Ah, the eating opportunities of February! There are three: Lunar New Year, Valentine’s Day, and the unofficial but very real holiday: Girl Scout Cookies Go On Sale Day.
Time was, a trip to Chinatown or a dim sum palace in the ‘burbs was in order for the first, but alas! Circumstances have conspired to deprive me of that happy experience. Never mind, the month contained a couple of gastronomic events worthy of being written about.
I walked into the Olney Harris Teeter about a week before Valentine’s Day. One entrance to the store looked pretty normal. The usual fruit, vegetables, sushi, and deli counters were the same as always, with a few exceptions.
Take home a heap of heart-shaped shrimp! And if that doesn’t prove your love, try again with sushi! And for dessert, a taste of honey? No, chocolate-dipped strawberries, packaged in guess what?
Fair enough. I just assumed HT got a carload of heart-shaped food containers for Valentine’s day and was not afraid to use them. I continued shopping, and wandered over to the other side of the store, where I was met with a blast of red and pink. The florist, Debbie, who has worked there since the store opened, had outdone herself. The whole area devoted to seasonal candy displays and the flower department had been transformed into a vision of hearts, cupids, and opportunities to prove to your significant other how much (s)he means to you. It was dazzling.
I managed to escape without too much red overdose. But if you want to see for yourself, I’m afraid it’s too late. The whole display has been swept away, replaced with green (St. Patrick’s Day) and some premature pastel Easter stuff.
And as for Girl Scout cookies, there were not one but two troops selling from card tables in the mild weather of about two weeks ago in Ashton. They were set up across the road from each other, and didn’t realize they were competing until I mentioned it (their views were blocked). For that day at least, Ashton was a two-cookie town. I was proud.
I got a box of Samoas, my favorite. And they’re gone now, too, just like that overdose of Valentine red. Tempus fugit.
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