Oh no

[Jenise]

They're giving Ree Drummond a game show, a la Guy's.

But wait, it's not April 1st.

Big Bad Budget Battle should pull in a lot of watchers. Not a fan of Guy but have followed Ree since her kids were babies. Her accomplishments are many, raising 4 great kids,, but what she and Ladd have accomplished in Pawhuska is amazing. Our eldest son is a huge fan of hers and watches her shows. He likes her down to earth way, and has made many of her recipes, as have I. His daughter, who has a masters degree in family and marriage counseling, has been a fan of hers since she was a kid. She cooks very little, but like me, she loves seeing the working ranch scenes, and the cowboys who shy away from the camera. I doubt I will watch this show as it is not of interest, but will be fun to see if it works. So far, she has shown to have a good business head, given the success of The Mercantile, the hotel, the pizza place, her blog, marriage, cook books, magazine, kitchen ware line, and the huge ranch they run.

[Jenise]

I respect your opinion, Karen, and you present her case very well. I've probably only seen three her show three times, but it's clear she's not a professional cook and in all the ways she isn't she irritates me. She doesn't teach technique, she just makes Mexican food out of canned stuff and cheese. Or at least, that's what I saw in all three episodes I've seen. It's kid-safe family food and there's a market for that. It's just not me.

I'm not a Guy fan but at least he's a huckster with a natural stage presence that's perfect for game shows. Ree's monotone voice is the kind that puts babies to sleep.

[Jenise]

I should have added: but the real disaster is that it's less cooking, more game shows. The Food Network is hardly about food anymore.

You got that right, I miss so many of the chefs who used to be on there. For me, it is more of the entertainment issue, not shows I follow all the time, but when I want it, they are there. Over the years, I have seen the grocery store changes, so many prepared meals now, processed foods I cannot stand, ready to eat stuff. I have to admit that our local neighborhood market puts out some great sandwiches, and a couple of prepared meals that are worthy of company. However, I still love to cook and do it everyday, in some form. I just got my freezer stocked with tasty homemade soups, and homemade tomato sauce. Soon it will be applesauce. It seems the younger generations do not want to cook as much, and I see it in my family.

The younger generation, generally, is not aware of seasonality. They've grown up able to buy tomatoes any time of year so why do anything special about them in August?

[Jenise]

So true. (Said she who just ate a tomato sandwich for lunch.)

And that younger generation accepts packaged food as normal, which notion Guy's Grocery Games isn't going to dispel.

Can't stand that show. Drives me nuts. Watched it three times.