Life is Just a Bowl of Top Ramen Noodles

I get lots of email. Lots of great inspiring email, with great questions, and great compliments for me and my videos, and the occasional bizarre request that makes me chuckle. And, while it’s tempting to post some of these, I never have because of the obviously self-indulgent, self-serving nature of such an act. I can’t imagine coming to your favorite food blog and reading a post like “Hey everybody, check out this email and how great they think I am!” Well, I’m making a one-time exception, and posting an email I received today.

As you know from the last few posts, I’m in the middle of a very intense and time-consuming try-out for a position with About.com. If I get it, it would allow me the freedom to continue producing a steady supply of free video recipes for your viewing pleasure. I’ve been up working late into the night, and generally feeling overwhelmed, as I try to get as much done as I can before leaving for my sister's wedding Wednesday. So, the following email came at just the perfect time. Thanks Ginny, you made my day, and I feel like I have gotten my second wind, and will actually somehow pull off finishing this project during my trip. By the way, the email was inspiring enough, but the “P.S” about Rachel Ray made me laugh out loud, and is what really pushed me out of the darkness and into the light. From one former starving, Top Ramen-eating student to another, thanks again!! Here is the email verbatim, followed by an old post I did about Ms. Ray,in case you've never heard of her.

Hi Chef John,

I discovered you on you tube and you are quite a comfort. Just want to say thanks for the great/ entertaining/ informative/delicious videos on your website. I love cooking but find myself short on cash occasionally. Some nights when all I’ve got around are some ramen noodles or a frozen T.V. dinner, (and I just can't bear to eat one more) I turn on the computer and watch a few of your videos. Somehow, it is possible for me to live vicariously through the screen. Basically I feel more satisfied just by watching your food rather than eating mine. Trust me, if I had the extra cash I would be sure to send some your way so I could get some Culinary Karma. Keep up the good work,
Ginny

P.S. Who is Rachel Ray?

Mmm..mmmm…mmmm, Rachael Ray

I like Rachael Ray. There, I said it. It’s not her cooking, or her bubbly on-air personality, or her ubiquitous EVOO, or her 30-minutes meals (wow, she made a tuna melt in 30 minutes!). It’s simply the fact that every other “real” Chef in the country hates her. They talk about her like she is somehow ruining the entire culinary landscape like some kind of inedible weed. She doesn’t claim to be a Chef; she’s just a cute, perky home-cook that has fun in the kitchen, cooking simple, easy to make food. So, to these high and mighty, foam-making, agar agar-loving, sous vide-obsessed, micro-green sprinkling “real” Chefs, I say lighten up! Come on, she just made little meatloaves in cup cake tins! Yummmoo!

Now, I have to admit, I don’t watch her 30-minute meals show, or her talk show (is it still on?), but I do watch her “$40 a day” show. Why? For one reason, and one reason only… the sound/noise she makes after taking that first bite of every meal on the show. It goes a little something like this, “mmm…mmmm.” Whether you’re a fan of the show or not, I hope you enjoy this clip I found on Youtube. Mmmmmm, enjoy!