Vodka and Ouzo

I fished last Sunday. Expecting one thing only
to come up with another.

For example, Gabe was supposed to meet me
at 6am. With one-too-many drinks still inside him
from the night before, he's a no-show. But, I
see old kayaking buddies on the beach. Brian and Vitale.

Since Brian caught a nice YT a couple of days prior, he high
tails it without much chit chat. Leaving me with Vitale.

I met Vitale almost 10yrs ago. Back then, he was a tourist
bugging me at the launch. With his thick Russian accent,
he asked the typical questions. But, little did I know, with
a little push from me, he turns into a full-on kayak fishing foul,
just like the rest of us.

Thru the years, I ran into Vitale from time-to-time. I never really got
to know him. Until Sunday. Sunday's fishing was snotty due to SWesterly windy weather.
But that didn't deter the non-stop conversations between us.

What do expect when you put a Russian and Greek together hungry for fish?

Vitale is a Mechanical Engineering Professor at UCSD who mostly catches fish thru trail and error.
I'm a chemical engineer, who catches fish mainly thru error.

In the end, we realized what we have in common:

We see fish as Free Swimming Meals.
Our jobs, to engineer them back home to our tables.


Vitale's sport before fishing? Roman-Greko Wrestling.


When the Yellowtail are laughing at you fighting the wind, there might be a halibut down below. I somehow managed to fish a spot, in the wind, without a hobie. Imagine that?? (Adi, you like the belly shot?)

Then, comes the time to EAT.

Some garden vegies...


Some halibut fillets with cut strips of halibut skin...


And pressto-chango, Braised Halibut and Zucchini on top of gralic mashed potatoes/roasted red peppers, top off with fried halibut skins...



And, the Vodka and Ouzo?? Sorry, the bottles were emptied while the fish were still fishin'.

[jorluivil]

Once again.........you made me hungry.

[lamb]

Vitale... I love it when he says beauuuuuuutiful fish with that thick accent.

Cut thin strips of halibut skin, huh?
Every day, in every way, the one learns something new.

Seems like you had a good day out there master chef

Gaff shot is by the book

Halibut is all right size, I'm sure you can do better than that

[Chief Gunner]

Nice! Great Post!

[mrJB]

Yani, way to go!

BTW, you and Wayne must be related - you have the same smiles...

[driftwood]

Yani you're a fighter!

Your going through the most shocking and difficult time of your life right now.
This kind of thing would put most guys into deep depression. But how does Yani
deal with it? Yani does not complain he just goes fishing and posts a fish report
followed by a cooking report. What a great example!!!

[Salty Dog]

Empty bottles? While out on the water? Aren't you worried about dehydration?
Thanks for showing how to cook up some tasty vittles

[mtnbykr2]

Just happen to have some of that handy...next recipe to try this week
thanks Yani...again excellent presentation thank you for sharing the culinary
wisdom....

[GregAndrew]

Schweeeeet Yani. Although I am developing a mild case of zucchini envy.

[Tman]

Whaaat???

If you're cooking it, I'll try it...

[Gigafish]

Rich in flavor. The pic jumps out. Awesome delicacy.

[h2ofishfo]

i told u i wanted pics when u were paddling in and i got'em yuuuum

[Whizz Bang]

Nicevery, nice!

[deepdvr]

Great job Yani. Haven't heard of or seen a hali out of LJ in awhile.