Social Workers Bring the Best Gifts

One of my most distinguishing characteristics is that I am the sole birth child in a sea of 38 adopted children. We all share the same mom. I am the token white kid, and thus really stand out, in kind of an odd way, in our family photos. About 10 or so years ago, when there were maybe only 11 of us, a friend of mine saw our then-current family photo, cocked her head to the side, and said "I didn't know you were adopted Sarah."

I didn't have the heart to tell her I wasn't. The story is just too complicated for most people to wrap their heads around anyway.

For the majority of my siblings, social workers cause great stress. To me though, social workers are a lot like Santa Claus. Everytime they show up, they bring me more brothers and sisters. So while all mom's other kids get in a tizzy every time a social worker shows up (which is often), I'm all smiles. Recently, mom adopted children who are roughly the same age as my own child. Now, not only is Odd Toddler thrilled to have playmates, but he can take my place as The White Kid in the pictures.

Pam, the sweet social worker from Texas who took care of my incredibly charming yet quite difficult brother Joey for a number of years, recently sent a recipe to me, care of my mom. Since in my experience, only good things come from social workers, I couldn't wait to try the recipe and I'm tickled to say I wasn't disappointed. While the finished product didn't smile at me and interject love into my life, it did provide a wonderful meal that was enjoyed equally by Odd Toddler, The Carnivore and myself.

I only recently started eating fish again after a short hiatus, and since I've never really cooked much of it myself, I'm having a lot of fun trying out different techniques. Last Friday I cooked tilapia for the first time and was under-impressed by the recipe I used. Last night, I tried again, using Pam's recipe, and I was thrilled not only with the strong flavors from the herb blend, but also with the texture which came out firm and a little crispy.

PAM'S TEXAS TILAPIA

• Two mid-sized fresh Tilapia filets
• Steak seasoning (I used Emeril's Steak Rub)
• Flour
• 2 Tbs Olive Oil
• Tbs Butter
• 2 wedges of fresh lemon

1. Sprinkle steak seasoning on both sides of the fillets.
2. Dip the fillets in flour and shake off the excess.
3. Melt butter, with the olive oil, in a cast iron skillet over medium heat.
4. Pan fry the fillets for about 3 minutes on each side.
5. Serve with lemon.

Thanks Pam. For the recipe and the new siblings.