It might have nothing to do with her liking the food. Some people (like me) can get pretty painful indigestion from the skins of red and green peppers, tomatoes, and onions if more than a few little pieces are eaten together. Most foods don't give me a problem, but peppers i avoid particularly. Perhaps she didn't want to be rude and imply that the meal would give her indigestion, so maybe she just quietly ate the mussels and most of the pasta and didn't want to make a fuss about it or talk about her digestive issues. I doubt she wanted to be rude about throwing a gift in the garbage.