10.29.2008

Rachel Ray Caused Our Economic Slump...

The other day I was walking through a Gordman's. If you don't know what a Gordman's is... think Marshalls, but without the hoards of racks of clothes that have been picked over, tossed on the ground and left there for everyone to trample.

I was walking through looking for some Autumn decor for my home that would be cheap, but not look cheap. Something that would make me look like I am an interior designer without spending an arm and a leg. Anything that did not scream "I can only afford Wal Mart!" In my pursuit for false airs, I found myself in the kitchen aisles. Now, you should know that I am a kitchen dish whore. Maybe not all dishes... mostly just bowls. I don't know where this addiction comes from but if I see a cute serving bowl I just have to have it! I can't stop myself. Actually, I know exactly where this addiction comes from... it comes from my father. My dad cannot walk past a garage sale without buying up all of the kitchen dishes they are selling for a quarter. When my parents moved from the Chicago area to Atlanta I think I packed no less then 1000 cute bowls and kitchen dishes . He also has a love for the most god-awful knick-knacks one can find. Need a little dog holding a balloon in his teeth? He has it. Can't find that one little girl with a missing shoe? He has that one too. What about blue birds? Bears? Kitty cats and mice? He's got you covered... and they have somehow found their way onto all of my parents window sills. I call it "They Can't Help Themselves, They Are Old" decor.

Anyway, as I was ogling all of the kitchen bowls I saw this: It is a Rachel Ray Trash Bowl.


What the hell? A trash bowl? I will have you know that this trash bowl cost $14.99 at Gordman's... that means that it retails for at least $21.99 elsewhere. Now, who the hell does Rachel Ray think she is?

No wonder people can't afford their mortgages! They are off buying stupid crap like a TRASH BOWL! I personally just use the plastic bag that my produce comes in, or I just use my GARBAGE DISPOSAL!

What a waste. Get it... waste. HA!

I couldn't stand Rachel Ray and her 30 minute meals before this... which by the way, don't get me started on her 30 minute meals. If I had a crew of people sorting out all of my ingredients and I moved at warp speed and did not have 4 children asking me questions, demanding my attention and having to put at least one tourniquet on a limb at least once a week while I was trying to prepare dinner, I would be done in 30 minutes as well. Rachel Ray needs to get real. She needs to have my kids in her studio while she is fixing dinner... and if she can do it in 30 minutes and still make things like salmon with mint sauce and not hot dog with a can of BBQ beans... well then I will buy her damn trash bowl. But until I see something that would even slightly resemble my life, I ain't buyin' it!

*Bowing-winking-waving* Thank you... Thank you very much.
Please... if you have purchased a trash bowl and are brave enough to leave a comment, I strongly encourage you to tell me how this has made your life easier. How has this trash bowl lightened the load of making dinner for the masses. How has purchasing this bowl made you more at peace with cooking dinner 7 nights a friggen week to little ungrateful people. Please tell me! I want to know! If you can show me the light... I may just drink the kool-aide and go buy one of these things. If you can't tell me how wonderful you dinner making chore is now that you have a trash bowl that you actually PAID for-well then, I may just make fun of you. It is up to you-c'mon leave a comment!

27 comments:

momto5minnies said...

I think the only need for a trash bowl is if you are being taped while cooking.

What's up with that Rachael Ray sudsy kitchen picture? ... kind of creepy. Hopefully I don't have to look at that on the checkout line.

Kasia said...

I haven't bought one, for several reasons.

#1, my kitchen is about the size of a king-sized bed. I cannot be in the kitchen without being less than 2 steps away from either the sink or the garbage. If I had a larger kitchen, it might not be a bad idea.

#2, if I had a larger kitchen and were inclined to buy one, I would not spend $20 on a Rachael Ray one. I would buy a cheap bowl, probably at a garage sale, and use that.

But then, I'm cheap like that. Most of my kitchenware is hand-me-down from my grandmother, tante, mother, or sister, and everything else is either bought used or is Meijer/Target (and probably a gift at that).

heidi said...

I thought I was the only person on EARTH that wasn't in love with Rachael Ray. She annoys me. She and Oprah are trying to take over the world, I think, one stepford wife at a time.

THAT oughtta make me real popular.

thesixburghmom said...

I don't really have an opinion on the trash bowl. I also have a small kitchen and never even thought of a trash bowl. But I agree with momto5minnies...that sudsy sink picture is WAY creepy. I'm not exactly encouraged to buy her cookbooks/overpriced products or watch her show when she's half dressed with her dirty feet in the kitchen sink. BLECH! I want to throw a coat on her.

Sagey said...

All right, I will say it. I love Rachael Ray! Why you ask? Becuase if I made a meal that was not a 30 minute meal, it would take 2 hours. Her recipes never take me MORE than 45 minutes (of course I never make all her side dishes). She will even admit that at home she doesn't cook the same meal in 30 minutes. The point is to have a meal that isn't going to take you 5 hours to cook. :-)

Oh and sweetie, it is called a GB... Garbage Bowl, not a Trash Bowl. Yes the fact that she sells bowls labeled at "GB"s is a VERY silly but I have found that my $3 plastic bowl from Target works great for the purpose, it gets the pile I would have accrued on my cutting board (taking up valuable cutting space) off the board. Yup, I am too lazy to turn around to the trash can while I am cooking. See she really is thinking all about you and saving you some energy to deal with those kids tugging at your sleeve.

Go to FOODTV.com and look for her chicken parm meatballs subs. They are one of our favorite meals here, we do subs or just spaghetti and meatballs with that recipe.

Vicki aka Diva Mom said...

I don't own a Rachel Ray trash bowl, but after seeing her use on on 30-Minute Meals I thought it was a brilliant idea. (OK, brilliant is a bit strong. A "DUH, why didn't I think of that?" idea.) Because the toughest part of cooking for me is trying to open the cabinet door where the trash is located to put the rinds/peels/crap that will clog my crappy garbage compactor with an 18-month-old underfoot.

Now it all goes into a cheap dollar-store 'trash bowl' until my little man is tied down, I mean, in his highchair, and I can toss the crap without 'help'.

Great post. Thanks for the laugh with my coffee.

Stupid Fat Hobbit said...

[Caution! this comment is written by a male!]
I think I get it. She's acting trashy in the sink, therefore it is a trash bowl.
I personally have no opinion on Rachel Ray or her books/shows since if I am going to turn on the TV or read a book, I am NOT going to watch a cooking show or read a cooking book. That's what they make McDonalds for. My TV has things that blow up, go fast, or sing/dance so badly that even I can make fun of them. My books either take me to a fantasy world or deepen my prayer life! That's it, nothing else.
Now, having said all that, can I get a poster sized copy of the trashy/garbage lady in the sink?

David M said...

[Another male writer...]

And Yes I cook. So there. Soldier, Firefighter, Chef...I do it all, and if you like me in the kitchen, just wait til you see me in the...oh nevermind.

Anywho: I use a trash bowl when cooking, and no I will not spend money on one specifically just for that purpose, whats wrong with simply using a big mixing bowl for that purpose?

Is it a brilliant idea? Who knows, but I do know it saves time and makes clean-up a whole lot easier.

Anonymous said...

Psst! June,
I think you and I enjoy the same addiction...I too check out the housewares in any store I'm in.
Haven't really purchased anything in a while, but I just love to wander through the department.
My last "find" was a small 2X3 inch dish, cream color on the outside and soft green on the inside...I use it on my dresser to hold my rings. I just love it.
I will leave it to Beth in my will.
Hee hee!
Grandma Mac had enjoyed the same addiction. Remember her collection of tea cups and saucers?
They were beautiful!
As for the GB, mine is a tall kitchen can. ;)
Love,
Aunt Barbara

Lindsay said...

I think having a trash bowl is a good idea, but I'm not going to go out and buy one. I'll just use an old plastic mixing bowl not being used. Our disposal gets kinda finicky, so it would be nice to have something to put vegetable clippings in.

I have a problem with the RR picture aside from the sudsy creepiness. That is SO a photoshopped body. Have you seen RR in 30 minute meals? She does not have a body like that, and that 's fine. I've always admired that she looks like a real person. But it's a shame that they feel they must put her head on some 15 year old's body.

Anonymous said...

I saw this for $25.00 in a Kohl's one day (while not passing the kitchen dept). My kids even thought it was ludicrous.
As for the meals, I don't know so much about the 30 minutes, but I do know the ingredients can be pretty darn pricey for a family our size. And the laugh! She is much better with the sound off!

Aubrey said...

Uh...I have that orange one...

I'm laughing as I type this.

Why? Because I think it's cute and it stands out, so I know not to serve food in it because I use it for all kinds of nasty trash.

I also use the excuse that if I can toss garbage in my pretty orange bowl, then I don't have to trip over my 18 month old every time I turn around to reach the real trash can. Or my four year old. Or my five year old. Or my six year old. Or that stupid four wheeled toy that they left behind me on the floor...

You're welcome to make fun of me. I'll brace myself...I can take it!

Aubrey said...

$11 with a 20% coupon from Bed Bath & Beyond...

Sara said...

Personally, I'd rather have a tiny garbage can sitting on my counter making compost. Not.

I'm sort of intrigued by the idea of the garbage bowl because I have to open the trash cabinet w/ my foot too many times during meal prep.

Rebecca said...

I used Rachel's idea of a GB once when I cooked several meals in one day. It did help to keep me on task, less time taking things to the sink or the garbage can. Though, I didn't have a fancy bowl for it. Just one of my mixing bowls that I thoroughly washed later. Although...I'm making my kitchen orange & green...and, well, that orange GB is kinda calling out to me. LOL

Anonymous said...

OK... FINE! I'll meet you half way. Instead of using the perfectly capable plastic bag that my produce comes in, I will save the planet (I am always saving the planet) and recycle the baggie and use a garbage bowl. I will not use a RR GB, because I am trying to save the planet here and how can I do that if I toss away $15 on a garbage bowl? I'll just use the one I bought at the Dollar General. You see... I am flexible.

Aubrey said...

That's okay, June. It's the principle of the thing, see? If you spend money on RR merchandise, you're giving into pop culture.

Wait...was that me above that gave into pop culture when I bought the orange bowl? Dang it!

Urban Mom said...

I have one. It's called a plastic grocery bag. Load it up as meal prep goes along, tie it up, hike the four gigantic steps across my kitchen, toss it. Voila. I have an Urban Kitchen. I'm not using my limited cabinet space for a garbage bowl. But I will confess -- since my blog is anonymous -- that I like a few of RR's "stoups." I have one honed to where I can actually do it in 30 minutes, but only if U-Dad takes the kids away. And God help me.... U-Kid 1 thinks RR is da bomb...

Anonymous said...

another non-Rachel Ray fan here. Most of those meals I have seen her make on that 30 minutes meals show, just don't look so good, or would take way longer than 30 minutes to make with all my little helpers. Plus it bugs me how she says "evoo - extra virgin olive oil" I mean what is the point of abriviating it if you are going to say it anyways???

gina said...

I heart bowls* - have even considered buying the garbage bowl - the only thing that stopped me is that we don't have a dishwasher right now and having to wash a bowl I used to hold trash before I dumped it in , well, the TRASH does nothing for me. Catch me when we finally decide on a new house- I'll probably own one.

*
http://unpinklife.blogspot.com/2008/08/bowled-over.html

gina said...

ps. I found one for 12.99 at Amazon.com :)

CJ said...

I have never heard of a trash bowl until now! I just had my kitchen newly remodled and I'm enjoying using my pull out garbage/recyling. Why on earth do I need to spend my hard earned $ on a trash bowl? Use an ice cream bucket...at least it has a handle and a lid... and it's recyclable.

Jennifer said...

I compost my veggie peels/scraps. It's very easy and not smelly like you would think. Then you have great, free compost to put in your garden later, and no filling up your trash can. I don't have a fancy bowl or counter top receptacle. That complicates things.

Anonymous said...

Uck Rachel Ray drives me CRAZY with all her GB's and EVOO and other little letters that she then has to explain the meaning of and don't even get me started on the fact that she wears a freaking leotard shirt that I'm pretty sure is an adult onesie. All the time every show leotard onesie. Drives me nuts but I do cook with a Garbage Bowl just not her Garbage Bowl 'cause I live on the edge like that!

Anonymous said...

I can't stand the broad mostly because I have no patience with anyone who gets their entire freakin' face re-done and denies it completely.

Plus, her gargantuan ego has her freely telling the media that she is far too busy/important/booked to ever thinking of having kids. So, who the hell is she cooking for, then? Yeesh, she's so full of herself.

~NYa

Anonymous said...

One of the newspapers here tried the 30 minute meals -- none done in 30 minutes, all expensive. Also, did you know RR is on Sesame Street???? Aaa. Nothing is safe.

Noob Mommy said...

This is so funny because I've been looking for a GB that costs about 99 cents. However, there are no dollar stores near me, and I keep forgetting to get a cheapo one at Target (which, actually aren't that cheap). The reason being I, too, have a trash can that is hard to get to under the sink when my hands are all nasty with chicken juice and potential E. Coli all over it. I just end up tossing in a plastic bag wishing I had a bowl.