foodie night number one.

it's eight in the morning and i've been awake for two hours!  which is a big contrast to last semester when i was usually slightly late to my class at ten am.  there's something about a consistent summer routine that's extremely satisfying to me.  i'm a creature of habit, naturally, but routine in the summer time makes me happier than usual school routine.  possibly because it seems more achievable.

however, i will admit waking up at six is tough when you just didn't get to bed quite on time.  i've found some real connections among my fellow interns.  when victoria and i moved in, we discovered we held very similar philosophies on eating meat and food in general.  we both hold a generally whole-foodist approach and are vegetarian {except for the seldom exception of happy home-farm-raised animals}.  gregory, another intern in our group, holds very similar beliefs.  slightly more strict on the vegetarian scale than i am, but much less vegan than me, with a passion for cooking and ethnic food, he is an absolute foodie - heart and soul.  i didn't get enough sleep last night because my before-bed routine {which involves quite a bit of talking on the phone to several different significant people} was pushed back by my new-found food lovers.

as victoria and i were on our way out the door to scope out some local indian food, gregory texted us both.  "to all vegetarians and flexitarians, thai food off the cuff at my place!  be there around six."

thai food and indian food are about equal in my book - two favorites.  and really, free vegetarian food that i know is going to be healthy?  who could resist??

long story short, the food was amazing, the conversation was steller, and the company made me feel a little more at home in seattle.  not to mention, i now have a long list of recommended health food markets and other food-related destination points to visit in seattle.  several, i'm sure, will become second homes.  we spent several hours talking vegetarian-talk, moving back and forth between the logistics of vegetarianism, vegetarianism and LDS beliefs, vegetarianism in the scriptures, our individual transitions to a whole-foods attitude, and the general food industry vs. whole foodism.

it's been much too long since i've had conversations of that sort, and i feel so blessed to have found a few people that share my passion for food in such similar ways.  it makes it easier here to cook for other people {something i love and thrive off of} and gives me a little comfort knowing that others will do the same for me - and i'll be able to eat knowing i'm having something healthy, something i would cook for myself.

thus was the beginning of vegetarian foodie night number one.  i'm sure there will be many more to follow over the course of the summer, and i can't wait to see my recipe collection grow!