PEORIA MAGAZINE June 2023

Fishing the Illinois River has been a thing for as long as Illinois has existed, indeed longer. I see no reason to stop now. I’ll get to my point. Where’s my Asian carp? Supposedly they’re everywhere and edible. But it’s assumed nobody wants them, so hardly anybody serves them, so hardly anybody has tried them, so hardly anybody can order them, which proves nobody wants them … In the last piece I wrote for Peoria Magazine , I brought up someone suf fering from dizziness. I should have asked if he got dizzy after listening to the circular illogic around our local fish. THERE ARE PARTS OF CHINA WHERE THEY EAT SO MUCH CARP THAT THERE ARE QUOTAS There’s a theory out there that the issue is the name, and that we shouldn’t be calling it Asian carp anymore. It’s Copi now. I have my doubts that people

are that superficial, but fine. More important is the substance, cooking this thing up and serving it in a readily available, delicious way. In the Ashkenazi Jewish tradition, there is a dish called gefilte fish. It’s ground white fish poached and served with carrot and horseradish. No sear ing, no Maillard reaction, and no bones. Besides carrots and horseradish, tur nips have the texture and taste of a radish. A ground white fish dish of the shtetl, redone with central Illinois in gredients: It's a $10 million idea and it's my gift to any taker. All I want is to try it. There are parts of China where they eat so much carp that there are quotas on the overfishing of these flying, potentially concussion-causing jerks of the river. Covered in corn starch, shallow fried, and dipped in a sauce of light soy, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, sambal and honey, with green onion to garnish. Hook that up. Alas, instead of fresh, local food we get the same frozen, cheap-to

transport stuff as everywhere else. I’m a doctor who specializes in obe sity. I also cook for a hobby and have a passing understanding on the subject, on why it’s nutritious — or not — and how to make it taste good. I spend a lot of time talking to people about their diets and teaching them how to cook. Talking about food is the most fun I have as a doctor. But I will invariably get asked, “So what do I do when I’m hungry and don’t have time to cook? Where can I go, in a hurry, to avoid all the overly processed stuff?” It’s a good question. I ask it myself all the time. Here's the best, most honest answer I can come up with: Nowhere.

David Tennant, M.D. , is a family medicine physician who specializes in obesity management. He also is the attending physician at the Obesity/Healthy Living Clinic at Carle Health Proctor. He lives in Trivoli

BE WATER WISE

ONLY WATER WHEN NEEDED. Depending on the weather or type of plants/turf, you may find you only need to water once or twice per week. WATER EARLY OR LATE IN THE DAY. Water when the sun is low to minimize evaporation. WATCH WHAT YOU’RE WATERING. Check sprinkler heads to be sure they’re not wasting water on paved areas. Reduce run times for shaded areas.

For more tips, go to illinoisamwater.com > Water & Wastewater Information > Wise Water Use .

JUNE 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE 87