Rachael Ray

Today is the second birthday of my kids’ pet guinea pigs.  Who cares, you say?  I certainly don’t but my kids think it’s quite the reason to celebrate so we are having a party.  My daughter went ahead and created invitations using Smilebox, a for-fee service that allows you to create all kinds of custom made cards and invitations.  We’ve been having fun using it and it makes this sort of thing, well, easy enough for a child. Unfortunately I will be at work when my kids come home from school, so I won’t be there to join in the fun.  Last night I was too exhausted to bake the cupcakes or “bug cakes” my daughter begged me to make, using [...]...

I love paprika, all kinds.  I love smoky, sweet and hot.  I love Hungarian and I especially love this one I have been using recently from Spain (I actually stole it from Rach one day), pictured here and available at Dean and Deluca: Paprika really is just dried and finely ground pepper, which can vary from sweet to hot, just as peppers do.  In Spain it is called Pimenton and you have all different varieties just as you would in Hungary, where paprika is a major export.  Pimenton and paprika are so well-cultivated in these countries that they have even started to point out the place of origin on the packaging.  See in this jar of Spanish pimenton above where it [...]...

I lied.  This drink I concocted doesn’t remotely resemble chocolate, except maybe in color.  And I really do not like it when people try to tell me carob is anything like chocolate, because it ain’t even on the same planet. However, I made this drink this weekend just to see what it would taste like, as I had a jar of carob powder eyeing me for months in my pantry.  I don’t even remember why I bought it., it was probably part of some cockamanie diet I was trying, so of course there it sat, unopened. Finally I decided to give it a try, as I have been looking for dairy alternatives lately in an experiment to see if I am still [...]...

I really don’t like brownie mixes from boxes.  They all have that same “from the box” aftertaste, which to me is a dead giveaway that the brownies are not homemade.  Brownies are not hard to make, but I concede, finding a great recipe is a matter of trial and error. And then there’s the question of what kind of brownie lover you are- Chewy?  Cake-y? With nuts?  Darker? Lighter?  Added flavors like chili powder, mint or caramel swirls entice you? Personally I am a dark and chewy type, and I usually make my brownies by melting really good quality dark chocolate in a double boiler with butter and sugar, eggs, vanilla and I use a small amount of flour to keep the [...]...

I must have seen a recipe for Carrot Soup somewhere so it was in my head when I got home from work last night and wanted a comforting meal and fast.  Usually when I am in this mood and it’s winter, I think of soup.  I was so impressed with the simplicity and ease of this dish that I had to share the recipe.  Added bonuses?  My daughter loved it, you could use it as a base and add gnocchi or shrimp and the ingredients are all-each of them-good for you in some way or another. Carrot Soup Ingredients EVOO 1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped 6-8 fat carrots, peeled and roughly chopped 4 cups of chicken stock 1 [...]...

Rachael Ray and Yum-o! Fight Childhood Hunger in the Classroom with Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry® Campaign Author and Daytime Host Rachael Ray Partners with Anti-Hunger Organization to Help Kids Get Access to School Breakfast NEW YORK (Jan. 17, 2012) - To help combat hunger in the classroom, Rachael Ray and her Yum-o!® organization are teaming up with Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry® Campaign, a national movement to end childhood hunger in America. In addition to raising awareness about the issue, Yum-o! is donating $100,000 to support Share Our Strength’s work to increase participation in school breakfast programs. Could you pass a pop quiz on an empty stomach? According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nearly one in five children in America [...]...

I never liked Pea Soup, but that’s because I never tasted Pea Soup.  The very thought of it reminded me of that famous scene from The Exorcist or my alleged unintentional reenactment of it when I was about 6 years old.  Or you’d hear people talk about the fog like it’s Pea Soup.  So one can understand why I was not romanticized by the thought of it, however I have always been a fan of black bean soup and minestrone.  So today, I finally took hold of this bag of dried split peas that’s been hanging around my cupboard for months.  I originally bought it for a video shoot I was organizing for Louisa Shafia, one of our other bloggers.  [...]...

Today I woke up inspired to get a little cooking done before I left for work so I wouldn’t have to come home once again famished and eat everything in site.  I had a small eggplant sitting on my counter that was in danger of going bad as it started to show signs of softness and bruising. You really can not keep eggplant around that long and I try to cook it within a few days of buying so I wanted to use this before I had to lose it, as has happened far too many times (a crime in my book). I simply cut the eggplant into cubes and started to saute over medium heat in a pan with a [...]...

Get ready to rumble this weekend, and I don’t mean just in your belly when you smell Christmas or Hanukkah dinner in the oven!  It’s football time, let Noah get you up to speed on what’s going on. ...