I'm nutty for nutrition. I've become one of those people who can't stop talking about the connection between food and health. Now that I know how much changing what you eat can transform your life I can't stop proselytizing.

I heard about the project over a year before we began. My American agent said 'Oh you might want to read 'In Cold Blood' because they're talking about you for Capote but the script's with Johnny Depp and Sean Penn at the moment.' So these things take their time to dribble down the food chain.

Believe me I understand the need for easy and speedy. After a 12-hour day of shooting 'Chopped ' say I'm talking stir-fry spaghetti heck peanut-butter sandwiches. But that's not about the joy of food. That's survival.

The only think I like better than talking about Food is eating.

People feel uncomfortable talking about racial issues out of fear that if they express things they will be characterized in a way that's not fair. I think that there is still a need for a dialogue about things racial that we've not engaged in.

I never discuss a novel while I'm writing it for fear that talking about it will diminish my desire to write it.

You feel sometimes when you hear analysts and knowledgeable people talking about Iran that they fear so much about the survival of the regime because deep down it's not a legitimate regime it doesn't represent the will of the people it's kind of morphed into kind of a military theocracy.

I would like a food/lifestyle show. We're not sure what that is yet. I want to be able to share what I do and how I raise my family. I feel like I have a story to tell. I enjoy talking and listening sharing ideas and sharing advice.

What we've tried to do is have neighbors colleagues friends and family talking.

Whenever I have friends over we end up eating and talking and losing track of time and once in a while singing karaoke. It reminds me of the family meals we had in Russia which always lasted a very long time. That's a tradition I miss.