A classic and properly made white clam linguine is my idea of heaven and so is a goat taco from a market stall in Mexico.

My two grandmothers shaped my outlook on food. They were both on the fringe as far as cooking and eating in the '60's was concerned. They taught me how to eat avocados, artichokes, zucchini, eggplants and organ meats, how to pick wild garlic and strawberries and make marmalade out of mountain ash berries. They had no cultural or economic boundaries to hold them back from enjoying any kind of food, whether it was from the fields or the local IGA. Eating with them was always a discovery, and it is this experience that I crave.

There is really no bad food, only indifferent cooks. There should be no snobbery in food, only a desire to eat well and share your knowledge.