It's been a few days since I wrote a blog....
What have I been up to? Well, cooking of course!...more beans in fact.
Pushing the cart through the local market, I asked Gio what he wanted to eat, and he replied "chili", I was surprised as he had just finished the pot-o-beans I had cooked up earlier this week, and thought he'd be right tired of beans for awhile....but no.
He loves my chili, and I have to admit, the weather sort of dictates your taste in meals....it has felt like a real autumn...sometimes you know it's October, but it does not feel like autumn, this year it really does, down to my garden beginning to look like it's through for the year....and those nice crisp mornings, after this summer's heat wave feel wonderful.
So, chili beans it is... Chili, is not all that different from my pot-o-beans...it is the same basic concept except instead of the ham or bacon flavoring the broth you use browned ground beef. I still use the onion, pepper, celery, bay leaf, salt and pepper....but I add California Chili powder, and at least three cans of stewed tomatoes, or about 5 cups of fresh tomatoes from my garden...I add a nice bunch of parsley chopped fine, some Worcester, a bit of powdered onion, and some freshly chopped garlic. I bring this all together once I have soaked the beans in baking soda for an hour and rinsed them thoroughly (see my pot-o-beans recipe for the full explanation)....once the chili begins to boil, I turn it down and simmer it until the beans are done.
If I use fresh tomatoes, I par boil them first and remove their skins before crushing and adding them to the chili. Sometimes my mom would cook the fresh tomatoes with the skins on, but if the skins are tough, you end up with the bits of skin floating in your chili, so I always remove mine.
And of course there is more cornbread...
Chili was big around my house as a child. My mom would make a big pot, and we'd eat it several different ways....sometimes topping spaghetti noodles along with grated cheese and chopped onions....sometimes made into nachos--.corn tortilla chips covered with chili, cheese, sour cream, a bit of salsa, and black olives....then there is chili dogs and chili omelets....all yummy, and a good way to stretch that pot into several meals. I remember many football playoffs centered around my mom's chili...she'd ladle it into big mugs, so the guys could eat and comfortably watch the game at the same time....
Now it is just Gio and I. I still make a big pot, freeze some, eat some, and give some away...I love to share. Over the years I have had the opportunity to gift many a meal. I look at food as a way to reach out to everyone. I don't ever remember a time someone said "no" to a home cooked meal. Especially, when cooking is a labor of love. When you take time to cook a good meal, you let those you love know how much they mean to you.....a good meal and a bit of love at the same time. I wonder about people who don't like to cook, what bit of themselves do they give others? How do they manifest their love?
I guess we all have our ways....I think it has a lot to do with how you view food....is it just something to do as a requirement to survive?, or do you instead savor, and remember those meals, enjoyed with family and friends? Simple meals, laden with good conversation, laughter, and love.
Love & Life
You're not alive
Unless you love, haven’t
Lived till you’re loved
-Ali K.
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