The sweetness and generosity and politeness and gentleness and humanity of the French had shown me how lovely life can be if one takes time to be friendly.

Noodles are not only amusing but delicious.

The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook.

A party without cake is really just a meeting.

You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just good food from fresh ingredients.

People who love to eat are always the best people.

The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.

I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate.

In department stores, so much kitchen equipment is bought indiscriminately by people who just come in for men's underwear.

Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.

I think anyone who is a carnivore needs to understand that meat does not originally come in these neat little packages.

Don't set your goals by what other people deem important.

Poetry is not a mere expression of a poet's self, but an enchantment, a spell of the muse, the inspiration. Poetry is thus magic and magic is poetry.

False in one thing false in everything

The weight of the world is love. Under the burden of solitude, under the burden of dissatisfaction.

To keep creating something with this type of music, you have to take it out of the box.

God left the world unfinished for man to work his skill upon. He left the electricity still in the cloud, the oil still in the earth.

But my memories are like a fire in winter—whenever I'm cold I can warm my hands at them. —Ditta

Under the shadow of swords, any plan is good.

You can't afford to think about what might have been. You just be aware of what is.

As the Sandwich Islander believes that the strength and valor of the enemy he kills passes into himself, so we gain the strength of the temptation we resist.