Freshwater seviche, pages 82-83

From Ann: The first time, maybe the only time, I've been around someone who ate seviche was in Costa Rica.  I was taking a college course on biodiversity. One of our instructors was studying bats in Central America. At the end of the course the class went out and she ordered seviche at a restuarant. Two main things I remember about the lady (obviously one of which is not her name). 1. She ate a cup full of raw fish in a foreign county. 2. She told me that in Peru, where she did most of her bat studies,  it was common for families to raise guinea pigs for meat while also sleeping with them in their beds for warmth.

Why is it I have always felt like I know what the world outside of Missouri is like when I'm so blown away by the actuality of it? Raw fish in cup. Snuggling with animals you will later eat. I'm sure I looked like Kramer from Seignfeld as he stumbles backwards in shock. What a sheltered, naive person I have been, am and likely will continue to be.

When my instructor ordered the seviche, IS THAT THE SAFEST CHOICE? was what was screaming in my head, like she'd ordered a cup of cocaine. And that was followed up with another obvious question in my mind. How could a cup of raw fish possibly be worth any sort of risk?

We took the boys camping and floating on the Current River this weekend and I was hoping to make the Cooking Wild's freshwater seviche recipe during our campout. We started by catching a nice sized large mouth bass in Fred's parents pond before we left to go camping. That pond is my new go-to place for getting fish. I woke up the morning we were leaving for our trip not feeling the greatest, however, and just could not bring myself make the seviche. So, we iced down the fish for when we got back.

The boys are now visiting grandparents for a few days so Fred and I have Columbia to ourselves. Perfect time to make seviche, because I was pretty sure it wasn't going to get thumbs up from the boys. Usually when the boys are away, Fred and I barely see the house. We're fully taking advantage of our time together at the movies, on the trail, and at restuarants. But, this week Fred has a miserable cold, so we're trying to make the best of it at home. So, renting a movie and seviche at home it is.

Which finally brings me to the recipe. If you want to know it was GREAT. This seviche recipe actually calls for a quick cooking method for the fish, which I'd never heard of. I thought if I was going to eat seviche it would have to be raw. I guess it's kind of like sushi in that way in that the fish is usually, but now always, raw. I have to say, for my first try at seviche, this did make me feel a lot more comfortable. What a fabulous, fresh, zesty way to serve up a bass,  bluegill or crappie from Missouri.