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Going back to my childhood, I can remember that most of our dinners started with chicken soup, except for the nights we had a dairy dinner. (Supper, we called it, in those days). There was chicken soup with noodles or chicken soup and rice, or soup with kasha, soup and matzah balls and so on.

Momma never ate meat, but once a week she prepared a meat dinner for the rest of us and that was a treat. Momma did eat chicken or fish and both had to be fresh. She would pick out her chicken and it was killed and cleaned for her.

The fish was a different story, as she would buy it alive the day before she needed it. She would then fill the bathtub and put the fish in it.

When we kids came home from school on Thursday afternoon, we found the fish swimming merrily around.

What excitement for us! We had a pet. We would name it and watch it swim all evening. We also didn't get to take a bath Thursday nights, as the tub was taken.

When we came home Friday, we ran to the bathroom, but to our disappointment, the tub was clean. No fish.

Every week Momma had another excuse about where the fish went. Months later we found out we had eaten our pets.