«Pour and stir, stir and pour. Food. Pietas, pietatis, plate. Inside it I read respect, dedication, devotion, sense of duty, love, self-sacrifice, benevolence.»
«For whom?»
«For the gods, the family, the children.»
«You fool! You don’t have children.»
«Pour and stir, stir and pour. So what? Never mind. My dishes, I cook them for myself. Or for friends who are willing to seat at my table and eat my food, replete with fine and concentrated thoughts. Because, you know, it’s my goals and my words filled with love that season and bring this food on the plate.»
«Tablemates? How do you know who may show up at your door? Admitting that somebody will actually show up...»
«If every woman actually cooked real meals and didn’t use convenience food, for herself or for her family, for the simple pleasure of doing it, we would start a revolution. If we did it, all of us, you would see an extremely powerful energy come out of the chimneys, densely floating, whirling above the roof of every house, of every town, and rapidly spreading all over the world!»
«So you think of yourself as a Goddess when you busy yourself with pots and pans?»
«Of course. The energy of the Goddess can turn poor ingredients into a nourishing dish as she mixes, kneads and stirs food. Don’t you think that there is something unbelievably Sacred in this? Isn’t it true that every woman who looks after her family every day of her life with usual, simple and unaware gestures performs a real domestic miracle? Isn’t each woman a Goddess, then? Women-Goddesses must become aware of the importance of what they produce, so they won’t crave for their efforts to be acknowledged. They would only need to understand that every act they perform is neither to be taken for granted nor ordinary but sacred. Every single gesture, if performed with love, attention and concentration, will reward them with the outstanding energy they deserve.»
«You are so silly. You keep on talking and talking about families but try and make this great speech about the energy of the Universe to all the women who actually look after a family day after day.»
«Isn’t it true that those women are always full of energy? For sure they have more energy than a woman sitting all day at her desk, in front of a computer, and who is probably forced to go to the gym or to ride a bicycle to get exhausted by that physical exercise that makes her feel so good.»
«And what’s the reason for it? Tell me.»
«Because if you give energy, you recover energy. By running, pedalling, working hard, you give physical energy to the Universe. It is an atavistic need, don’t you understand?»
«“Ata” what? Listen, I think that, by constantly cooking and eating, your ass is getting as big as a sports car.»
«Of all my double personalities conflicting with myself you are the only one that has a problem with my shapely body. When will we stop arguing about this? There are other and more compelling problems to solve than wearing a small size!»
«I am your conflicting personality in charge of finding you a husband once and for all. This is also the reason why I am always in a bad mood.»