This is Thanksgiving Day week in America – or as I call it, National Say-hello-to-the-weight-gain week. I don’t participate in the annual mass turkey slaughter; the novelty wore off long ago. I do, however, throw dietary restraint to the wind and over-indulge in various ways. At the store yesterday I bought a box of little chicken sandwiches (they’re small; two constitute a serving). Nuke ‘em and hose some ketchup on the chicken patty, and you’ve got a reasonably tasty treat, suitable for middle school kids and live-alone geezers. I bought fixin’s for chili, which I enjoy but rarely make. I kept feeling there was something else I needed to buy, but nothing came to mind. Then last night, as I prepared to watch TV, it came suddenly to mind – I forgot to buy the beans. (Technically, chili doesn’t have beans, but that’s a whole other blog post; read it here.) I checked the time: 8 PM. The store was still open, so off I went to purchase beans. I bought pinto beans, dark red kidney beans, and black beans.
Today is cold and rainy, as will be tonight and tomorrow. It’s a good time to make (and eat) chili with beans. When I make chili I like to add, in addition to the chili powder and ground cumin seed, a wee bit of cinnamon and sugar. But only a wee bit – it’s easy to overdo. You don’t want cinnamon flavored chili; you want only a hint of the cinnamon. A little cinnamon goes a long way. And I buy diced tomatoes with “zesty” green chilies – zesty being a code word for “spicy-hot”. Chili should be hot. After all, it’s seasoned with chili peppers which are, by definition, hot. Heat-less chili is like fat-free mayonnaise or fat-free cheese. It’s like low-carb waffles. Which is to say, it’s not natural! You only live once, and when you die, you’re going to be dead a long, long time. Enjoy real food now!
Right now, I’m going to go and make some real food. It’s past noon and I haven’t eaten yet today. May your Thanksgiving be both tasty and fattening. Remember: if you don’t put on a few pounds, you’re doing it wrong.
<< Slow cooker loaded with chili fixin’s. It’s about to slow cook for 2 ~ 3 hours. It takes a long time to reach simmering temperature. When it starts to simmer, the veggies (onion, pepper, tomato) are cooked and it’s ready to come off the heat. Smells good, too!
And the proof is in the bowl. >>
Mmm … mmm … good!
Who needs turkey?
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