Grain by grain

      'Risotto,' he said.
      She touched his cheek. 'It's lovely having somebody to cook risotto for one. It really is.' And then she burst out laughing. 'How corny I sound.'
      'But it's true,' he said, smiling and laying his hand gently against her cheek;  the reciprocated gesture. 'There's something very calming about risotto. You can eat it very slowly, if you like, grain by grain, cherishing each one. That's how we should approach life, I think. We should savour every little bit of it, every single grain.'

from A Conspiracy of Friends, by Alexander McCall Smith
(Chapter 57:  'Risotto at Last')

For some reason, this third installment of the Corduroy Mansions serial didn't seem to have the same ... fun? zippiness? mental wide-rangingness? ... as the first two books had. But I still enjoyed it very much, it still had its moments, and there's risotto in it again (risotto being a recurring theme in Professor Smith's work). 

{beautiful hand-hammered copper risotto pan found here}