That family glaze of common references, jokes, events, calamities-that sense of a family being like a kitchen midden: layer upon layer of the things daily life is made of. The edifice that lovers build is by comparison delicate and one-dimensional.

Fulfillment leaves an empty space where longing used to be.

The sharing of food is the basis of social life, and to many people it is the only kind of social life worth participating in.

For the socially timid, the kitchen is the place to be. At least, it is a place to start.

It is a fact of life that people give dinner parties, and when they invite you, you have to turn around and invite them back. Often they retaliate by inviting you again, and you must then extend another invitation. Back and forth you go, like Ping-Pong balls, and what you end up with is called social life.

The best way to eat crabs, as everyone knows, is off newspaper at a large table with a large number of people.

In this world of uncertainty and woe, one thing remains unchanged: Fresh, canned, pureed, dried, salted, sliced, and served with sugar and cream, or pressed into juice, the tomato is reliable, friendly, and delicious. We would be nothing without it.