Spent a warm Sunday a few weekends ago partaking in one of the great outdoor culinary masterpieces, the crab boil. How this was not a part of my life until now remains a mystery.

Started out with some lovely large Dungeness. Sad, yes, but they're just so tasty.

A bag of Zatarain's for each pot.

Threw in the seasoning, a couple halved lemons and a splash of vinegar then waited for the water come to a boil (which takes forever on a camping stove) before adding the potatoes. Gave those about 10 minutes on their own then threw in the corn and sausage. Waited a little longer and dropped in the crabs, then threw in some shrimp for good measure. At least I think that's how it went, at some point we may have gotten a bit impatient and thrown the last ten ingredients in all at once.

Manned up a Bloody Mary bar while we were waiting.

And threw some steamers on the bbq.

Snack time.

The best part is pouring off the liquid and dumping the boil out on the table. A gluttinous butter-smeared hour of hand feasting to follow.

Thanks again, Ellevyn!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Feast or famine? If you happen to be vegetarian this can't be of much interest to you, but to everyone else I say go for it while we've still got some sun out there as this is definitely an outside activity and a close proximity to water (or a tub of handi-wipes) is heartily recommended. That said, there's not much else to worry about since the whole process is really simple and you just time things the same way you would for soup (ie. things that need the longest to cook go in first). You can pretty much add or subtract whatever you feel like, but I'd say Miss Evelyn hit it right on the mark: Corn, potatoes, kielbasa sausage, Dungeness crabs, Alaskan crab legs and a couple pounds of shrimp. Don't forget to grab a loaf of two of sourdough bread, large chunks make wonderful napkins