Too Much Good Food = 2 Lunches

***First of all, I would like to apologize for starting this blog almost a month into my DC adventure. I struggled for the first 3 weeks about how to capture & record all the wonderful experiences I'll have here (staying for at least 2 years for my Master's but I wouldn't mind raising my family here...). Instinctively, I have a tourist mentality of taking pics of everything/-where/-one! But that's not realistic since this is my permanent residence. But I also couldn't bear the thought of letting my explorations be lost to history in the abyss of my insatiable mind. So I finally decided on keeping a fully thriving blog. Wish me luck, and bear with me. I'm new to this. (I already devote innumerable hours of my life to keeping a weekly online journal, a daily gratitude journal, and a spiritual notebook)

Onto the fun stuff.

I love lunch break adventures! And thanks to my prime location in Foggy Bottom (a few blocks NW of the White House), I get to have one everyday :D

I saw a flier yesterday for a free Indian Festival on campus just across the street from where I work! Nothing is better than Indian food except FREE Indian food! So at lunch time, I scurried across the street and got in the short line for free basmati rice, paneer mattar (peas & Indian cheese w/ the consistency of silk tofu), and this delicious pineapple mash that I'd never had the pleasure of experiencing before! Who would give this stuff out for free?!

After roaming around the displays, I realized that this was put on by an organization promoting vegetarianism based on the doctrine of karma - we shouldn't eat meat because it involves slaughtering life. And according to Indians, if we kill life, we'll be reincarnated as an animal that will be slaughtered. There are also health and environmental benefits to vegetarianism. I could appreciate their reasons, but being a Latter-Day Saint, I kept thinking of the scripture in D&C 89:12 "Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly." So I do enjoy some well-cooked meat but I really enjoy good vegetarian food.

Ironically, I was still hungry after that delicious plate so I went to explore the Whole Foods on campus between the Metro Station and my work building. I pass by it twice a day but have yet to go in because everyone keeps saying how overpriced it is. But there are A LOT of people who eat there everyday; you can easily spot their ubiquitous brown compostable containers all over campus (lots of non-GW people stroll thru campus).

Upon my entrance into the belly of the store (prepared foods on ground floor, groceries in the basement), I realized I had stepped into FOOD HEAVEN. I was absolutely blown away by the variety of things to eat!!! Yes, everything is overpriced, but I could see how people justify it in order to receive this delightful sensory experience - and I hadn't even bought anything yet! Being the foodie that I am, I could have easily spent a whole day just smelling goodies, reading ingredients, and tasting everything if I could afford it. But alas, I only had 30 min left and chose a mix of BBQ pork, baked fish w/ salsa, collard greens w/ bacon, and curry cabbage & potatoes. I promise I'll take pictures of my future culinary treats!

I enjoyed my 2nd lunch at a window counter and people-watched. That's when it hit me that I HAVE to start a blog. City life is too rich to leave unaccounted :) The hard part is deciding what and how much to blog about!