Another Zero

I've had enough of Heilman. He goes to the Zeros list!

Peruvian Gastronomy. Offseason Edition.

So this past July was my best fishing season ever. Bass were as sexy and abundant as ever, and I was bringing them in like there was no tomorrow. Not to mention that I had the best time with my father and brother-in-law. I mean, we just didn't want to leave Black Lake .

My father in-law was gracious enough to fillet some of the crappies, blue gills and bass we caught. He's the best.

The fillets have been in the freezer for over two months now and I think it was time for me to make a meal out of them.

I started with Ceviche. A dish that no peruvian can live without.

To make a quick version of Ceviche you need:

Raw fish chopped in pieces. 1/2 in squares should do just fine.

Lemon juice (3-4 Lemons).

Hot peppers. I used habaneros today. Careful, don't put your hands on your face after cleaning or chopping the peppers. You think the Mets collapse was paiful, you don't know the half of it.

Chopped fresh parsley.

Thinly sliced red onions.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Now all you have to do is mix up the ingredients and let it sit for a few minutes.

A more traditional Ceviche will have peeled boiled potatoes and sweet potatoes sliced in half. Corn on the cob and a side of warm white rice.

If you are freaking out about eating raw fish, don't worry the lemon juice will cook the fish. Just like the Marlins cooked the Mets. Easy.

Well, the ceviche was done and it looked good but I had 2lbs of fish left.

Fish fry anyone?

Do I have to explain how to do that?

Okay...

First.

Make sure the fish is nice and clean.

B.

Get some foil aluminum paper, you know the type the foils like Glavine. Spread some seasoned bread crumbs on it. Place fillets on bread crumbs and start frying my friend.

and finally, D.

Eat up and share.

Buen apetito!

Will give blood for tickets

Game # 5

Mets v. Phillies April 11, 2007

So after donating some blood for the Red Cross we got free tickets to see the Mets. A bunch of coworkers from the P.O. took a trip to Flushing.

Oliver Perez imploded for like 6 walks in a row I think. The only good thing that night was the Hot Dogs, beer and company.

2 hour delay+ el duque= win

Mets v Astros

July 22 2006

My fourth game.

It was an experience to wait for a couple of hours due to a rain delay. The two hours went by fairly quickly, I think that looking at all the orange seats helps a little bit. It's almost like getting lost when you look at the ocean. So beautiful, exciting and full of surprises. El Duque was wonderful of course and Nady had 3 RBI's.

I took my wife and my father in law this time. It was the first time my wife and I had been to a game together. It was the ultimate date.

You are not going anywhere with that t-shirt on..

It took me a few years until I attended my next game. This time I would take my father in law. Now picture this, my father in law is a wonderful man from Schoharie County (Schoharie is a farming community about one hour west of Catskill). It was my father in law first time in NYC since, well let's just say he was nervous about getting in the subway. We took amtrak from Poughkeesie to Penn Station and from there we took the subway. Now, I figured I ask someone where the nearest subway was. So I pick one of the Taxi officials right outside Penn, the guy looks at me and my met t-shirt and says; you are not going anywhere with that t-shirt on... everyone bursted out laughing......turns out the guy was a NY Yankee fan, what a surprise. Like a true New Yorker though, he put his baseball bias aside and helped us go in the right direction.

Anyway, we get there with a huge smile on our faces. Thinking about the hot dogs, the cold beverages and of course, baseball. We got to see David Wright's first major league hit. Watching Reyes and Wright was such a thrill. It felt like we actually had something solid for years to come.

Despite the Mets loosing to the Expos, we enjoy every bit of the experience. I think my father in law was in heaven. It was a great day for bonding I guess.

Unfortunately, I lost all pictures from this game. But I managed to dig a picture of David's first hit, a double off Zach Day of the Expos.

Ditching soccer for baseball (if my father only new).

After being told that I looked like Bobby Bo in 1991, I started ditching my soccer heritage and followed baseball more and more. I used to work at an Italian Deli in Orange, NJ and thanks to the owners, a couple of Italian brothers who used to follow the Mets closely, I came to know the misery and joy of being a Met fan. There's nothing like it, really. The first nine years I just listened to them on WFAN and follow them on WPIX....I think Seaver was still calling the games.



Then 2000 comes around and I'm now living in upstate NY. A friend of mine who happened to be a met fan had an extra ticket to the Mets v
Cards, great seats too. I remember it clearly, it was Bordick's first game, Piazza hit a home run and the Mets won it. Rick Reed was the starting pitcher, Ventura was on third, Bordick was at short, Alfonso at second and Zeile on first. Other than getting lost on our way in and out of Shea, it was an excellent day.



When Piazza hit a home run, I felt like the Peruvian National Soccer Team had scored on Argentina in the world cup. Of course, by now soccer is a thing of the past for me, the combination on not playing soccer anymore and leaving my soccer playing friends in NJ just killed any desire I had to follow it anymore, I didn't go out of my way for it. This is were I gained by subtracting I guess.




My next game wouldn't be until 2004. Let's just say that work, marriage, house and baby were priorities. But my loyalty kept growing by the season.





Me and my little met fan.
She's old enough now to know
that Beltran wears number 15 :-)

Go Mets!