Necessity is the mother of invention.

When we started prepping lunch on Sunday and noticed that the deli-style horseradish in the fridge was six months beyond its “Best by” date, we had a situation. Do we pause the Olympics and make a run to the market, or settle for the underwhelming flavor of cocktail sauce straight from the bottle?

Neither alternative was all that palatable, yet we needed a quick solution worthy of the magnificent chilled prawns we had already plated. There are few things worse than magnificent lukewarm prawns in crappy sauce.

A survey of the spice cabinet revealed a neglected can of powdered wasabi.

Wasabi is that surprisingly green Japanese horshradish that’s so innocent looking, it has been known to fool first-time sushi snackers into sucking back a huge wallop in one mouth full. If you haven’t tried the experience, give it a shot: your sinuses will never be the same, and you’ll sing like Celine Dion in full belt-er-out mode.

And hmm… here’s that can of Old Bay seasoning keeping the wasabi company in the back of the bus. Come forth into the daylight, quothe Rick, and be counted!

I love it when Rick quothes with authority in the kitchen. Sometimes what happens next is so spectacular it makes me cry.

He stirred about a tablespoon of each powder into a half cup or so of Heinz Original.

I didn’t cry.

But between the chopped Romas with feta and good olive oil, fresh bread, decent bottle of Cotes du Rhone, and the zingy, original flavor of Rick’s Kicker Cocktail Sauce, I did get a lovely lump in my throat.