by
Melinda Pillsbury-Foster
Better
-N-Bulk, Foods & Deli, has been in business since 2009 on Route
45, Austinburg, Ohio. Walking in, you find shelves of products which
includes candied ginger, the reason I sought them out. While having
a meal with friends before Christmas I noticed a container, now
nearly emptied, of the crystallized confection. The price was
nothing short of amazing.
I
love candied ginger. I discovered its piquant potential to delight
while staying at a Bed and Breakfast in Los Angeles, sadly, no longer
in operation, called La Maida.
The
breakfast which awakened my taste buds included perfectly ripe
cantaloup sliced so thin you could see light through the fruit. The
crystallized ginger was sprinkled over the offering like tiny stars.
It
hit my unsuspecting tongue like a moment of enlightenment. Entirely
losing track of what my breakfast companion was saying, I looked down
at the plate. I took another bite. No mistake. It was wonderful.
After a few moments I was able to again listen to what was being
said, though now with the same attention.
After
then, a cache of the confection was always on hand at home and I
found many other ways to enjoy it.
But
never have I found someplace where it is less expensive than Better
-N-Bulk.
My
first sortie into the modest emporium found me going over the shelves
with barely contained enthusiasm for the variety and prices of what
was offered.. Their list of items available included organic chicken
and grass-fed beef. So nice to have a local supplier in a world
where all too often you don't know what is in the food you are
consuming.
Reflecting
later, I realized I had driven past Better – N – Bulk many times,
never noticing it.
So
often we strain our eyes to find what we want when, all the time, it
was right there in plain sight, if we had only been a touch more
discerning or willing to see what is before our eyes.
When
taking my walk around the Ashtabula Mall in the quiet of morning I
think about that, looking at stores, now emptied. I think about it
when I walk down Main Street, too.
Do
we know what we want? Would we recognize it if we saw it – or do
we hurry by, missing the small and large astonishments which open up
our world in so many ways.
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