We had my 92-year-old great-aunt join us for lunch yesterday, and I reckoned (correctly) that despite her career as a domestic science instructor she had little experience of Georgian cuisine. I produced the following:

1. Khinkali – though not too many, since this was only lunch
2. Eggy mushrooms with herbs
3. Beans with garlic
4. A new recipe for me, beetroot salad:
   

   1 pound/ 500 g beetroot
   8-12 prunes
   1 clove garlic
   ¼-½ cup walnuts
   Salt
   Pepper
   Mayonnaise (optional)

   Throw it all (apart from the mayo) into a food processor and blend to a pulp. Chill and serve.

5. As a side dish, pomegranate seeds. I discovered (in the run-up to F’s birthday party) the Secret we northern Europeans are never told about pomegranates. It is this: split them open and hold them in a bowl of water. The seeds sink and the pith floats. You may have to encourage the seeds to detach from the pith quite vigorously, but you end up with a very munchy pile of purplish nibbles.

It all went down well, anyway.