Quotes from Rachael Ray

I really believe there's no such thing as accidents, only opportunities. God gives everyone the ingredients to a good, happy life. It's up to us to make the most of them.

I have this extraordinary life during the day, and then I get to come home to my sweet husband who loves to cook with me. I have a nice glass of wine, he has some scotch, we chat, we cook, and we hang out with the dog. I have an absolute dream life.

I wish I could be as thin as Jessica Simpson. I think she looks gorgeous! I have had Jessica on my show several times, and I can tell you that girl is genuine and funny with a great self-deprecating sense of humor.

I think having an animal in your life makes you a better human.

That's a horrible thought. I guess cheese or wine. I think I might be too depressed to eat if I had to eat only one thing for the rest of my life.

My first memory in life is grilling my thumb to the griddle in our restaurant on Cape Cod.

It only looks like I get to eat a lot of food on TV. I really just get the one bite and the crew and guests eat everything else.

I live in, literally, the same home when I was swiping my first bank card and wondering if I'd have to put back the Charmin. We still don't have a dishwasher. My mom has done all these gardens so now my house looks like the garden shack in the middle of Versailles.

EVOO is extra-virgin olive oil. I first coined 'EVOO' on my cooking show because saying 'extra virgin olive oil' over and over was wordy, and I'm an impatient girl - that's why I make 30-minute meals!

Work hard. Laugh when you feel like crying. Keep an open mind, open eyes and an open spirit.

I have learned how to breathe, to use my cords differently. I had been tilting my head in a way when I talked that wasn't good for my throat. I've been working on all of that, and it seems to be helping.

NASA asked me to create meals for the space shuttle. Thai chicken was the favorite. I flew in a fake space shuttle, but I have no desire to go into space after seeing the toilet.

You know, food is such - it's a hug for people.

My mom, who's been in the restaurant business for 40 years, is the number-one influence in my life. But I look up to a lot of people in the industry. Tops on my list is Mario Batali. My mom and Mario taught me the same lesson: Food is love.

I cook and I chat. That's what I do. I love to write recipes, but basically, if you had to put it in a nutshell, I cook and I chat.

I write in freehand equivalents because measuring, to me, takes away from the creative process of cooking. Two turns of the pan with EVOO is about two tablespoons.

I felt I'd earned the Good Housekeeping Seal when I designed an oval-shaped spaghetti pot, because spaghetti is long.

I do know what my first meal in the next world would be... Spaghetti Aglio e Olio, heavy on everything.

I measure in my palm and use my eyes to estimate amounts; a tablespoon is a full palm of dried spices.

The magazine, the daytime show, we've always tried to write affordable, accessible. Those are key words for us, and I do mean us, a huge staff of people at the magazine who love to cook affordable, friendly food that helps families eat better for less.

We created a line of pet food called Nutrish that's made to human standards, and 100 percent of the proceeds go to animal rescue. One of our top-tier donors is the ASPCA, and they help us challenge animal shelters all across the country to get more animals placed in homes.

I don't think young men or women should feel pressured into marriage. You shouldn't marry anyone, in my opinion, who you have to try hard for.

I used to say I would never run unless I was being chased by someone with a gun. Now I'm a little obsessed with it!

I had the lunchbox that cleared the cafeteria. I was very unpopular in the early grades. Because I hung out with my grandfather, I started to bring my lunchbox with sardine sandwiches and calamari that I would eat off my fingers like rings. I was also always reeking of garlic.