I know this will get some cosmologists (and maybe cosmetologists if they happen to like stars a lot) upset. I don’t mean to diss the discovery of new things in outer space. I love hearing about them and I love the art of discovery in that realm.
But stars and galaxies don’t touch the senses the way a dish does. The smell, heat, taste, look, even the sound (in the cooking especially), all those things are at the heart of making one smile in that blissful sort of way that illustrates happiness so well.
My wife and daughter love to go out to dinner. When we do we often will order a very common appetizer that we see in restaurant after restaurant, spinach and artichoke dip. We do it because we love discovering the new recipe, to see and taste how it compares to our memories of past dips. It’s a shared sensual treat, a treat of the senses that makes us happy.
What dishes make you smile that smile?
Drawing and commentary © Marty Coleman
“The discovery of a new recipe does more for human happiness than the discovery of a new star.” Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, 1755-1826, French lawyer, politician and gastronome.
