For obvious reasons, this post was published a day early.

About 2 months ago, I prepared some steamed artichokes for a photo shoot.  They were perfectly edible, and I later made a dipping sauce , as I often do, to accompany them. (I do whatever I can to avoid wasting the food from my shoots.) Since the sauce exceeded the artichokes, I decided to try it on some seared scallops the following night. It was a happy combination, and my husband—who is something of a food challenge—really enjoyed it. Even so, we had both scallops and sauce left over, and they went into the fridge.

Less than 24 hours later, Ben Gebo returned for a second photo session. Pleased with my recent experiment (and thrilled with the ready-made sauce in the fridge), I thought I’d sear a second batch of scallops and try my hand at styling them. While Ben was adjusting his equipment and I was cooking the scallops, my husband went to the fridge and selected his lunch.

Lunch!!!! He was almost out the door when I realized he was about to eat half the photo.  What happened next is a matter of dispute. Ben claims I blurted out, “Not so fast, buster!” I believe I said, “Hold it right there, pal!” And my husband insists I yelled, “Stop in the name of the law!!!” Whatever it was, it worked: He froze and I was able to rescue the sauce. (I let him keep the scallops.)

There is work and there is love. This time, Larry dear, both the sauce and I are all yours. Happy Valentine’s Day!