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Pass (On) The Avocados, Please July 25, 2013

Posted by nrhatch in Food & Drink, Travel & Leisure, Vegetarian Recipes.
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Six days a week, Greg and Katherine serve up enticing tidbits and refreshing libations on Rufus’ Food & Spirits Guide.

Like Blueberry Bramble:

On the seventh day, they take a break from culinary endeavors and create a Sunday Supper menu from past posts.

Like Spinach Ricotta Fritters:

There is always something on the menu that appeals to me.

Well . . . almost always.

Last Sunday, I scrolled down the Sunday Suppers: Tapas Night menu and found nothing to drool over:

Lamb Meatballs
Mushroom, Capers, and Anchovies
Calamari Salad
Marinated Eggplant
Stuffed Mushrooms

What!?  No dessert?

The bread accompanying one of the dishes looked good.  But nothing else held any appeal.

Greg and Katherine enticed me back the next night with a delicious Scottish dessert ~ Cranachan (Whipped Cream, Berries, and Whisky!):

That’s the nice thing about cyber entertaining.  Greg and Katherine never have to worry about guests going away hungry.

But their recent Sunday Suppers: Tapas Night menu reminded me of a get-together planned a few years ago with someone I hadn’t seen since childhood.

Our hostess, Gwen, the daughter of one of my mother’s closest friends from college, grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  She moved to St. Thomas in her twenties.  Our paths converged on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

Gwen owns a home in Sarasota (about 30 minutes from our villa) but is rarely there.  As a traveling nurse, she accepts assignments for six month stretches throughout the continental United States and beyond.  Her assignments have included Alaska (in the winter!) followed by a stay on a Native American Indian Reservation in New Mexico (or Arizona, I can’t recall which).

Anyway, Gwen e-mailed to say that she would be home for a week and wanted to get together for dinner at her house.  We knew she was a vegetarian but knew nothing else about her food preferences.  Nor she, ours.

Our (somewhat) short list of verboten vegetarian items we do not want in our mouths or bellies includes:  mushrooms, eggs, eggplant, and avocados.

Standard fare for many.

After accepting her invitation and asking what we could bring, I decided to give her a heads up about these four foods we do not wish to eat . . . ever.  Not even if invited to do so by, say, the Queen of England at Buckingham Palace.

At the precise moment I tossed out our list of dislikes via e-mail to Gwen, I received an incoming e-mail from her, giving us directions to her house and asking about food preferences:

I was thinking I would make an avocado salad I love and not sure what else @ this point. Any allergies or hates?

LOL!  I replied back:

That’s funny ~ I just sent you a short list of things we do not like to eat.   Unfortunately, avocados are on that list!

We settled on a menu which did not include avocados, mushrooms, eggs, or eggplant.  I’m glad I spoke up.  If I had remained mum, the menu might have looked something like this:

Mushroom Omelette (or Quiche)
Eggplant Caponata
Avocado Salad with chopped Eggs

{{Shudders at the very thought}}

Here’s to good times, good friends, and . . . GOOD food!  Cheers!

Aah . . . that’s better!

What say you?  Any extreme dining likes and dislikes?  Do you speak up and share your preferences with others . . . or hope for the best?

Or do you eat a snack before you dine with someone new . . . just in case?