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)

DAY 14...Raw Cookies

I had a dilemma today. Remember I mentioned a while back that my husband might have the sweetest tooth on the planet? Seriously, it's crazy, this man could live on dessert. Give him a plate of cookies and his eyes light up, his smile broadens and suddenly he starts behaving like a five year old with a new bright red fire truck. It's an incredible transformation to witness.

Today he comes to me with this serious expression on his face and says 'Babe, I can't do this raw stuff anymore.'

'Why?' I ask, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. I know my success is based largely on his support, so I need him to be somewhat raw almost more than I need myself to be raw.

'I need dessert, I need sweets, I need cookies, I need...' his voice starts to take on that whiny quality. You know the one that you hear when said new bright red fire truck gets taken away from the five year old?

I hear myself saying something like - Okay, don't worry, I'll make some cookies - but my mind is racing to figure out a way of making them raw. Raw, but so good he won't even notice.

Now I have to admit, the blessing and the curse of being raw is not having to cook or bake.

It's a blessing, because timing a meal has never been easier. You don't have to figure out exactly when the meat will be done (without over cooking it) so you can make sure the potatoes are still hot when you serve them, while wondering if you'll over steamed the broccoli. You know what I'm taking about. It's that part of cooking I just never got comfortable with.

The curse is that you don't get to do fun things like bake. I love baking. I love my bright red Kitchen Aid mixer (it's the equivalent of a fire truck for girls). I love the expression on hubbies face when a new batch of something comes out of the oven. Or, when he walks in the door and says the whole house smells like cookie dough. Or wrapping up gifts of baked goods to take to co-workers. I miss baking.

So, I was determined to find something that was good. I searched and searched and came upon this recipe from The Sunny Raw Kitchen. http://thesunnyrawkitchen.blogspot.com/2008/06/recipe-of-week-chocolate-chip-cookies.html and thought I would give it a shot.

Oh my goodness. I'll just say that we might have ended up with a few more cookies if the raw dough didn't taste so good. And if perhaps I didn't eat some of it right out the bowl on the kitchen counter while waiting for the chocolate chips to harden. These cookies are incredible.

Who knew you could do this with raw.

I told hubby that I had put them in the freezer to cool down quicker so he could eat them quicker, but that I had forgotten to take them out - okay, you can laugh, but I had to explain why they were freezing!
Of course, if I had that dehydrator, I could have faked them just coming out the oven.

Now, he may or may not have believed my tale about the freezing. After all, this man is no dummy.

However, the important thing is - What did he say? He said that they were the best chocolate chip cookies he had ever tasted and where did I get the chips, because they tasted nicer than the ones I normally used! Ha, I knew I could do it.

This recipe is unbelievable.

This is what I would do differently next time. Because, I just know there will be a next time.

1) In the batter, I only used 1/4 cup coconut oil, instead of 1/2 a cup. I think I would still reduce this and only use 1/8 of a cup - they were a little oily for my liking.

2) I used the full 1/4 cup agave nectar, and next time I will halve this too and only use 1/8 of a cup. Hubby liked it sweet - of course he did - but it was too sweet for me.

3) I used the 3/4 cup ground oat groats and LOVED them. They added a nice chewiness to the cookie. Next time I might add some more and reduce the cashew nut flour.

4) I added a drizzle (yes, a tiny drizzle) of agave into the chocolate chips to make them semi sweet - I liked it.

5) I didn't roll them in cashew flour afterwards and just dropped awkward shaped scoops on a piece of parchment paper - I was tired and wanted it to be over.

6) Next time I will mix them in my Kitchen Aid to pretend I'm 'real baking' and to remind it that it still has a place in my heart.

That's it, those are my suggestions to suit my taste.

If you modify or don't modify, that's up to you. But if you don't try these, you'll be missing a lovely treat in life.
(Photo - The Sunny Raw Kitchen)