I recently recreated a beloved recipe from 2012 – yes I know I have had a blog for almost ten years and posted less than 100 articles but I am working on that. At any rate, I had a craving for some fresh ceviche but seeing as it is the winter which makes finding a boat difficult, and the fact that I recently spent an entire month of my salary on a trip to Miami I wanted to keep this low budget.  So, I settled on salmon from Wegmans which is always fresh and wallet friendly. The original recipe and post are as follows.

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Fish stories are like tall tales or men and their ya know … parts.  Men just love to run around talking about how big it is, even the smallest fish somehow becomes a whale after the story is finished.  Maybe it’s an ego thing who knows.  But, after 24 years of fishing in the big blue I have come to find that it really doesn’t matter how big a fish is, in fact sometimes the small ones taste better.  I have caught all kinds of fish, big and small, as well as other creatures that live under the sea (though I have yet to catch a sponge that lives in a pineapple).  My favorite thing in the summer is get up at the butt crack of dawn and head out to the ocean on the Van Arsdalen family vessel, the legendary “Reel Daze”.  Why the butt crack of dawn you ask, because my grandfather does not believe leaving after the sun comes up; why I will never know.  However, nothing tastes better than catching your fish in the morning and eating it that night.  Yes, I’m aware I’m spoiled, but can you blame me.

Being a born and raised fisher-girl I have had fish in just about every way possible. So I decided that I would share my insider knowledge with the world, even those people that I like to laugh at for freaking out when a crab comes near them.  Periodically I will post some of my favorite recipes for you to try at home. Yes, seafood can get expensive but if you get it yourself it’s pretty much free.  However, if you’re a chummer like my mom I suggest avoiding the open sea and trying a small local fish market.  They tend to be less expensive than buying it at the food store, and in my experience have better product. If you buy a fish whole and filet it yourself it’s even cheaper.  Still, I strongly recommend catching it yourself.  Not only do you get a sense of accomplishment, but there is nothing as good as fresh caught fish.

On my last haul I caught two bass, and I would like to point out that I was the only person who caught anything (insert victory dance here)! This was especially exciting because my culinary ambitiousness was pushing me to make my own ceviche.  I love having it in restaurants, but its hefty price tag starts to wear on your wallet after a while.  Not only that but I figured the fish can’t get much fresher then catching it yourself; maybe if you eat it on the boat like me, but in my defense I was three and there was a fish in my hand; it seemed like the logical thing to do.  Anyway, the ceviche turned out to be fabulous and thus it is my first recipe in the fish stories book. I hope they inspire you to boatly go where no man has gone before!

Simple Ceviche

2 cups of fresh Bass – Cleaned and cubed

1 lime juiced

½ a lemon juices

Squeeze of orange juice

½ tsp red pepper flakes

Handful of cilantro- Finely chopped

4 basil leaves- sliced thin

Salt and pepper to taste

Keep you wallets full and your mouths happy!

<3 DD