Day 276

I have never been one to have favorite singers or actresses. I only read People magazine at the hairdresser and on beach vacations. I'm not interested in who married who, divorced who, slept with who....etc, etc. 

Until The Food Network came along, that is.

Suddenly, I found myself a bit obsessed with Mario, Emeril, Wolfgang, Sandra, Bobby, Alton, Giada, Inga, Paula, and Rachel. As a family, we watched Emeril Lagasse and The Iron Chef religiously. I spent mornings, afternoons, and nights watching and learning these masters of food not only for their cooking skills- but for their way of making the watcher feel like they could do it too. They shared stories of their lives and experiences, laughed when they screwed up, and in general opened up a world for me that I didn't know existed before.

Cooking and eating could be fun! I had always thought of cooking as more of a chore, mostly because I didn't feel secure in doing much of it. Slowly but surely, though, I learned that you didn't have to be a French chef to put a decent meal on the table.

Out of all of my Food Network friends, Rachel Ray is the one I have always loved the most. Her infectious ability to smile, laugh,  befriend anyone, and just enjoy life was as entertaining to me as her actual cooking. 30-Minute Meals became a staple on our TV, and I can admit that I use many of her tricks and suggestions to this day (yes, I have a garbage bowl). I love that she wore jeans and tshirts and never needed to looked "primped" in order to be beautiful,-her glowing skin, dark hair, and bubbly personality did that for her.

Rachel now has her own talk show, as well as monthly magazine. She continues to put out cook books, but also always finds time to give back- she is a supporter of feeding homeless animals and hungry children, and supports local food-based festivals every year.

Each time I go to the grocery store, I look for her new magazine- like a kid awaiting a new video game to come out, or a wife anxiously awaiting the next Nora Roberts novel (you know who you are). Tonight was one of those nights. I could hardly wait to get home and start perusing it, sure I would find plenty of fall goodies to make for friends and family. Sure enough, I had multiple pages dog eared within minutes as I ate my dinner of leftover pizza and wine coolers (I know, not a very foodie-like dinner, but I was really overdue for a grocery visit...).

So tonight's picture celebrates foodies, the casual cook,  and my friend Rachel Ray. She and her friends at Food Network have helped me realize my potential in the kitchen, something both I and my family greatly appreciate.