You can call me Pepper, if you'd like. [Although Richard seems the sort who may not be so comfortable with that, she gives him the option. It's one of many cultural differences that are coming to the surface in this conversation, and she tempers her grin as she elaborates on what she's spoken.]

Starches are foods like potatoes or rice or pasta. [As opposed to something like laundry starch, or whatever version of it Richard might be thinking of.] As for vegetables, any of them can be good depending on how they're made. What have you made before that you're comfortable with?