Ruth Reichl

Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.

When a person has lived generously and fought fiercely, she deserves more than sadness at the end.

That's the most terrible thing about being a child; you're convinced that it's all your fault." Lulu

I felt for the first time that the library belonged here. The house was reclaiming its spirit, and the library, which had stood aloof and apart for so many years, was turning back into what it was always meant to be: the heart of this home.

My yogurt was nestled into a bag, waiting to turn into aushak, and all around us were sausages and pastry, lollipops and spices, chicken and cheese. Any world that contained all this, I thought surveying our loot, was a very fine place. I felt reinvigorated, alive, optimistic. The though of getting back to work suddenly seemed like fun.

Don't you just love the idea of cooking flowers? I imagine them bursting into bloom, right in the pan.

A great meal is an experience that nourishes more than your body.

...I was not prepared for the feel of the noodles in my mouth, or the purity of the taste. I had been in Japan for almost a month, but I had never experiences anything like this. The noodles quivered as if they were alive, and leapt into my mouth where they vibrated as if playing inaudible music.

Every restaurant is a theater, and the truly great ones allow us to indulge in the fantasy that we are rich and powerful. When restaurants hold up their end of the bargain, they give us the illusion of being surrounded by servants intent on ensuring our happiness and offering extraordinary food. But even modest restaurants offer the opportunity to become someone else, at least for a little while. Restaurants free us from mundane reality; that is part of their charm. When you walk through the door, you are entering neutral territory where you are free to be whoever you choose for the duration of the meal.

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

...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.