She is NOT a "Raytard"!

Mindy June & I both love Rachael Ray. Mindy made note of this in her blog a while back - how we decided that if we lived near Rachael and she wasn't a celebrity and all, she would be our friend.

I love Rachael. She's silly. I love how she does her show in real-time so that you know she's not cheating - she actually cranks out those meals in exactly 30 minutes. I love how she fills every inch of dead air space by making goofy noises. Lots of "woo's!" and that sort of thing.

She's basically a total spaz.

Julia Child she ain't, though. This girl is not about haute cuisine. I've learned a few little helpful kitchen tricks from her, but I certainly don't get excited about everything she does. She's a little too fond of cumin for my taste, and I am SO not signed on to the "wash all your produce the second you get home from the store." DUH! Does anyone actually do that? Produce goes bad at least twice as fast if you wash it before putting it in the fridge.

So you bascially have to add an extra 10-15 minutes to her agenda to account for produce washing, depending on how much you have to deal with.

Anyway, back to Rachael herself. She is definitely a low-brow cook. But she doesn't pretend to be anything else. Her 30-Minute Meals show is about one thing: teaching Americans to prepare ordinary homemade food for themselves every day, and to do it without a lot of ado. Unlike our friend Alton Brown, who has you rolling out pasta on your ironing board and making odd trips to the hardware store to find bizarre utensils to cook with, Rachael just lays it out for you in the real world. You don't need a fresh clean clay flower pot or garden shears to prepare her pork chops with cranberry apple chutney.

I have heard from various "friends" that they think Rachael is annoying. The giggling. The incessant prattle. The wide open mouth smile that makes her look like the Joker.



Yes, I can see how all of those things would annoy some people. And that's just fine with me, because it just gives her more reasons to be MY friend and not yours.

But anyway, I had heard so much general crabbing about her that I grew curious to see how much hatred there actually is for poor Rachael.

Oh my god. There are some real Rachael-haters out there. And they are not kind.

They are ALL OVER HER about absolutely everything. Her mannerisms. Her recipes. Her every kitchen technique. Her garbage bowl. Her frenetic race to get it all done in 30 minutes. The increasing appearance that she is coming unhinged, probably due to exhaustion.

What's worse is that she is regularly referred to as "Retchel Ray" and "Raytard."

Ok, how mean is THAT?

Well, here's to them. I don't care anymore what these terrible people say about her. Bring it on. There is enough Rachael-love out there to counter all of their putrid bile.

Rachael Ray is a Godess of Light. She is my muse. She deserves to be exalted and praised.

I love Rachael Ray!