She was a great cook, but she cooked more for herself than for other people, not because she was hungry but because she was comforted by the rituals of the kitchen.

A thousand years ago the Chinese had an entirely codified kitchen while the French were still gnawing on bones. Chopsticks have been around since the fourth century B.C. Forks didn't show up in England until 1611, and even then they weren't meant for eating but just to hold the meat still while you hacked at it with your knife.

...in the end you are the only one who can make yourself happy. More important, ...it is never too late to find out how to do it.

It is not 'only' food, I said heatedly. There's meaning hidden underneath each dish.

Anyone who thinks they're too grown up or too sophisticated to eat caramel corn, is not invited to my house for dinner

When people flatter you constantly it is very tempting to think you deserve it.

I felt that I was really living in the moment. I did not know where my life was going, but right now the future did not trouble me.