Sara and I had Ethiopian food for lunch today. I must say that there is something I find appealing about eating with your hands. It must be adding yet another sense to the eating experience. Perhaps it is that I also associate eating with your hands with Ethiopian food, which I love. The cuisine is so rich and complex: multiple spices mixed in with meats, legumes, and vegetables all packaged in to bite-sized morsels in the spongy bread. Being able to feel the textures of the food with your fingertips just adds another layer of complexity.

I also love being able to smell the spices and other flavors on my (and Sara's) fingers hours after we have eaten. The scent of honey on my fingers (from the dessert) actually made me smile.

Perhaps we should eat other foods with our hands - and I don't mean fast food.

Now that I think about it, in Mexico I did tend to eat more with my hands, even when there were utensils around. There might be a formative component in all of this as well.