1 heh. Of course. You remembered the alcohol.

2 I don't like asparagus. But you did get the martini right.

3 As a recovering papist, Fridays always meant fish. Most of the time, that meant fish sticks. I'd have a white wine, not the martini.

4 I would prefer you go with complete proteins for main meals unless you're going with a fortified gin. Otherwise, carry on.

5 Dad was Irish/Catholic and Mom was Jewish - so l speak with some authority of the concept of "guilt". (Our family motto: "Guilt is Good!") That said, as a practicing Catholic (will I ever get it right?) Allow me to congratilate your Lenten dinner choices! I hope you garnished that martini correctly with two olives or three cocktail onions!! We could increase your verggie count on the new food pyramid with those additions!!

6 Well, D--I had a snack earlier in the evening at my mother's place that contained plenty of tofu. And her idea of a snack is my idea of a meal. Mighty--It was a dirty martini, and all I have on hand are small olives, so I put a few in a little Japanese teacup and ate them with a toothpick as I drank. And I got all my guilt from my Methodist upbringing. Protestant guilt is so underappreciated

7 I wouldn't have the martini, but that's what the parents always had. When mom comes for dinner (a couple of times a month), I always offer the glass of ice and the Tanqueray, and she always enjoys it.

8 Obviously not a Wisconsin girl where Fridays are all about the fish fry and cold beer.

9 Ick. Seafood. Hey--is there any truth in the story that fish on Fridays was originated to assist the seafood industry, and if so did that occur here, or in Ireland? (Yeah--I could use Wikipedia, or a search engine. But what fun is that?)

10 It's tradition, but you could get stick with the potato pancakes.

11 You can't fool me; potato pancakes are Jewish! (And yummy, too.)

12 This speaks for itself... http://j-walkblog.com/index.php?/weblog/comments/muskrat_dispensation/

13 People like to invoke conspiracies, don't they. The best explanation I heard is that 1st Century Jews fasted on Mondays and Thursdays. There is a passage in the Gospel about John the Baptist's followers questioning Jesus over not observing those fasts, as practiced by the Pharisees and even JtB's followers. Jesus told them the time will come for the fast after the Bridegroom is taken. Those who converted to Christianity shifted that to Wednesdays and Fridays to commemorate Judas arranging Jesus' arrest on Wednesday and his Crucifixion on a Friday. That explains the fasting. Since meat was a rich man's food, requiring sizable amounts of land for raising animals or money to purchase the meat, simpler foods were substituted for the premium fare. Anyone can fish a stream or river, and forage for fruit and such. I am looking into Nancy Pelosi's role in the matter, particularly in American Samoa.

14 I wouldn't have paid any attention, but I heard the notion from my mother, who doesn't usually buy into conspiracy theories. Anyway, it's healthy to have one day a week when one eats veggie or sticks with fish--the fish is particularly healthy, with the Omega-3s and whatnot. I have to be careful about actual fasting, though: I once tried to go to Stations of the Cross on an empty stomach, and nearly fainted. Low blood sugar isn't spiritual; it's stupid.

15 I'm a lurker and I'm coming out of the woodwork to say: the word "papist" isn't funny, it's a term used for centuries by bigots of all stripes to denigrate us and spread the eternal lie that Catholics worship the Pope. Please, don't use that word, not even as a joke. ::Retreating back into woodwork now. =):::