And the Saga Continues

So, what we have learned so far is the following: 1. I am inspired by fat cats and hunky men. 2. My twisted brain can meld cooking and hunky men. 3. I excel at procrastination. Let's move on with the story, shall we?

I take you to the year 2005. This was a pivotal moment in this project. First, both my kids were in school full time, so I actually had several hours each day that didn't require me to be cooking for, feeding, dressing, bathing, or intellectually stimulating anyone but myself. Secondly, the Catholic school that had employed me as either a full-time teacher B.C. (before children) or as an occasional substitute and consultant had just closed its doors, so I was officially unemployed. Joining me in the ranks of the paycheck-deprived were two co-workers, Gilda and Shari. After commiserating a bit (okay, a lot), we met to brainstorm some ideas on how to get rich quick.

There we sat at Mimi's Cafe, throwing around ideas like opening a traffic school or developing home-school curricular programs. It was obvious from our less-than-enthusiastic faces that these all just sounded like work, and frankly, we'd been there, done that. As the ideas dwindled and dried up, I reluctantly and quite nervously brought up the idea for the cookbook series, starting with Stud Muffins. I don't think I looked up until I was done describing my concepts, afraid to see their faces of disgust or shame. We were, after all, Catholic school teachers, and here I was outlining how to combine flour, leavening ingredients, and butter with virile young men and possibly more butter (their skin did have to look supple for the photo.) To my shock and pleasant surprise, my co-workers were equally twisted and depraved. Within a few moments, we had shoved aside all the boring stuff and began the fun--I mean work.

Next installment: Industrial lights, half-naked men, and my kitchen.