My priceless friend and “soul sister” Wendy hates to cook. In fact, that’s really an insufficient term for it; Wendy loathes cooking, despises cooking, and swore in June (when her two Youth for Understanding exchange students went back home and she had her house to herself) that she would never, ever cook again. And yet, some vows simply can’t be honored no matter how sincerely they were made. Wendy found no alternatives to making dinner recently, and so she resorted to a quick meal of tilapia (which was on sale, and thus highly desirable) despite knowing that her son Cam, who was visiting, is a notoriously picky eater.

Jeremy will eat fish sticks, tuna, and Conor O’Neill’s Galway Bay Mussels -- that’s about the extent of it for anything that comes from the water. In fact, he dislikes fish so much that I use him as an arbiter for cooking contest entries: if I make anything with fish and Jeremy will actually eat it, I know I’ve got a chance! (In fact, a salmon salad I made with hummus was the filling for a sandwich which was named a semi-finalist in a 2007 Arnold Breads contest; and salmon poached in white grape juice and served with rice pilaf was a semi-finalist in the 2007 Simply Manischewitz Cook-Off. Jeremy’s taste buds are very discriminating, and should be trusted implicity!)

Anyway, Wendy resigned herself to the inevitable and made dinner that night, and was so proud to tell me what a huge success it was! She happily shared the recipe before I even had a chance to ask -- if this could get Cam to eat fish, then there was hope for Jeremy, too. So I gave Jeremy fair warning that he was going to be experimented upon, and he was ready for it; rather than the fear and loathing I’d expected, he actually went in with a positive attitude and expected to like it … not that it would have changed my plans if there had been reluctance, but cooperation is infinitely preferable.

This dish takes a whopping 15 minutes to make, from start-to-finish. Even if you can’t scramble eggs, you’ll be alright -- it’s that easy. I melted butter, coated the fish, stirred the sour cream, and then nuked everything. Jeremy looked at it, told me it smelled good, then plunged right in … and he loved it: “I think I like fish now!”

So, a most enthusiastic “muitos agradecimentos” (“thank you” in Portuguese) to Wendy for sharing this recipe. She recommends using plain yogurt instead of sour cream, but the latter is what I had on hand and what worked for Jeremy; so the choice is yours as to which you prefer ….

Wendy’s “Even Fish Haters Will Love This!” Tilapia

2 tablespoons butter, melted 1 lemon 1-1/2 teaspoons dried dill 1-1/2 pounds tilapia filets 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/3 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

Place the butter, juice from half the lemon, and 1/2 teaspoon of the dill into a 12”x7” glass baking dish, and stir to combine. One at a time, take the tilapia filets and coat both sides in the lemon butter; place into the baking dish. Sprinkle with the garlic powder, salt and pepper. Combine the sour cream, the juice of the remaining half lemon, and the remaining dill; spread over the fish to cover completely. Microwave on high for 10-15 minutes, until the tilapia flakes when tested with a fork.

Mary Bilyeu has won or placed in more than 60 cooking contests and writes about her adventures as she tries to win prizes, feeds hungry teenagers and other loved ones, and generally just has fun in the kitchen. The phrase "You Should Only Be Happy" (written in Hebrew on the stone pictured next to the blog's title) comes from Deuteronomy 16:15, and is a wish for all her readers as they cook along with her ... may you always be happy here!

You can contact Mary at yentamary@gmail.com.