Lucinda Scala-Quinn at TED

Full disclosure: I am not naturally passionate about home cooking. But I hasten to add that I am in awe of those who are, and I strive to do my best in the kitchen, as most fans of Martha Stewart do. Both of my grandmothers, my paternal grandfather, my dad, my Aunt Sharron and many of my friends and colleagues have all inspired me to cook for myself, to eat healthily, to get creative in the kitchen and to share what I make with the ones I love. It is the memories I have of those delicious, simple meals they made every single day that often sustain me in the kitchen when I am feeling frustrated or (dare I say?) incompetent. I am not a natural-born cook and it is not an innate passion as it is with some, but I do try and the rewards are always worth it.

Martha Stewart has been a great teacher, too. As has Ina Garten and Nigella Lawson. There is a whole host of popular chefs and cookbook authors that have given me that gentle push to try something new in the kitchen. Lucinda Scala-Quinn, the editorial director of food and entertaining at Martha Stewart Living, an author in her own right, is another inspiration. I love her message. I love her passion for food and home cooking. A few days ago she shared this passion with a vast audience as part of the TED series. It was produced independently of the TED Conferences and was filmed and edited by Tijo Media at the Carpenter Theatre at Richmond CenterStage in Richmond, VA. I urge you to watch her speech and listen carefully to its message: cooking with family, dining together as a family and even preparing for a meal together can shape a person's outlook on life and can have lasting effects and rewards. Click here to watch it.

I have both of Lucinda's "Mad Hungry" books and both are highly recommended. Feeding Men and Boys and Cravings are designed for the home cook who knows cooking can be fun, interesting, imaginative and rewarding - if at times demanding and challenging in our busy, hectic lives. Each book is filled with recipes that will make your mouth water. More than this, the books impart a very special kind of wisdom about the meaning of food and our relationship to it. Lucinda's next book "Mad Hungry Family: The Essential Recipes" will be out in May, 2016.