Gastronomic Journey: Thinking Inside the Box

The first thing I notice is the buzzing of fluorescent lights and the parallel lines of black and chrome shopping carts, like hearses in a funeral home parking lot. I walk through the automatic doors into the slightly chilly, climate-controlled environment, and land directly in front of a display of out-of-season fruit. I take in row upon row of plaintively under-ripe nectarines, plums and peaches that surely were wrenched from trees in sunny places and confined to refrigerated trucks, and are now disheartened by the knowledge that they should be giving off alluring aromas they will never possess. I am here with my sister so we can get my mother a package of cream cheese for some pastry dough she is making to celebrate my sister’s visit. It is my first time in a chain grocery store in eight months. (read more)

gilded fork, food, food writing, farmer's market

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