Rachael Ray

I had never been to South America before last week yet had always wanted to go - I had visions of partying all night in Buenos Aires, skiing in Patagonia, dancing on the beach in Rio and exploring the wonders of Machu Picchu, the lost city.  When I was invited to have a culinary tour of Chile, I jumped at the chance, realizing I knew so little about this beautiful country.  I asked if I could bring fellow blogger, Evette Rios and luckily they agreed!  Here are my favorite memories. Chile is a crazy place geographically speaking, as it extends over 2,000 miles down the western coast of South America, yet is only a couple hundred miles wide. The top of [...]...

This week has been nuts. Whilst ‘nuts’ brings with it an adrenalin rush, it also brings a lot of dodgy eating. Last week, my snacks were divided between hidden Halloween candy (wrong on more levels than one) and flavor-enhanced potato chips. Today enough is enough and I have decided to spend some time making snacks that will satisfy me without suspicious ingredients. One of the treats I am making is “Two-bite Falafels” - though some would argue that it takes but one. Yes, they are fried, but they are pretty much in and out of the oil and since I am making them, I know my oil is fresh. Falafel On The Go As for the falafels, time is of essence and [...]...

Half the fun of discovering a new restaurant is sharing it with people you know will enjoy it. As Rachael Ray’s resident restaurant guru, here’s an inside look at what I report back to Rach about some of my favorite restaurant finds and food experiences! From: Kappy To: RR Sent: Wednesday, April 3, 2012 11:57am Subject: Philly Strikes Again Hey Rach - On our last trip of 2012 to Philly, I couldn’t help but fit in a few more spots. From the airport, it was straight to Reading Terminal Market for some beef jerky. I know you’ve shot here for your show, and I really enjoy this market as well - there really is something for everyone. On this visit, I discovered a little meat market [...]...

It is the Sunday mornings I miss in particular about being unmarried and living at home with my parents in good old Hounslow, our little suburb in West London. Staggering downstairs around 11am, dad would thrust a perfect cup of tea in to my hands whilst mum made the usual, savory-stuffed pastry ‘parantha’. Paranthas are Indian flat bread that are given a searing in butter for perfect crispness. The scene was pretty much replicated by our neighbors, my grandmother’s home 2 blocks away and my friend’s house across the street. We lived in a little Indian colony and to tear in to a parantha over a cup of sweetly spiced tea made it ‘Sunday as usual’ for most of us. Walking [...]...

With Easter just days away, so are egg hunts and holiday entertaining. Here are a few tips and tricks to help save you time, money and your mani when dealing with holiday preps and clean-ups. Easter Egg Dye: Lemon-Aid You’ve dyed the eggs, but what about your hands? If you find your skin is now a nice violet color, don’t despair – it’s not that difficult to remove. Place sugar in a small bowl and scrub/massage it all over hands. Use a toothbrush and brush back and forth to loosen/diminish the dye. Rinse with warm water then soak hands in lemon juice for 10 minutes. Wipe and rinse. BONUS Mani-saver:  If you notice your nails are yellowing, no problemo. Simply dig your nails [...]...

Half the fun of discovering a new restaurant is sharing it with people you know will enjoy it. As Rachael Ray’s resident restaurant guru, here’s an inside look at what I report back to Rach about some of my favorite restaurant finds and food experiences! From: Kappy To: RR Sent: Thursday, March 21, 2013 10:03am Subject: LES, NYC Hey RR - I know that you have been here many, many, many times before (based on my recommendation, thank you very much), but I thought, why not share it with the peeps who come to your site? As you know, Yunnan Kitchen is a newish Chinese restaurant on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and it’s awesome! When I went this most recent time, I sat at [...]...

Tra la tra la Spring is almost in the air!  And, for many of us it marks the start of our doing our annual spring cleaning chores that bore. And, yes we’ll do the normal must do’s like washing our windows since looking through them after winter’s wrath causes us to think we need stronger eyeglasses and we’ll vacuum all our drapes, sofas etc which will give our arms a terrific workout.  However, it’s the stuff we’ll miss that we really need to tend to since they harbor bacteria, mold ‘n mildew, dust mites and their doo which can cause us health issues and worsen allergies and asthma. So where are these spots…and how can we deal with them?  Read [...]...

I love to find ways to repurpose things that I might usually throw out since they can save me money and a few can even turn into an after school or rainy day activity for the kiddies, which means free time for yours truly.  Here are a few ways to use a few of these ‘leftovers’ to organize jewelry, your children’s artwork, bathroom and with spring cleaning in the air, get a jump on your closet and waistline as well! JEWELRY 1.    Cork It: Champagne and wine corks accumulate fairly quickly in my abode so rather then chuck them I put them to good use by sticking post earrings with their backs and decorative pins on them. BTW if you lose an [...]...

‘n Just Enough K.I.S.S. Tips ‘n Tools When Rachael asked me to go visit 7 frat guys in their frat house to help them sort out their laundry I was imagining scenes from Animal House! So I reached for my haz-mat suit and GPS to navigate my way upon entry through the piles of dirty laundry that were everywhere!  But, within a few hours all was well:  I surprised them courtesy of Rachael and GE with a state of the art washer and dryer and shared some of my handy dandy tres simple laundry tips that even my college freshman has mastered….Here they are to help us all lighten the load regardless if you’re living in a frat house or your home [...]...