First Meal: I have a dear friend Josée whom I met when I lived in Aix-en-Provence, France. Her friends, Mehmouna and Guy were visiting New York. Josée wanted me to meet them. Mehmouna asked for a tour of Queens and today was the day. I wasn’t sure when we were going to start. I was waking up slowly, as I usually do, reading the New York Times in bed, when I got the WhatsApp text from Mehmouna wanting to meet in the morning. I sprang out of bed and moved fast around the apartment getting prepared. I grabbed the cooked Polenta Cereal, now chilled and firm. I sliced it and ate it.
Second Meal: We met in Flushing and walked to our first stop, the Hindu Temple Society of North America. My neighbors have wanted us to visit this temple for a long time, especially to go to the basement canteen for Dosas. I checked a while back, the dosas are cooked with ghee so I wouldn’t eat them. Still I was curious to go. Honestly, I was disappointed. The temple sanctuary was big, filled with statues and monuments and smelled moldy. We left quickly for the canteen. It’s a very simple cafeteria, no fancy atmosphere, bare bones. I ordered one item that was vegan, Rice Cakes with a Vegetable Soup and Coconut Sauce. It was very tasty. But I don’t think I will go back!
We stopped at the Queens Botanical Garden and shopped in some Indian shops in Jackson Heights. My mom was calling a lot today which made acting like a tour guide and speaking French especially challenging. She had a gas leak from the stove which naturally created a lot of drama. Fortunately she has great neighbors who came by to help. There was a broken knob on the stove so she couln’t turn off the flame. Once neighbor, switched knobs and turned it off. Ultimately, I instructed her to call 911. The fire department came and shut off the gas behind the stove. I will visit her tomorrow and make it all right again.
Snack: Back at home, I collapsed from fatigue. I steamed a head of organic Broccoli and warmed up some organic Garbanzo Beans with Kalamata Olives.
Dessert: My evening dessert consisted of an organic pear and an organic Mandarin Orange.
