When I was growing up, my parents would occasionally pick up sandwiches and macaroni salad at a nearby delicatessen. The sandwiches would be accompanied by the most wonderful, crisp, bright green pickle spears totally unlike the ones sold in jars. Later I would learn that these are called "half sour" pickles, and although I could find them (refrigerated) in some New York City and upstate New York stores, I never found them elsewhere in the country.
At some point this summer, the local Farmer's Market was awash with pickling-sized cucumbers, and I bought some, thinking vaguely that I would try my hand at this for the first time. It was only as something of an afterthought that I specifically looked up recipes for half sour pickles, and discovered that it is a really simple process involving salt water, garlic, peppercorns, and a few other spices. After four days or so in the refrigerator, voila, delicious half sour pickles! The moral of this story? After nearly an adult lifetime of looking "without", I was able to do it myself!
The other food magic of the summer was living only about a five minute walk from a natural foods store. Because there is no other major supermarket around, virtually my entire diet came from this source and the Farmer's Market. In recent years, my diet has vacillated widely, from "ramen noodles and fast food dollar menus" to vegetarian, to traditional American meat and potatoes (bought at the supermarket) to all of the above, depending on where I lived and with whom. But never before have I spent a long stretch of time consistently eating such healthy food. It shouldn't have surprised me, but it did -- my body clearly appreciated this change, and the lower levels of sugar and preservatives. This fare was more expensive, but that was offset by so rarely eating fast food or as many of the kinds of snacks that make me hungrier. It was a blessing to fall into good habits. It scares me a bit to realize that not all living situations will be so perfectly situated; I know I could fall back into less healthy eating habits within a matter of seconds. I will try to remember the feeling of my body saying "yes" to foods that are more aligned with nature.
