My husband and I are doing some serious gardening this year. Serious for us, anyway.

If the weather ever warms up, we will enjoy sunflowers and fresh herbs, Brussels sprouts and scallions, peas, carrots, beets, cukes, peppers and a variety of summer and winter squash, all from our own backyard.

My husband built a rugged army of raised beds, which we dug into the ground and filled with about half compost and half dirt. The dirt was a byproduct of various digging projects over the years. We'd stacked it in an ever-expanding pile in the backyard. To prepare it for the beds, we screened it of any rocks via a lot of shoveling and a standing grate contraption, which apparently is on long term loan from a similarly inclined do-it-yourselfer friend. Did I mention that there's been a lot of shoveling? A lot.

If my husband could own and operate his very own gravel pit, he would be a happy boss man, indeed.

As you may imagine, after working like a rented mule all day, cooking dinner is the last thing on my mind. I just want to eat. I want to eat anything that I can find that doesn't require much effort from me.

That's why I love having these tasty little fish cakes in the freezer.

When I was a kid, my mom served fish for dinner every Friday night, usually sticks or cakes from the grocery store freezer section. I loved the sticks but the cakes were nasty, grainy, mushy things that tasted like 1vaguely fishy cardboard with the texture of a mashed potato patty that had been breaded and baked. Blech.

Those cakes of old have absolutely nothing in common with the ones that result from this recipe. These are full of flavor, zippy from the mustard, and fresh and tart from the parsley and lemon juice. And they're predominately fish, with just enough breadcrumbs and egg to barely hold them together. Barely. The resulting mixture is very loose and needs to be handled gently and quickly.

Keep the cakes small, about 2½ or 3 inches across. I portion out the mixture using my hands but form the patties on a plate or baking sheet that I will put into the freezer, uncovered, until each cake is fully and separately frozen.

The cakes are very delicious when cooked fresh, but equally so later, when thawed or cooked frozen. We enjoy them wrapped in a tortilla with some tartar sauce and coleslaw — 1½ cakes are a perfect fit. We like some roasted sweet potato fries on the side, which will be ready in about the same time if you cut them thin and cook the accompanying fish cakes frozen.

Although I have used a bit of onion or shallot in this recipe when I haven't had any scallions, I otherwise stick to the listed ingredients. Don't skip the fresh lemon juice or the fresh parsley. They really brighten things up.

Enjoy!

Jill Blanchette is the multiplatform production editor at The Day. Share comments and recipes with her at j.blanchette@theday.com.

Lemon Parsley Fish Cakes

1 pound fresh cod fillet

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large egg, lightly beaten

¼ cup thinly sliced scallions

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

6 tablespoons breadcrumbs (preferably fresh)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

3 dashes hot sauce

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put cod in a baking dish. Feel free to cut filet in half or thirds to make it fit nicely in dish. Rub the fish with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and roast it in the oven until just cooked through, 10-15 minutes. Let the fish cool completely, then pat it dry with paper towels and flake with a fork.

In a large bowl, combine cod pieces, egg, scallions, mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, breadcrumbs, parsley, hot sauce, 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Mix, being very gentle, until the ingredients just hold together.

Form the mixture into 8 equal-size patties. At this point, you may freeze them on a plate or baking sheet until firm, then store them in a zip-top freezer bag.

To serve the cakes, you may thaw them first or cook them frozen. For thawed or fresh cakes, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the cakes until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. For frozen cakes, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Put the frozen cakes into the oil and let them be for 5-10 minutes, until the cakes are thawed. Turn the heat up to medium and let the cakes brown for 1 minute. Flip and brown the other side.

Recipe from "Everyday Food" magazine, September 2003.