I had such great plans for my kitchen time this weekend — and I’m not going to let some rain keep me from making a dish that I’ve really been craving — a simple thing, really — Cinnamon Raisin Bread. Oh, sure, I could go off and buy the bread from the store, but where’s the satisfaction in a job well done? Not there, I guarantee you.

Since I’m talking about dishes, I guess I should fill you in on some of the dishes that I’ve posted previously. Yes, I do make every dish you see. Yes, I eat the food I create. No, the photos have not been doctored (except, in the very rare occasion, for a bit of contrast/lighting correction). Most importantly, no, the food has had no additives added to it to make it look “pretty”. Sure, I’ve read it all — glycerin, oil, cotton balls soaked in water and microwaved, “stand in food”, spray bottles with water, etc. The thing is — that kind of food, while it looks pretty in the kitchen, isn’t something you can replicate in your own kitchen — unless, that is, you happen to be married to a food stylist.

That being said, not every dish I make is photo worthy. Some, even, don’t turn out. I had one dish, which in all honestly I had planned on attempting to make for a pot luck — called Sausage Stroganoff Dip. Now, I love Beef Stroganoff, and since I love sausage, it sounded like a wonderful thing. Besides, it was in the Junior League of Colorado cookbook. Those recipes are usually awesome. The food? It photographed well:

At least, *I* think it photographed well. The problem? It tasted like … well, you can fill in your own adjective here.  Even with taking the sausage and draining it after browning, and even rinsing with hot water (which I was afraid to do because of the spices inherent to the sausage), do you see the little orange globules on the surface of the dip? That fat, which could not be removed, coated your tongue like a straitjacket. It made you take a bite and go, I’ll forgo the dip and just have the chips (which, in honesty, are store bought). I don’t make my own pita (yet, I have a great recipe I’m going to try, and soon, however), tortillas, or chips. What I call crisps (what are commonly referred to as veggie chips or potato chips), I do, but very, very infrequently. I tend to shy away from fried foods — that was part of the problem that helped me climb the scales to an unhealthy weight and a round shape. Fat in = fat on. If I can, at all, when I post recipes here on The Wannabe Gourmet, I do “lighten them up”.

And that’s the babble from Jonathan, in the rain. Before I leave you, however, I’d like to make a request. I’m needing links for a blogroll — if you’d like to be on my blogroll, please email me. My address is Jonathan at this domain. I look forward to hearing from you!