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

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.

...it was so rich and exotic I was seduced into taking one bite and then another as I tried to chase the flavors back to their source.

Life is so endlessly delicious

Growing up, I was utterly oblivious to the fact that Mom was teaching me all that. But I was instantly aware of her final lesson, which was hidden in her notes and leters. As I read them I began to understand that in the end you are the only one who can make yourself happy. More important, Mom showed me that it is never too late to find out how to do 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.