DAY 4 ... How Martha Stewart saved my marriage

It's true, and it's the reason I was a little sad to start a raw food challenge.

You see, I came to the kitchen very late in my life. Lots of reasons really. I was never passionate about food, I was always surrounded by people who loved to cook, I was vegetarian, I was super fussy so if it didn't come in the form of a salad, a cheese and tomato sandwich, or tomato soup I wasn't really interested. Basically cooking just did not grab my attention and it's not like I was starving. I did pretty well without ever turning on the oven.

And then, I got married.

The first few weeks of marriage, I heard that question that sends shivers down the spines of women around the world daily. It made my throat go dry and the hair stand up on my arms. 'What's for dinner?'.

I hated those three little words. Boy, did I hate them.

I hated them as much as the five words that often followed. 'It's not like my mother's .......' Substitute any dish on the face of the planet.

'Why didn't you marry your mother?' was my normal response, until I realised this was going to be a very long battle, and I should just get it over with and figure out how to find my way around food.

Normally, I would run straight to my mom, and she would make me tea, envelop me in her love and commiserate, then take me into her kitchen and show me some tricks. The only problem is that my mom lived thousands of miles away on a different continent.

So I did what any self respecting modern North American woman does, I turned to TV. I watched Emeril, and Top Chef religiously and then I discovered Martha Stewart.

Martha walked me through roasting a chicken (I had never touched raw chicken before, remember I was a vegetarian), she showed me what to keep in my pantry and how to plan ahead (sometimes, I still break into a sweat about that) and even got me to make a pork loin (which it just so happens was better than my mother in laws!).

And, just as I was building up my kitchen arsenal, the Kitchen Aid, the Cuisineart, the pastry cutter, the meat thermometre and the silpats. And, just as I was learning (somewhat) how to get the starch and the meat out at the same time without one being burnt or one being cold, I decided to go raw.

So, you can understand there is a little nostalgia. It's like going to university and quitting in your final year.

I have to thank Martha Stewart for saving my marriage, but if I'm honest, these days, it's also quite nice to only worry about whether the dressing has blended enough before I dress the salad.

(Photo - Wikimedia)