Beer Battered Fish For Your Bigly Battered Brain

Do you find yourself, sometimes, having difficulty keeping track of things? Things like, oh, which Trump associates were in contact with which Russian oligarchs? Are you sometimes confused about the timeline in which events occurred, like which scandal broke first, or whether Spicey Sphincter projected something on the Democrats before or after we knew Trump's people had done it? On occasion, do you catch yourself questioning what year it is, muttering about how you wish 1985 would just hurry up andget herealready?

You're not alone, friend! And you can stop hitting up WebMD for info on early onset Alzheimer's - you aren't slipping into dementia yet. Probably not, anyway. Not a doctor, would have to examine in person even if I was, blah blah blah.

Most likely, you're simply suffering the effects of gaslighting. It's a favorite tactic of abusers of all kinds, and the Trumpenfuehrer has turned it into an art form. This will be a refresher for most of us, but let's take a minute to talk about what, exactly, "gaslighting" is. It's important. It will be on the test, and you're taking the testright now.

According to Wikipedia *, gaslighting is:

a form of manipulation that seeks to sow seeds of doubt in a targeted individual or members of a group, hoping to make targets question their own memory, perception, and sanity. Using persistent denial, misdirection, contradiction, and lying, it attempts to destabilize the target and delegitimize the target's belief.

Instances may range from the denial by an abuser that previous abusive incidents ever occurred up to the staging of bizarre events by the abuser with the intention of disorienting the victim. The term owes its origin to Gas Light, a 1938 play and 1944 film. It has been used in clinical and research literature.

This is a crude version of brainwashing, but it isveryeffective, if it goes on long enough. Ask damn near any person who's been in an abusive relationship.

So, what can you do do to defend against this insidious attack? Psychology Today has a 12 point checklist to use in deciding if you're in an abusive relationship, along with suggestions on how to defend against them. Wanna guess how many points Don the Con's behavior checks off? Those of you who answered, "AOT,K" are very prescient!

Their suggestions for combating this mind control attack boil down to one thing: never stop thinking critically. Reality can be documented. Reality can be factchecked. Reality can be proven. It takes a strong mind to battle against a flood of misinformation.

Which brings us to the reason for today's post: food. Remember food? It's a post about food.

Fish has long had a reputation as "brain food," and we aren't going to look into whether or not that rep is legitimate or Fake News today. We ain't care, either way! Fish is good. Beer is good. An excuse to combine them? How can it NOT be good?

Today we make:

Beer Battered Fish

Good for both your belly and your brain.

Appropriate drinkage: Um. Beer?

Difficulty level: 2/10 Just make sure you keep all appendages out of the oil.

Time: 5 minutes prep, 5 minutes cooking. 10 minutes total.

Serves 4 - 8

WHAT YOU NEED!

Ingredientses.

• 8 Fish Fillets

• 1 cup flour for batter, PLUS

• 1/4 cup flour for dusting

• 1 cup Beer (nota dark beer)

• 1 Tsp Garlic Powder

• 1 Tsp Onion Powder

• 1/2 Tsp Salt

• 1/2 Tsp Pepper

• 1/4 Tsp Paprika

• 1/4 Tsp Chipotle Chili powder (or Cayenne Pepper) or; 3 -5 drops Green Chili Tabasco Sauce

WHAT TO DO WITH WHAT YOU NEED!

• Mix all ingredients except fish and flour for dusting with a whisk until smooth.

• Pour at least 2 inches of vegetable oil in fryer or other cooking vessel. Heat vegetable oil to 375 or just beginning to smoke.

• Pat fish dry with paper towels>,/li>

• Dust fish with reserved flour.

• Dip fish in batter, immediately place in hot oil. DO NOT CROWD. Work in batches.

• Cook until golden brown and crunchy. Drain on paper towel.

The classic combo would be fish, fries and hushpuppies, but you do you! We did whipped potatoes and asparagus. LOL. Accessorize the fish with tartar sauce, lemon juice and/or malted vinegar. And another beer.

*Yeah, yeah. "Not a credible source," yadda yadda. It's a Mommyblog Recipehub post, fer chrissake, not a dissertation!

[ Wikipedia | Psychology Today ]

 You know what else would be good? Giving Wonkette some moneez! All you gotta do is clickie click the thing just below this. You can do it!