provide concise, clear and detailed responses to this statement.
I think it would be much easier for you if you had the entire quote in context;
"So easy is it, though many housekeepers doubt it, to establish new and better customs in the place of the old. You need not rest your reputation on the dinners you give."
What Thoreau is talking about here is the random visitor..... the person who stops by to visit just around the time you're eating, and the fact you then feel you need to share whatever you've prepared..... no matter the amount in order to be hospitable. His suggestions included people not be invited for lavish meals or forced to stay in the living room of the home....... he suggests that thue friends and visitors be welcomed in the kitchen by the fire because companionship and visiting were for conversation not food.
