Welcome to Ramshackle Pantry! My name is Ben. Cooking is my passion and I strive to share the most decadent classics with you and the stories behind them.
What You Will Find On Ramshackle Pantry
We love sharing comfort food recipes and classic drinks. I believe there is something special in heritage recipes and exploring what made a recipe great.
You’ll find deep dives into classic recipes (with a tidbit of history), decadent cocktails perfect for the holidays or a great happy hour, and recipes you’ll want to make again and again. I am not opposed to making variations of the classic recipe if the mood strikes. With all of these recipes, of course, I will provide detailed recipe instructions with photos.
Ramshackle Pantry has been featured on MSN.com, She Knows, Foodgawker, Fox News, High Plains Reader, Mix.com, and Yummly, among others.
How Ramshackle Pantry Started
This cooking blog is the expression of my passion for food right now, but it did not begin there. I spent over a decade in the food and restaurant industry where I held a variety of roles, including server, cook, and bartender. Now, these were not fancy places. I was on the line slinging burgers or whiskey cokes.
And like any industry veteran, I could jump in as the dishwasher when needed to get the job done so we could go home after a long shift. During that time of my life, food and beverage was not only interesting to me, but my bread and butter.
It wasn’t until I moved on to my second career (technology), that I started having fun with food and really gained a passion for home cooking. It was during this time that I found that I loved to experiment with food. Always having a fondness for pizza, I found myself eventually making the crust, sauce, and cheese from scratch. I take pride in being able to take a few ingredients (flour, tomato, eggs, milk) and turn it into something special. To be able to share the experiences and recipes with others is meaningful for me.
After the pizza incident, I found myself doing so much more of this sort of thing. I brew beer, have brewed kombucha, am a beekeeper, and really anything that lets me get closer to the ingredients and flavors I love. Then came the book.
In 2012, this hobby for cooking culminated in writing a fun cookbook called Fifty Shades of Bacon. What a great experience that was! This book has sold over 30,000 copies and went on to be featured on the Today Show, Allure Magazine, an appearance on Food Network, Seattle Kitchen Podcast, Eater.com, and many more. That little book was a fun parody project that I did not expect to take off, but it really reinforced that maybe my place was still supposed to be in the food and beverage industry. It led to Ramshackle Pantry!
In 2017, I started this blog and love spending my time in the kitchen and researching history. I have now covered many topics where I both make recipes and dive into history.
Knowing that tomatoes are actually native to South America brings extra meaning to pizza for me. That tomatoes were originally thought to be poisonous in Italy, but the poor ate them anyway… because they were available, brings meaning to what that first pizza meant. That the first pizzeria is still open and really is the great great great grandparents of the pizza shop in your town is really a beautiful notion to me. I get to celebrate that world history and heritage by configuring flour, tomato, eggs, and milk in a certain way.
My wife Ashley has since taken over as the photographer and really has improved this blog! It really has become a labor of love for both of us. While there is a division of labor in photography and the other stuff, we really share the work and it has been good for us. I would not be able to do it *well* without her. We make a good team.
About Ben
I live in Fargo, North Dakota (ya, you betcha) with my wife Ashley and a cat. I also love dogs and my last pup was a St. Bernard, who is pictured below. I am a beekeeper, brew beer, and am an Army veteran. We love to travel and great food is always part of the itinerary.
My home is in Fargo, but I have also lived in the San Francisco area, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Having spent most of my teen years in California, with time shared in North Dakota, has given me a culinary perspective that I enjoy.
My mother made sure to expose me to the rich food scene when I lived in CA. I still remember the first Thai spot we ate at in downtown Walnut Creek circa about 1987. I still get excited whenever I see Tom Kha soup on the menu. Oh man. At the same time, I was served up Midwest classics by my family. Knoephla soup, venison everythings(deer sausage, yum), and tater tot hot dish were on the menu.
My other passions are technology, web development, and writing. Working on Ramshackle Pantry and as a technical contractor in the food blogging world has allowed me to try and keep up my developer chops. I really enjoy writing, as you can probably tell from this page. I am always looking for more time to practice the craft of writing.
Outside of food blogging, I am one of the nerds at NerdPress and have been there for several years now. With them, I have been able to attend several national WordCamps (WordPress conferences), Tastemakers conferences, and get to know my teammates in person. I love working with that team and it allows me to work with other food bloggers and recipe developers every day!
Getting Around and Reaching Me
First, if you are interested in working with me or have any questions, send me an email at ben@ramshacklepantry.com.
