Properly cleaning mussels ensures they are healthy to serve and free of sand.  Follow these step-by-step instructions:

1.       Always choose mussels free of defects and never choose mussels that remain open when touched. The mussels should be tightly closed and stored in a cool area where they can breathe. When you purchase your mussels, immediately unwrap them at home so they can breathe, otherwise they might die before you cook with them. Dead mussels are poisonous and should never be consumed.

2.       Just before cooking, soak the mussels in clean water for about 20 minutes. As the mussels breathe, they filter water and expel sand.

3.       To remove the beard, using a dry towel, grasp the beard and give a sharp yank out and toward the hinge end of the mussel. This method will not kill the mussel. Do not pull the beard out towards the opening end of the mussel as this might tear the mussel on the inside of the shell, killing it. Discard beard.

4.       Remove the mussels from the water with a slotted spoon. Do not pour them into a strainer. The sand has collected in the bottom of the bowl and a slotted spoon allows for the sand not to re-enter the mussel. Place the mussels in another bowl of cold, clean water.

5.       Once the mussels have soaked, remove each and brush off any additional sand or ocean debris. Finish by cleaning mussels with running water and drying them with a towel prior to cooking.

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HOW TO TOAST SESAME SEEDS

Heat the pan over high medium heat, put the sesame seeds and shake the pan continously till you smell the sesame seeds toasting (obviously).

Remove from heat, let it cool and you can store it in a tightly closed jar or any container.

That’s easy peasy!

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HOW TO CLEAN BURNT POTS AND PANS

What You Need

Materials

1 cup of vinegar
2 tablespoons of baking soda
1 cup of water (give or take depending on the size of your pan)
A burnt stainless steel pan that was left empty and unattended on a heated hot plate. oops!.
A scourer, because I can’t find any way to avoid it entirely

Instructions

1. Fill the bottom of the pan with a layer of water.

2. Add the vinegar.

3. Bring the pan to the boil. It should be looking a bit cleaner already.

4. Remove the pan from the heat and add the baking soda. Expect fizz!

5. Empty the pan and scour as normal, if necessary add an extra bit of dry baking soda.

6. If there are any super stubborn marks that don’t come off with scouring, make a paste of baking soda and a couple of drops of water. Leave the paste on the marks for a while and return to clean as normal.

7. Tad-ah! Now you can put your feet up and enjoy the many hours you saved yourself standing over the sink.

Additional Notes:

I’m almost ashamed to say, this is not my first time burning a frying pan (hopefully it is my last) and you can get them clean with just baking soda, water and a scourer if you’re super committed. But this is much, much easier. I’ve also been told that this works for really well baked on food and grime especially milk.