"Most of the time, if humans don't like to eat something that isn't toxic or rotten, it's because it smells, or looks, or tastes like something that could be toxic or rotten or otherwise bad for us. We learned to not like certain flavors, looks, and textures back when we could barely think because that's how we avoided eating things that could kill us."

She takes out another tub of prepped vegetables. "You can eat them if you want, but when you're making food for other people, you have to think about what they like to eat, too. C'mon," she gestures. "Let me show you how to do this, an' then we can make some dressing for it. Learn by doing, sort of thing."

Her hands move like darting insects as she speaks, tossing greens together with practice skills. "The trick with a good salad is proportions. And also not to use iceberg lettuce, but Jorg's too cheap for real greens, so we're making do. Iceberg lettuce is crunchy but doesn't have a lot of taste or, frankly, nutritional value. But I see they gave us some spinach, and shredded carrots - ugh, radishes. But people do like them, so..."

This is now Saturday's operation. But she narrates as she goes, clearly expecting him to be paying attention.