Picadillo Stuffed Marconi Peppers

Our new veggie of the week was the Marconi Pepper also known as the Grilling Pepper.  Grilling bring out the smokiness quality of this pepper and it was delish.  The hubs is praying that our CSA has them again this week so we can try something else!

Picadillo Stuffed Peppers:

4 marconi peppers (or bell peppers)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground beef
1 yellow onioin, diced
1 pint cherry tomatoes. halved
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup white rice
1 can beef broth
1 tbsp liquid aminos (or soy sauce)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt
pepper

1. In a large, deep saute pan, eat oil on medium high heat then brown the ground beef with a pinch of salt and pepper.  When almost completely cooked, add the onion, tomatoes and garlic, and cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes releases its juices.  Add rice, beef broth and liquid aminos and bring to a boil.   Once boiling, reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook until the rice is done.  Add more salt and pepper accordingly.  Allow to cool a bit before stuffing peppers (I was too impatient and now have burnt fingertips to prove it!)

2.  Rinse the peppers then slit them down the middle but only on one side.  Remove the seeds and the white membrane from the inside of the peppers.

3.  Spoon the picadillo mix into the peppers until filled.  Do not over stuff.  (you'll have a ton of left over picadillo, which is awesome for leftovers. Its actually my lunch today!)

4.  Heat grill to high and when hot, place the peppers on a grill grate and allow to heat for approximately 10 minutes.  It will be a bit charred on the bottom.  Sprinkle cheese on top and cover until the cheese is melted.

Enjoy.  We paired this with some grilled sweet corn with herb butter.

Super Easy Tomato and Zucchini Pasta

I've been eating like a fat ass for the past few weeks and my body has started to revolt.   So  I wanted to make a light and easy dinner and after scrounging my fridge, I came up with this super easy (and surprisingly) delicious meal.

Tomato and Zucchini Pasta
(serves 2)

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes sliced in half
1 large zucchini diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
6 oz pasta (I used macaroni because that's what I had)
1/2 tbsp butter
1 c shredded chicken (optional)
1/4 c feta cheese
salt
pepper
1/4 c reserved pasta water

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degree oven.  Mix tomatoes, zucchini, garlic, oil, salt and pepper in a oven safe baking pan and bake for 20 minutes.

2.  While the veggies are roasting, cook pasta per package directions until al dente.  Reserve 1/4 c pasta water and drain the rest.

3.  When the veggies are done roasting, remove from oven.  Melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat.  transfer all contents, including the liquid, from the baking pan, the pasta water, and the chicken to the sautee pan and cook down for 5 mintues.  Once thickened, add the pasta and coat.

4. Top with feta cheese and enjoy.

One of the many bowls I ate that night

This was seriously one of the easiest meals ever.

So am I Asian?!?

I am Filipino - American..  My parents moved to the States in the early 80's and I was born in New York. There was a two year stint where I lived in the Philippines, between ages 2-4, but all I have left from that is my ability to barely understand Tagalog and eat balut without cringing.  I have never really focused on my color or race except for when I'm running late and I can blame it on "CPT" or "Filipino Time".

I had never really thought about "what I am" or focused on my heritage until I hit college. I started my Freshman year at UF with my Vietnamese boyfriend (we'll call him P.E.) and alienating myself from everyone else, still one of my biggest regrets in college.  My parents became worried about me and told me I had no choice, I was going to go through sorority recruitment.   They wanted me to make friends and they thought this was the way to do it.  At the time I was completely ignorant about the whole "Greek" thing and what this was all about.  Surprisingly  I got into the one I wanted.  At the same time, P.E. was starting to join up with a group of Asians who wanted to colonize an Asian Fraternity on campus.  This is where things started getting weird.  He kept asking me why I was part of a "white" sorority and why I didn't embrace my Asian-ness.  This was never an issue before, but now it was a huge rift. First of all, my sorority was very diverse, and second umm we live in a country where the majority of the population is white.   That summer, I dropped P.E. and started really hanging out with my sorority sisters.  No one in this new group of friends every brought up my color except to say things like "Tara, sometimes I forget you're not white".  Some people would find that offensive, but it made me feel like I was accepted for my personality and not defined as "the Asian girl".  

So am I Asian or what?!?   I've been told by a few ignorant people "You're not Asian" or "I don't consider the Philippines as part of Asia because its an island and not on the main land" but these same people consider Japan as part of Asia.  Yea seriously...  So what the eff am I? Yes I understand that the Philippines is an island in the Pacific Ocean but the definition of a Pacific Islander is "a phrase to describe inhabitants of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia."  So when there is a questions about race or nationality or some kind of standardized grouping I bubble in ASIAN!

I am Filipino and I am American.  I love my heritage, I love my skin color, I love my slightly slanted eyes, my really flat nose, and I love me some adobo.  But I also love everything about living in America and the opportunities here. I thank my lucky stars that my parents had the cajonas to leave everything they knew and loved in the Philippines and come to the states.  Finding that happy medium between the two and trying not to forget where your family came from can be difficult sometimes.  But I am so glad that I can embrace both. 

The next question will be, when the hubs and I procreate, will our kid be White, Asian, or Other?