Lent means turtle soup. And letting yourself down.

Ash Wednesday

Today Christians of sundry description begin a period of reflection and austerity called Lent. And what does that mean for me? The lapsed Catholic? It’s basically New Years, but due to self-imposed dietary restrictions there is no meat on the menu. Kind of. A lot of oddities have been included in the “not meat for purposes of fasting” category: fish, beaver tail, capybara, alligator, shellfish, frog legs and turtle. And it’s a good thing, because turtle soup is delicious and fish frys are lame.