The highlight of the week was definitely Wednesday, and not only because it was Cinco de Mayo. I was invited to Arbutus for lunch by Miss Whatsit. Bella and Clark are their two regular lunch guests, and Gaia had also been invited for lunch. Miss Whatsit, who is not vegetarian, cooked a great vegetarian feast. There was parmesan and herb encrusted tofu, a millet dish that was an orangey-red and had the consistency of mashed potatoes, and two salads. One looked like it was a carrot salad and the other was an African rice salad. Even though I don’t like dates, onions or find particular joy in oranges I really wanted to try the African rice salad. The salad, like the rest of the meal, was really good. After lunch Miss Whatsit gave me a tomato plant and let me borrow one of her clay pots.
Since it was Cinco de Mayo Wednesday night Demi, Westley, Froud, Celine and I went to a reasonably priced Mexican restaurant to Great Barrington. Froud and I split a cactus salad, while Celine, Demi and Westley shared a large nacho plate. The nacho plate was warm and delicious. The cactus salad was cold and slimy, like okra. The avocado and tomato on the salad was tasty, but since between the five of us we ordered two dishes (and several beers) I kept thinking we were going to get spit in our food. Now I realize this could be paranoia but since the as I lifted bites of cactus up there were things that looked suspiciously like threads of spittle and I was less and less inclined to eat until eventually both Froud and I gave up trying to finish the salad. It was actually pathetic since it was a small salad but I couldn’t mentally get over how the cactus looked or felt in my mouth and was done trying to make it work. I’m pointing this out for two reasons: one it is part of my Wednesday night and two I have gotten a reputation for hating vegetables. While I do not like a lot of vegetables I do try them. I continually try new things, but I in doing so I often find out new things I don’t like.