Category: Uncategorized

Crab Boil Four Ways

One of the absolute perks of traveling is bringing back local foods and ideas. Having brought a huge haul (see photo 😊)

back from New Orleans in August, I’m still working through it. Not sure what got into me tonight, but I went all sorta gangbusters, if you know me, you’d understand this 😅. All based off of this little box.

It started simple enough, innocent even. I just thought I’d boil some potatoes in the crab boil to add a little kick to my mashed potatoes.

And then while I was cleaning up dinner, I just couldn’t part with the giant pot of seasoned water…. So I started brainstorming what else I could do with it. After a freezer and pantry search I came up with three more uses.

I made a large batch of rice. It’s always convenient to have some already made up for the kids, now they’ll get an extra punch.

And to please the meat and non-meat eaters I boiled chicken in the spicy bath and vacuum sealed tofu with the rest.

I guess the only item missing was if I actually had some crab…

Ratatouille

Ratatouille

When your daughter recently became a vegan and actually researches and finds a recipe and sends it to you, you cook it. Or at least this mom does. 😉

Ratatouille is French. French is a section in ‘1000 Foods to Eat Before You Die’ and my husband and I are going to France this summer. So, really how could I not? Practically research, right?

It’s described as “a dish to engage the five senses.” I couldn’t agree more. What a visually appealing dish. I also adored the fact that I could bake it in my cast iron pan, which always elevates the flavor profiles!

This is the recipe my daughter sent me.

www.plantbasedonabudget.com – Ratatouille

And now I’m laughing, as she is applying for colleges and starting to think about money, so I love that she found “plant based on a budget”

Pretty in the pan, fresh out of the oven.

And just as pretty on the plate.

Made this the same night I made Bangers and Mash; was a lot of work, but was able to please the carnivores, vegetarian and vegan!! And I always said I wouldn’t be a short order cook😂

Bangers and Mash

It all started with an innocent shopping trip to Costco when I spotted these..

And I knew Bangers and Mash would be one of the foods described in ‘1000 Foods to Eat Before You Die.’ How could they not? And now I can check British off my list 😊

These sausages are plumper than what I typically buy and are traditionally served upon a fluffy pillow of mashed potatoes with onion gravy atop. This was the recipe I followed

www.thespruceeats.com – Bangers and Mash

Well, actually I only followed how to make the onion gravy.. I just made my typical mashed potatoes and baked the bangers.

The meat eaters in my family thought it was a fun twist to typical Bratwurst style sausages.

And a fun fact is that when water was added to the sausages in World War I, to stretch the food rations, they would burst in the pan, with a bang, hence the name, banger!

Cooking and history in one 😊

1000 Foods to Eat Before You Die

Could there be a better name for a book? Hello, I may have become slightly obsessed with getting this book after I found out about its’ existence.

And with the timing of it, it just had to become one of my New Year’s Resolutions, to make at least one item from each of the sections that I have not eaten before. I hope to do much more and at some point it would be amazing to even work through all the foods in each section and have themed months. But, I’m trying to be realistic and know that is not very likely at this point.

So, a lot of rassasyme.com will now be foods found in this book. And while ‘1000 Foods to Eat Before You Die’ is not a recipe book, it more describes the foods and where you may find it, it will give me lots of ideas and let me find my own recipes.

I’m in love ❤️

Stay tuned 😊