Totally random pictures in no particular order:
As a food "professional", I rarely use recipes, nor do I need to. This particular skill has resulted in a stunning lack of effort in our daily meals as of late. We are on a regular rotation of "Taco night", Morningstar Farms fake Buffalo wings and a salad, Pizza that I cook via handing the delivery driver a handful of cash, Frozen organic burritos or leftovers in any combination of the aforementioned items.
So...I'm actually using recipes every once in a while to get back in the habit of experimenting with new flavors and such. The other night I wanted to try a recipe out of one of Rick Bayless' books, which the Mr. gave me at xxxmas as what I consider to be a silent plea for better dinners. I took mental inventory of what ingredients I had, and I settled on enchiladas with potatoes, carrots, chicken and an interesting sauce with ancho chiles.
Now, obviously I know what I'm doing when it comes to food. I can brag a little- I'm a very good cook. I don't think I've killed anyone with my cooking in at least 6 months, and they never actually proved that I mixed up the powdered sugar and the Comet Cleanser that one time and I have the court records to prove it, dammit.
But this sauce?:
This, my friends, is what evil looks like in sauce form. So. Bitter. I expected it to be somewhat on the bitter side of things from the ancho chiles, and I actually like some things a little bitter (like my cold, hard, heart), but this sauce was so wrong that I would have to make up new words to adequately describe it. "Sneedenblahg" comes to mind. 
Never a quitter, I set to work to repair the saucal deformities. I added a bit of sugar, a bit of honey, some balsamic vinegar, some lime juice, the sweat from a newborn's brow and a bit of olive oil. Much better. Once it was incorporated into the final product, I'd say that it was actually pretty freaking delicious. I just feel bad for anyone making this who may not know how to "save" things when cooking goes horribly wrong. Sorry- I forgot to take a picture of the final product, but trust me when I say it was the most magnificent-looking platter of food ever to be seen by human eyes in the history of the planet or any other planet that supports human life. 
Trouble, sitting amidst the wreckage, plotting when he will next step in his own poop and run around the house, me chasing him with cleansing wipes (turns out that day was yesterday.)
My designated popcorn bowl. I don't know why I felt the need to take a picture of this. I paid a dollar for it 15+ years ago. I make my popcorn the same way every time: dry-popped in the microwave, drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil, fresh ground black pepper generously sprinkled on, and a liberal dusting of parmesan cheese. No butter, best popcorn ever.
Two days after I bought this nectarine, unripe, this is what it looked like. I hate winter produce in MN.
Why everything I own is covered in cat hair.
The end.
