I love dining by candlelight.

Our families gathered for another “unplugged” meal prepared with as little input from fossil fuels as possible. Read about our first night here.
On the menu, ceviche! I’ve never made ceviche before but I have enjoyed it. On a trip to

Chile, Husband and I visited the vibrant fish market where vendors displayed trays of cups overflowing with shrimp, fish, and shellfish mixed with herbs and citrus juice, and pitchers of juice to pour over again once you bought your cup. It tasted amazing and it doesn’t get much fresher than that.

My ceviche (recipe here) wasn’t nearly as fresh or as diverse, but limited to the fish on hand at my local market, the bearded seafood peddler suggested rockfish for my ceviche. I had a short list of acceptable fish on my grocery list I had gleaned from the seafood watch. Rockfish was on it so I rolled with it. If I had to do it over again, I would have harassed the man a little more about where it was from and how it was caught and come to the counter armed with the free app available at www.seafoodwatch.org. As it was, I initiated a standoff to get him to put the damn fish in my provided Pyrex, and they have their own rating system and it was hailed a good choice too, (breathe!) so I reluctantly surrendered and hurried on.

I received collard greens in my Full Belly Farm CSA box that week, and they make a fantastic and sturdy wrap. Seriously, if you ever make Thai lettuce wraps or want a tortilla substitute, raw collard greens are the way to go.

Sarah offered to bring something and promised she had salad fixings on hand. Her greens came from her garden, and her baby arugula was to die for.

For dessert and in the spirit of unplugged, Lily hand-whipped some local cream to put atop some open-pint strawberries. Yum!

I turned down the thermostat, lit beeswax candles, and clicked on battery powered “candles” for the kids to play legos by… batteries that are rechargeable and charged by solar power.

It amazes me how so many aspects of our lives we rely upon gas and electricity. Taking one night out of many to appreciate the convenience of harnessed energy was an exercise in will, creativity, and patience. But breaking bread and facing the challenge together was also part of a fun evening with friends.

Have you tried going unplugged?