Watching Rachael Ray

Ooooh the first guest is a biggy today! Salma Hayek - actress, producer and activist - is on the stage with Rachael to talk about everything from the biz to being a new mom. She chats about her daughter, and says that her baby is active even when she sleeps - and the night before she said she saw a ghost, and she was looking in a corner and saying au revoir, bye bye byb to get it to go away - and Salma says that she was terrified, though Salma’s name means peace and calm, though she was kicked out of school when she was 14. Is she a strict mom? She’d like to think she’s going to be, but she’s not achieving her goal. The baby is very clever even at one and manipulates her already!

She says she loves food and has to pay attention to negotiate so she gets to eat and not be a super skinny person - you watch so you don’t gain too much. She suggests you watch it a little bit, so that you can continue the love affair with food. When asked if she likes sweets or salt - she says Rach is lucky because she likes salty, because Salma likes it ALL. She ALWAYS has an appetite.

She even admits to loving PJs more then dressing up, though assures us she changes them so the baby doesn’t think she wears the same thing all the time. Dressing up is nice though, but there is a time limit for the Cinderella Fashion, because things start poking and slipping and pinching. She loves it for a minute, but PJs are comfortable forever!

Good friends with Penelope Cruz ended up with Salma having to do Kareoke at an 80s party! She jokes about having to struggle with English, and then they had her trying to do “Red Hot Chilli Pepper Language! giveitawaygiveitawaynow!” They of course chat about Salma’s stint on 30 Rock, where she got to put her hand down Alec Baldwin’s pants. “I didn’t really do it! I just imagined it, but not really did it!” What a rough day of work!

Salma’s now involved with Pampers and UNICEF to help fight tetanus in developing nations. It’s 100% preventable, but every four minutes a newborn dies of it. With Every Pampers package sold with the UNICEF logo helps pay for one woman in another country to get a vaccination against tetanus.

Then the audience gets a chance to to ask some questions - check it out!

After a quick stop in the prep kitchen for Chicken Honey Mustard Biscuits, its the heartbreaking story of Matt Logelin who’s wife died 27 hours after the birth of their daughter Madeline.

Matt run a website that made it easy to update everyone on her condition, and ended up as a lifeline. She was put into the hospital, and had to have a c-section and when she got up to go see Madeline in the NICU, she felt lightheaded, and dropped from a pulminary embolism, a blood clot from her legs lodged into her lungs and it was instant. Matt was loss, and took to the blog again, turning it into a reflection of life without her.

Within months, 40k people were reading every day. Matt says e never dreamed that so many people would give him advice, good advice. He wants Madeline to have the life that Liz would have wanted for her, she’s his number one priority.

Matt and Maddie join Rachael on stage, and Maddie is ADORABLE! He says that Liz had done everything for him - he did laundry, and she did everything else, so when she died, he had to go home without her, which was devistating, and bring home a baby that weighed under 4 pounds since she was born 7 weeks early.

Matt’s story was featured in People magazine, and he created a foundation in his wife’s name to offer financial support o others facing similar circumstances, including the widowers with children that he met through his blog. “It makes me feel like I’m doing something right here, and that’s a really nice feeling.” Get more information on The Liz Logelin Foundation here.

And after everyone grabs a kitchen, it’s time for dinner! Ancho Chicken Soft Tacos, Green Rice, Pomegranate Guacamole.