Rants in my pants and I have to dance

As promised, here are some smoky pics from yesterday.  I did three different kinds of ribs.  They turned out ok, but I wish they would have been more tender.  I have some ideas about how to make them better next time.  

Today is already shaping up to be a pretty busy one. Lots of yard work, kitchen prep, laundry, etc. The second batch of pickles is done.  I've yet to try one after the long chill, I'll update about how they are.  I'm sure they will be pretty good.  

Wife is convinced that with all of these food pics, we should put a DIY cookbook together.  However, since I don't really believe in recipes, it might be a little difficult.  Is it possible to have a "method" book that teaches you how to have a basic understanding of food, or are we too conditioned by the standard pattern and layout that holds our hand through every move and stymies our creativity???  I know that some people take recipes as gospel, but is it possible to condition these already over-conditioned individuals to be creative?  If so, that's the kind of book I want to write.  For example, how do I know that not adding lemon zest to a marinade won't take it over the top???  I don't, that's why I'm always experimenting, always trying to make food better.  That's what I love about my job.  My boss, John, shares the same love for experiments.  My favorite part of the week is on saturdays when we have abundant time to think about how to improve things, new things we could implement into our repertoire.

So, I guess If amy and I did put a book together, it would be more for people who already had a basic understanding of how things work in the kitchen.  Also, was thinking about putting videos on the blog.  Anyone interested (mom/nance, since you two are the main ones that read this)?  Gotta go, the day is overripe and daunting and its only 9:30.  peace