Orange You Glad I Didn't Say "Green?"

I've always told people I'm not a fan of bell peppers. First of all, I really just don't like the flavor, but I also don't like America's obsession with "roasted red peppers." Yes, they have the bell pepper taste I don't particularly enjoy, but they almost always come on things that would be 100% better if by "roasted red peppers" they meant "sun dried tomatoes." I can't tell you how many times I've been out to eat with people and the ordering process goes something like this:
Friend: "What are you getting? I can't decide. Oh, this looks good."
Me: "Yeah, I saw that too; that does look good. I just really don't like roasted red peppers. I wish they were sun dried tomatoes instead."
Friend: "Oh! They're not? I literally read that and saw sun dried tomatoes anyway. That's what I thought I'd be getting. Oh well. It should be good anyway."

Because, you see, people like bell peppers. So to them, it's not the end of the world when a tomato is really a pepper. That being said, dear restaurants: why not just use tomatoes?!

Anyway, that was a good rant, but the point is that I may be weird in not liking bell peppers, but I know I'm not weird in specifically not liking GREEN bell peppers. They DO have a distinct taste and I know plenty of people like them, but plenty of people don't! Hence the origin of my title. I have discovered that I like, wait for it, orange bell peppers! Isn't that crazy? I know, some people thing they all, even the green ones, taste the same, but I beg to differ and I think they're all gross except for the orange ones. And probably the yellow ones since I'm pretty sure they're the same thing, just different shades of orangey yellow.
So, the other night I was feeling like an "I swear, I'm not anorexic" vegetarian (you know the type) because it was 9:30, I hadn't eaten dinner, knew I needed to, wasn't hungry, and hadn't had a fruit or vegetable in approximately 4 days. So, per usual, I rummaged, and found an orange bell pepper. That's ALL I found or I wouldn't have even gone where I'm about to go. I said to myself, "ok, I can handle this. All I need is some ranch--a LOT of ranch--and I won't even care about the bell pepper." Well, there was no ranch. Only Asian sesame vinaigrette and Caesar. ASV wasn't going to be potent enough so I went with the Caesar. Like always, a pretty plate is always going to taste better than an ugly mess, so I prepared the bell pepper by slicing it into narrow pieces, lining them up on a long rectangular plate, and then I drizzled Caesar and olive oil on top. I also sprinkled on some cracked pepper and some chili flakes.
To my surprise, it was delicious, and if I didn't love bacon so much, I might have become an "I swear I'm not anorexic" vegetarian that night. Oh well. Maybe I'll sprinkle bacon on top next time. Win win.


Until your time again finds mine,
Julia