This is not, as one would assume, a page illustrating something delicious to serve your guests should you hold a patio party. It is a cautionary tale demonstrating the dangers of putting your pickled vegetables out on the table a tad too early.
Sometimes a busy hostess has other things to do like drinking cocktails, so in the interests of preparedness, she clips the checkered tablecloth to the table, sets out her best glassware, and hurries back to the liquor cabinet.
Over the next couple of days, rainwater fills the bowls, and insects engage in the magnificent cycle of life that has allowed them to flourish for millennia. Here, you can clearly see the eggs that have been laid among the beans and carrots. Worms have infiltrated the jar of mushrooms and and can be spied curled around them.
By the time the guests arrive, the larva will have grown to enormous proportions and demolished the cherry tomatoes. Never fear; a bowl of dipping sauce can be utilized to make them more palatable.
