a day... it gathers the scattered family together... and it assures the woman the contentment of having pleased those she loves — her husband and her children!

Wadi'a remarked that a woman captures a man by one thing... "his stomach!"

Rashad went on saluting the Arab kitchen, counting it one of the links that strengthen the family's bond; then he turned to Maliha and said: We have all stood by it — except you! And before Maliha could open her mouth to speak, al-Naqqash had dispatched to her a phrase of condolence for her husband, Mr. Fakhoury, surmising that he goes deprived of delicious food...

Maliha could not bear this accusa-tion — she who knows perfectly well that her husband will relish fawaregh with vine leaves from no hand but hers! And she cried: Long live the Arab kitchen!...

And everyone cried it with her.

Wadi'a wished to correct an error, saying: There is no such thing as an Arab kitchen; let us call it Eastern, for it combines the Indian, the Persian, and the Turkish.

As for Aliyya — the believer in the Eastern kitchen — her one concern was to convince us that we live in bliss, and she began telling us amusing incidents about the Westerners' passion for our dishes, and how they count the moments they sit at our tables among their happiest.

Naturally al-Naqqash joined her in recounting anecdotes about the Europeans, the Canadians, and the Americans...

We came back to our own country — and there was Wadi'a surprising us: she cooks only over charcoal, although she has given

up cooking with Hama ghee and frying all the vegetables before cooking them, which harms the digestive system.

No, said Maliha... We want to preserve our kitchen — on condition that we strike from it the element of time, and that we cut down the quantity of food while varying it, serving two dishes instead of one... There is a question that was raised at the start of the session and to which we gave too little attention... I believe the root of all our ills is the manner of serving — arrangement and order.

Here opinions differed... Some of us favor lining up all the dishes on the table — Rashad says "there is a psychological comfort in that"... and some object; al-Naqqash says: "Where is the element of surprise if we know all the courses of the meal in a single instant?!"

We reached no agreement on the manner of serving, but we were unanimous that, whether we like it or not, we are influenced by Western habits — and however much the Eastern kitchen suffers from this influence, it must be preserved as an entity standing on its own!!