In case some of you have been wondering why I have been slacking off, there are two reasons: a nasty migraine that just doesn’t seem to go away. And the second reason is not as tasteless. I have rediscovered the joys of cooking, and have been experimenting, just to get the mind off the head-crunching pain.
Call this mid-life gourmand fantasy, and the results have been as mixed as the New York Yankees’ season thus far. Those who have tasted my cooking, believe that I should leave the complex cooking alone for like – the rest of my life – and try something simpler.
Perhaps that is why the RSS alert from AT&T (formerly known as Cingular) announcing that they will soon offer quick recipes from celebrity chef, Rachael Ray, got me pretty excited. (She is like Martha, except cuter and with more sensible cooking tips for people with limited cooking skills.)
I enjoyed her cooking show when I actually had a TV. Rachael Ray Recipes on the Run is a new wireless application that allows subscribers to download recipes directly to their mobile phones and costs $2.99 a month.
Limelife, a start-up based here in San Francisco Bay Area, built this application, which has some rather interesting features, including the ability to store the favorite recipe. In my case, it is going to be recipes that came out edible. And I will keep you posted more on how the cooking goes.
PS: Hope you all indulge me on this slight digression from subjects that might be more meaningful to you all.
A plug for a different approach to cooking: I’m a big fan of the folks at Cooks Illustrated (www.cooksillustrated.com), who take a very scientific approach to recipes and results. They’ll make 100 different angel food cakes to find out which ingredients make the best cake and why, and then report the results. It shows up on TV as America’s Test Kitchen (www.americastestkitchen.com, although they also have on-demand shows on the Internet) on most PBS stations.
I’ve used both Cooks Illustrated magazine and their compendium cookbook, America’s Best Recipes, to appear to be a gourmet cook when I am not. And best of all, since their material is available online and offline, you don’t need a TV to enjoy them!
Bon appetit,
Carl
Rachel Ray’s recipes are perfect for techies. I watch her shows also, very useful. Everyday Italian is also good.
I, too, am a huge fan of America’s Test Kitchen. They have a series of excellent cookbooks. Also worth checking out: Cooking for Engineers and anything by Alton Brown.
How can you not love something called the “test Kitchen” other than calling it Cooking 2.0 its as techie as it gets !
Amen to that. I think that is one of my sites to check out today and basically see if there are easy to use recepies. anyway i like cooking 2.0 idea.
I’m just a fan of Rachel Ray. She needs to leave her husband.
We like the digressions that include “personal” life; somehow we tend to forget that it’s the same body and brain that occupy the non-working hours (is there a such thing anymore) and the working hours. So the twain should meet and be talked about more often!
Om, I have to admit that Rachel Ray is pretty darn perky. Semi-Homemade with with Sandra Lee isn’t too shabby either. http://www.semihomemade.com/index.htm
Just another delightful insight from Om. I won’t ramble into all the foodie sidestreets in my own life; but, “Bravo” to you for continuing appropriate diversity in a life of learning.
Sandra Lee is the devil. She represents all that is wrong with bad TV food shows, and is counter to everything that good cooking is about. Haven’t you seen her hollow out pre-made pumpkin pies, only to use them in another recipe? That’s just wasteful and ridiculous.
rachel ray is a breath of fresh air.she,s awesome.
I think Rachel is the best! Good looking too….
RACHEL WELL I CANT FIND A WORDS FOR HER WORK IM GOING CRAZY WITH YOUR RECIPES. FROM KEFALONIA GREECE. IONIAN ISLANDS PLEASE VISIT SOME DAY.