food prep

just a note:

there is a difference between a recipe, and the assemblage of food. this seems to be confusing to some people out there, so i would just like to clarify.

if you:
buy a package of brownie mix, a jar of caramel sauce ice cream topping, and a carton of ice cream or cool whip, AND
make brownies from said package, AND
pour caramel sauce on top of said brownies, AND
top with the store-bought cool whip/ice cream,
you are NOT working from a recipe. if you have to write this down and refer to it as if it were a recipe, you should leave the kitchen. immediately. this is assembling food. it has nothing to do with the actual preparation of actual food.

however, if you:
make brownies from scratch, and caramel from scratch, and whipped cream or ice cream from scratch, AND
THEN assemble the food you have just made, from scratch,
this requires a recipe. and i mean for the brownie, caramel, and ice cream parts. not the part where you plate it.

there is a difference. you can't say you have this great recipe for caramel brownies when you take the first route. you can, however, say you have a great way for assembling an easy, lazy dessert without having to actually make anything. and please lord almighty don't write it down like you may forget that caramel sauce could taste good on a brownie. if for some reason you can't remember something as such, and write it down, certainly don't share it with anyone.