the United States each year.

· There are over 2,000 species of shrimps.
· They usually live from 1 to 7 years.
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Why do Shrimp, Salmon, and lobster turn pink or red? Well, Shrimp, Salmon, and lobster are some ocean creatures that when cooked change in color. All contain a protein called carotenoids (which are pigments), that breakdown when cooked and change pigment (huffpost.com).

Americans Consume One Billion Pounds Of Shrimp Annually

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