Seated on the plush leather couch in her yellow living room, where a rubber plant has grown past its stakes to the ceiling, we discuss food: what was eaten for supper, what pre-packaged find was a success, what in her country of origin is a staple meal-snack-appetizer: “You take tuna and mix it with some mayonnaise and spoon it in the centre of a sliced canned peach. Pêches-au-thon! It’s familiar to everyone in Belgium!”

As I walked the dog over leaves cast to the ground, still and dampened from an earlier light rain, the air smells good and the feeling of coziness makes me want to plan supper; maybe lentil soup with home-made broth and a plate towered high with grilled cheese…