Apology To A Racist

Dear Man On The Street,

You might not remember me already, but we crossed paths this beautiful evening. Let me refresh your mind.

With such beautiful weather in New York, I decided to walk home from work and use that time to talk to my mother on the phone. She is a beautiful, hardworking Mexican woman who just bought a house with my dad after working for 18 years in this country. Finally, the American Dream is complete. But, I have a feeling that you wouldn't understand about that, so I will move on with my story.

We crossed paths walking down Madison Ave in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. With my headphones on, I was talking my heart out to mom, and then you came about and shook my world.
"Shhh", you said loudly as you walked pass me. It took a second. I stopped. Looked around, and realized that you were talking to me. Was I doing anything inappropriate? No. Was I bothering or insulting you or anyone? No. What was my crime?

As you were speed walking away from me, the New Yorker in me, that I had been training for almost a year, came unleashed. "What the fuck is your problem?", I yelled looking back at you. "Speak English", you said without even turning around to look at me as you continued to walk away. "What does it fucking matter to you what I speak?", I yelled back louder. "This is America", you proudly said as you continued to cowardly go the opposite direction.

So many emotions. So many questions. So much anger and frustration. All I wanted to do was run after you, but then what? What was the right thing to do? To be honest, I was afraid that you were armed, and my mother, who heard the whole exchange, begged me over the phone to just let you go.

I apologize for not educating you. I strongly believe that I could have been your savior in this world. On that moment, I was representing those million of immigrants in different corners of the country facing racism, exclusion, and oppression only for being different. It was my chance to change your mind and I wasn't prepared. As you cowardly walked away, I was dying to tell you my story, and those of million of immigrants who suffer and struggle in this country, just to have a piece of the American Dream . If you only knew, you would feel some respect.

I noticed you were proudly wearing your Marine Corps hat. Good job.Thanks for your service. My boyfriend, son of immigrants, is also a Marine Corps vet. Allow me to make you aware that immigrants have served with distinction in the U.S. military throughout the nation's history, becoming a vital contribution. Are you also going to ask them to speak only English as they take a bullet for your country?

To be fair, you were right about one thing, this is America. My America. Country of immigrants. That is exactly why I get to speak my language of choice, be whatever religion I feel like I want to be, and love whoever I want to love. You do not have any power over me for any of those decisions.

The only reason I wanted to write this letter was to apologize to you. I am sorry that your inferiority and insecurities make you feel threaten around what is unknown for you. Not because our President represents white trash like you, means that we get to sit and conform. On the contrary; we get to stand up for one another and for what America is really about.

My strongest piece of advice is that you start getting comfortable with being uncomfortable because America is conformed by people like me, not you.

You live in one of the most diverse cities in the country, composed by millions of immigrants, and you still had the balls to be racist in the streets of Manhattan. What can we expect from the rest of the country? There is a lot of work to do.

Thanks for the empowerment!

With love,

Your Mexican, American, Bilingual, Bicultural, Female, Immigrant neighbor.

P.S. If we cross paths again, make sure to say "Buenas Tardes".

Whole Wheat Chipotle Lime Pasta Party!

Found some interesting looking Whole Wheat Chipotle Lime pasta at the farmer's market. Seriously? You include two of my favorite ingredients into a healthy-er type of pasta, I'm in! 

After searching for a way to make it in a healthy and different way, I adjusted this recipe:

You need: 

• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 8 oz. whole wheat chipotle lime pasta
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 of a 15oz can mashed tomatoes
• 2 tomato cut in chunks 
• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
• Chopped cilantro
• 1 diced avocado

Get to work: 

Bring water to boil, then add salt and then the pasta until it's soft and perfect for your taste. 

In the mean time, get a pan, spray olive oil or whatever you like on it and put the turkey to cook on medium. Once you think it's almost fully cooked, add the onions and spices. Simmer and cook for other 5 minutes. Add the smashed tomatoes and one of the tomatoes in chunks. Make sure the turkey is completely cooked, then add the mascarpone cheese. 

On the side, drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the meat and everything else. Stir and get ready to serve.

 Once you serve it, add on top the other diced tomato and some chopped cilantro. This will add tons of flavor to it. 

And there you go!!!! Dinner is served!!! 

This meal is perfect for dinner after a hard workout :) 

Eat, Love, Adventure Out! 

Dani G. 

My "Chef" Monologue

I love my Mexican food very much. Anything that I cook, I always find myself wanting to give it a Mexican cuisine twist to it. I cannot help it. Growing up with the best Mexican food chefs and restaurant owners at home, I learned to eat the good stuff. 

My maternal and fraternal grandparents were in the food industry business before I was even born. My parents and aunts also continued that legacy for many years. That explains my love/hate relationship with the kitchen. 

When I was little, my parents were busy enough to get food ready for hundreds, and even thousands of people, so there was no room for me to play around the kitchen. When possible, I would try to cook something and someone would always "fix" it for me or tell me what I was missing. This made me lose any interest on cooking. I felt like my parents and family were so good at cooking, that I didn't need to learn, nor did I have any interest anymore. Time went by, and I grew up hating the kitchen. Now, I don't have my mom, aunt or grandmother around the corner to make some banging cooking, but I continue to run into products, vegetables and condiments that they used to prepare my favorite dishes. So, I buy them, take them home and attempt to find those flavors that bring back so many memories. To my surprise, I find comfort in the kitchen. When needed, I call mom to verify ingredients. She has thought me that there is no such thing as a "recipe", it's all about discovering flavors and getting the best out of each ingredient you use. It's so magical trying to find that exact point where incredible flavors combine and complete each other for an explosion of taste. 

After all, I think that cooking is in my blood. I have to adapt recipes to our healthy lifestyle, and the lucky one to taste my kitchen successes and failures is my husband, but thankfully he is a good sport for it. 

Cannot wait until the weekend to head over to the City Market in Kansas City and get fresh vegetables to keep experimenting! 

Eat, Love, Adventure Out! 

DaniG