Calling up my mother to ask her, I knew, would be like asking her to describe how to tie shoelaces: almost impossible to articulate, buried so deep in her muscle memory.

我知道如果打电话给我母亲询问这道菜，就跟让她描述如何系鞋带一样：几乎是不可能讲清楚的，这东西已经完全变成了她的肌肉记忆。