Where is she??

Heya folkies!

I am so so so so sorry that this blog got neglected. Things have been insane here. Firstly, I should tell you that "here" has changed, and I am no longer in Chicago... Boo! I am living in Southwestern Indiana, and it is... well let us just say that it is very different. So what have I been doing? I have been gardening and recovering from some rather majour life events. I will not say too much about those, but here is the gist of it:

• I went through a divorce. This began about the time that this blog went idle. I had been dealing with the personal impacts of this and the only thing I did for a while were some specialised facebook posts to keep friends updated, and the usual nonsense. I do not want this blog to be about nonsense, and since my life was so distracting and drama based, I did not want to bring that here.
• I went through a pregnancy and loss. Not really gonna say much about that, just know that it did not work out, and I have been coping with that for a good while now.
• I had to move out of Chicago as a result of the above events. I moved in with someone I know from one of my Star Trek projects, and while it has been up and down, things have settled down, and we are doing a lot better socially, even though our financial situation is in the dumps.

So here I am in my new place of residence. My oven does not work! The stovetop works, so I have made a few things, especially things like making my own corn tortillas! I will share more about that later. The refrigerator does not work properly, either, so cold storage is sketchy at best. No meats. No frozen anything. And on a budget, that really makes eating right almost impossible.

I made Mole last year, though! I need to post it here so you can see it, that will either be a long post or a series of posts. I am so sorry again for having missed posting that, but wow what an experience! So here is what I am going to do: I am going to try to update here more often, trying to get you caught up on all of the stuff I mentioned, minus the drama, and tell you more about gardening, too. This is still a kitchen blog, and yes, I still use my cast iron lovingly. In addition, I will post a link at the end of this entry to my video blog about gardening called "This Is A Garden", though sometimes I say it as a question, since it is a video journal of my misadventures in container gardening. As a question, you get "This is a garden?" and that always makes me laugh. I hope it makes you laugh too!

Thank you for being faithful, and thank you for bearing with me. Here is the link, and I will see you next time!

-Kim

This Is A Garden @ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs2k1I9d7a-CMjViOvlNuMg

Where have I been?

Heya folkies,

I've been meaning to revise that hello line, I'll see what I can come up with next time. In any case, I've not forgotten about my duties here, there has just been so much going on!

To be honest, my health has been taking priority. I've had to deal with a lot this year, dealing with MS has been a real challenge these past few months, and I've not had a lot I could post. I did get some work done with my cast iron that has been in the lye bath for months, and I'll get some good photos of those soon.

There isn't much to say about the chili stuff right now. I am doing my best to come up with some new stuff for it, likely something to do with Mole, and some hot sauce as well.

I wish I had more to say about things, but I am afraid I'll have to ask you to be patient until I have dealt more readily with this current health crisis. My best to you all!

-Kim

Just Tonight's Dinner

I love Cast Iron, as you know, so I made tonight's dinner in cast iron. It is a seasoned hamburger that I cooked like a steak, by searing on both sides and then cooking in the oven for a few mins, then letting it rest, then cooking it a little more through on the stovetop.

I've prepared this one with spinach leaves, white onion, and an Árbol Chile Mayonnaise made of freshly ground Árbol Chiles, nested on Sourdough Bread. Here's a photo:

There is more happening with the Chili Company, more on that later, though. I'm making some videos, and I also update the facebook page as much as I can, which isn't as easy as it sounds, but I am doing so! :) I'm also starting the website, though right now I don't have anything but a placeholder there. If you want to see the placeholder, visit: http://www.mdcchili.com. 

See you next time! :)

-Kim

Mar De Cortês Chili Co.

Hi everyone!

I know its been ages. It feels like ages. But I do have news for you! Not a lot of content to this post, but some news. I know I mentioned my visit to the Chicago Food Film Festival in my last entry. What I didn't tell you is what has occurred since then:

I've started up a facebook page as a startup spicy foods business called Mar De Cortés Chili Co. You can find it at https://www.facebook.com/mdcChili and will learn a lot of nifty things about my projects.

This is a startup site. I have no idea how long it will take me to actually get the small business off the ground, with all the things that are involved with building a food business, like food handling permits, finding a commercial kitchen to use for health code reasons, getting my sanitation certificates again, and finding a means to jar/bottle things and sell them.

I plan to start out at Farmer's Markets with some basic things: Chili, Salsa, and Hot Sauce. Yes, that's right, I've started to make hot sauces! Go figure! Of course my first venture into hot sauce was a semi-sweet ghost pepper sauce, which you'll read about and see more of on the actual site.

Really, with this entry, I am mainly announcing this to you all so that you can go visit and learn more, and please share share SHARE! :) I'm a little less sporadic posting there than I am here, but as this site is more about general cooking than specialized cooking, I don't want to flood this blog with things more appropriate on MDC.

Please visit and like and share! For those of you who use google+, the link is:
https://plus.google.com/118197242320852580992/videos

Please enjoy, and give me all the feedback you can through those pages! :)

All my love,

-Kim

So what have I been up to? Oddly enough, I'm doing well in this down season. I got to go to the Chicago Food Film Festival as a V.I.P. thanks to knowing one of the film makers, who did a great film on New Mexico's Chile Growers and the economy and attitudes about continuing the farming of these most excellent chiles.

I got to meet Lee Ann Whippen from Chicago Q restaurant, and of BBQ Pitmasters fame, and sample some of her amazing bbq.

I ended up going for the last 3-4 days of the festival (I can't remember when it ended... but the post-film parties and tastings were terrific, even for someone like me, with social anxiety. I found some safe space and managed to do ok, and we didn't stay too long at the parties.

This year I also went to a "Friendsgiving" get together that our friend Sarah puts on each year, and I made my salsa from the previous year, which again was met with high acclaim. (Sorry I don't have a photo of that!) I also tried out a new recipe, and made some tomatillo & ghost pepper hot sauce that came out absolutely amazing. It was popular, and people were surprised that they could taste the fruitiness of the peppers in the hot sauce.

Also, I used the leftover turkey from thanksgiving to make some southwestern turkey stew (it wasn't quite chili, but it was good!) that turned out well.

In any case, that's what's been going on with me. Its been quite an active down-season. Sad to say, though, I'm not likely to make it to many, if any, Chili Cookoffs this year. Finances and lack of transportation have made this a hard year, never mind that the partner and I have recently just barely got over a nasty cold, and I haven't had a chance to renew my ICS membership due to finances. Ah well, I'll be even more prepared when my next opportunity arrives. :)

Here are some photos to enjoy. 

FoodFest VIP Badge: 

Fireotter's Ghost Tomatillo & Roasted Pepper hot sauce:

And that southwestern turkey stew:

Enjoy! 

Where have I been?

Well, I'll tell you where I've been:

Hiding in the bedroom from the brutal heat. MS is one heck of a disease, let me tell you, and I've been so focused on my health care lately that I've not been doing much of anything culinarily. I'm sorry I've neglected this blog, but health has to come first.

I'm hoping that as the summer turns into autumn, I'll have more to post about, so just hang in there with me, and I'll try to have something new for you soon!

FYI: I did finally get a copy of With Or Without Beans, and am sloooooooowly reading that. It is far more academic than I thought it would be, which is good, just means I have to read it much more slowly than the last two.

The 2014 ICS Chili Season is going to start in October, though it is likely that the first event I'll get to go to is the Chilly Willy Challenge Regional in Orland Park in January, unless my luck changes. We'll see. :)

Thanks to everyone who helped out with the chili fundraiser, the funds are waiting for my next competition, so hang in there and watch for it! :)

That's it for now, I'm afraid. Just a brief update, and since the topic of this blog is not my health, I'm not going to post much about it here. You know how to find me if you want to know more about that. :)

Luv ya all!

-Kim

Too Long of a Title! My Chili Research Project.

Some of you are already aware that as a part of my fascination with Chili Con Carne, and my fascination with Capsicums, that I have begun a research project to learn as much as is humanly possible about Capsicums, their history, their first uses in food, and how they ended up as an integral part of Chili Con Carne.

Lately I've been reading. A LOT.

To start off with, there are three books that are considered by historians of Chili Con Carne to be the "Holy Triumvirate" of this topic, and they are as follows:

"With or Without Beans: Being a compendium to perpetrate the internationally- famous BOWL OF CHILI (Texas style) which occupies such an important place in modern civilization" (I kid you not that is the full title) by Joe E. Cooper, c.1952

"A Bowl of Red" by Frank X. Tolbert, c.1966 (I own the 1972 revised 4th printing, which is also autographed, confirmed by the author's daughter)

"The Great Chili Confrontation" by H. Allen Smith, c.1969 (I own a first printing of this)

I do not own the first and oldest book, and given its prohibitive price tag, it will be a while before I can get my hands on it.

I started out by reading H. Allen Smith's book as a perspective on the very first chili cookoff in the United States, and realized that while this book is anecdotal and full of letters and articles, it is rather biased in some areas, though it does have some good information, and some great recipes.

I recently finished reading "A Bowl of Red", and while I will write a more appropriate review later, know that for the chili-related sections of this book, my delving into the anthropology of chili has grown in several dimensions due to other books, periodicals, articles, and papers mentioned. In fact, I foresee there being a large dissertation-level paper being written by myself and perhaps a few others assisting me on the topic of:

The Etymology of Chili Con Carne: A Nutritional Anthropological Dissection of Chili, Chiles, Pre-Columbian, and Ancient African and Middle Eastern influences contributing to this dish from its earliest incarnations, to its modern adaptations and variations across The United States, and The World. (Title © Kimberle Andrews, May 28, 2013)

In the meantime, await a more thorough review of "A Bowl of Red", including comparisons to its counterpart by H. Allen Smith: The Great Chili Confrontation, and the character assassinations that take place in each book. Eventually, when I have read the entire triumvirate of "The Great Chili History Books" (meaning I will have read "With or Without Beans" (title abbreviated) by Joe E. Cooper, I will write a far larger cross-examination of chili history as portrayed in these books.

The task laid before me is enormous. Because now not only do I have to research Capsicums, which won't be as difficult as it could be, though I am trying to use as few internet sources as I can, I have to investigate Pre-Columbian food in the Americas, both north and south. There is some information regarding the country of Chile that suggests that the name of the country has to do with the introduction of Capsicums to the peoples of that region in a particular period of time, which will require its own research, and I have found a research partner for this who is a professional translator, who has also offered to help me with other international research aspects.

I also have to research the foods of the First Nations of southwestern North America and their contributions to the regions in which much of what we know as "Southern", "Southwestern", "Texan", "Tex-Mex", and "New Mexican" food, as well as "Sonoran" food. This includes a number of First Nations, ranging from those native to Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana, as well as the native Nations from Central America, including Mayan and Aztec influences, Northern Africa, The Middle East, Spain (as odd as that may seem), and last but not least (and likely not last, either, as I learn about more influences with each new piece of information I find) The Canary Islands.

I think I need to stop writing, as I'm starting to get too much into the material rather than inform you all of the monumental task before me. And to think, it all started with the desire to make the perfect, historically accurate bowl of Texas Chili.

----

Incidentally, if anyone is looking to help me in this research project, I need a copy of the third book, mentioned above. It can be found at the following link, at the lowest price I have found it on the internet. If anyone is willing to get me a late Birthday Present or early Christmas Present, or very belated Wedding present or even an early Anniversary present, I would love to make this book my top priority, as literature goes:

With or Without Beans at AbeBooks

Thanks again everyone for reading, and as always, I hope you learned something new, and find my exploits in the culinary world something to keep reading about.

-Kim

Video Entry!! Making A Pot of TMI Chili!

Here you go, folks! Making A Pot of TMI Chili! :)

Enjoy!

-Kim

Not food related, this is a health update

Many references have been made to my health in past posts, here's the short of it:

I've been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I've had a lot of my food stuff on hold while I try to learn what this means to my daily life, medically, financially, and in general. Here's an update from my most recent visit to the GP:

I was given Baclofen for my spasticity and muscle twitching, she changed how I take my Norco, and the bulk of my other meds remain the same, have Lunesta on hold in case I need it. No Neuro meds yet but here's why:

Overall:

My last MRI was enough to get me my clinical Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis, but there is still a lot that is unclear because my muscles were spazzing and I was moving around too much. She's ordered more MRIs, but we're taking things a little differently to get it done.

I have to get myself onto County Health Care. I am not sure how long it will take for that to happen, as I have to get my birth certificate from California. BUT, because my facility, HBHC, has a few other grants and things that will not only help me get my MRI covered, but will make certain it is an Open MRI this time, and that I get the proper sedation (putting me under to stop the muscle spasms), and they will also help me with the transportation to/from it. They will be going for a full with/without contrast Cervical, Thoracic, and Lumbar sets. Gonna be in there all day.

Also, with the ability to pull a few strings here and there, they're going to try to get me into Northwestern University Hospital to start off with, and once things are clearer, maybe move me to U of C for specialist care. Not sure yet.

Income:

Dr. is sending over a letter that will allow me to make an appointment at the Department of Human Services with the paralegal to get my SSI paperwork filled out until my clearer MRI's come in, and I can get the final paperwork for my SSDI. This is a fairly complicated process and could take quite a while. We have to take it one step at a time, and I have no idea how much SSI will offer me.

I am going back, hopefully sooner than my 2 week followup, to get the county care setup when my birth certificate arrives, so the MRI can get arranged. I also have a 2 week followup, as I mentioned, and see about some assistive devices for around the house, like a shower chair, etc.

This stuff goes on and on.

You may have seen the post I made a while back with regard to a fundraiser that I'm running to try to keep active during my medical work, and despite my diagnoses. Fighting Social Anxiety Disorder and Multiple Sclerosis is a challenge, but I choose to fight it with doing something I love: Cooking Chili.

While the fundraiser is about to hit its deadline, I will still be able to receive donations, and if you wish to help either by sharing or donating, you can go to one of two places:

https://www.facebook.com/TheChiliGames

https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/9UAZ4

While I'd love to ask everyone to donate, I know that is not possible for everyone, but sharing this fundraiser is something everyone can do, and with enough sharing, word will reach people who are able to donate.

Thanks again everyone, for keeping up, and helping as you can.

-Kim

A little more about Chili History: A teaser... and a little about upcoming entries.

Hi everyone!

Sorry to be so stingy on the entries lately, there's been a lot going on, and my health hasn't been the best. You may have heard more about that by seeing the fundraiser I'm running, but that is not what this post is about.

I may have stumbled across a small piece of chili history through a recent spontaneous purchase. I will tell you more once I have my sources verified and checked, but I am SUPER excited about it!

Another thing to come soon will be a post about one of my favourite local places called Yanni's Dogs; a local Chicago hot dog and burger place not far from my house. I wrote a review of it on Yelp, if you'd like to see it, you can go here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/yannis-dogs-chicago, but I want to give it some more attention here. One of my next couple of entries will be about them.

So! You have a few things to look forward to, and I hope you are as excited to hear about them as I am about to write them! Stay tuned, and stay hungry! :)

-Kim

Living with MS, Cooking With Love, Chili for Life. A Fundraiser.

Its that time again, friends. I've started a fundraiser. With my MS and SAD, this was a difficult one to start, as I'm being very very open about myself in this search. Please spread the word!

Cupcake Truck!

Hi everyone! I'll let this entry speak for itself. It is my first video entry, and while short, its fun and shows the encounter my partner and I had with the food truck from Forever More Cupcakes.

Enjoy!

Can it!

Something a little different today, gang.

I thought I'd talk briefly (we'll see if I can keep it brief) about canned chili. My favourite brand of canned chili has always been Stagg® Chili, which is now (maybe it always has been) owned by Hormel®. For some reason, this chili just seems to satisfy what I want in a "quick and dirty" bowl of red, and as they have a wide variety of chili to choose from, I tend to find that I rarely tire of it.

Stagg® Chili

However, its not that simple anymore.

I live in Chicago, the Midwestern United States, and Stagg® is not available here! I can order it from Amazon, if I want to pay the premium (and I've pondered it several times), but with how things are financially right now, I just can't justify that. In my search for a substitute, I found myself trying something else from Hormel®, and I think its a good substitute given my options here. This option is "Hormel® Cook-Off Series™ Chili", in all its varieties.

Hormel® Cook-Off Series™ Chili

I have to say that for a quick and dirty bowl of red, this is satisfying my craving. Its not the most phenomenal thing to hit the market, but I don't care. I'm not diving into this for gourmet chili, or competition chili, I'm diving into this for a quick bit of comfort food, a late night snack, a good movie and a cry, a way to deal with my desire for more specific southwestern foods.

Now for those of you who may live in the midwest and suggest Wolf® Brand Chili, I have tried a bunch of it and it just does not suit me. There is something in it that my palate and my digestive tract do not like. Its not a bad chili, on the whole, but I just can't do it. I definitely suggest you give it a try. I'm partial to the Roasted Tomato and the Chipotle Chicken, but the other flavours are very good as well.

Wolf® Brand Chili

I know this chili has a long long history, 1895 and made by a ranch hand and all that, but even in TX, there is a LOT of debate about what makes a good bowl of red, and for me, this just does not... "minister to me", as a friend of mine would say. 

Everyone needs comfort food. For me, that is often chili, and for now, since I can't get my absolute favourite (especially since I think that the flavour I liked the most isn't made anymore, even in the Stagg® line), I have settled, for the moment, on the Hormel® Cook-Off Series™ Chili. May you all find the flavours that best suit you. As I say in another corner of the internet:

May the pods be ever in your flavour!

Results from The Chilly Willie Challenge Regional Chili Cookoff

Hello everyone!

So I went to the Chilly Willie Challenge Regional Cookoff in Orland Park this year, and it was a wonderful time! While I didn't place, but I was in the finals in all three categories (Well, Salsa didn't have a Finals Table, but Green and Red did, and I made it to finals in those)! This is beyond awesome! Especially since this is my second time at a chili competition, and my first time competing in Verde and Salsa.
Congratulations to the winners, and here they are!
Homestyle Chili:
Katy Withers

Salsa:
3. Mike Usiak
2. Don Cullum
1. Scott Barrett

Verde:
3. Jeff Netser
2. Mike Usiak
1. Tom Pardikes

Red:
4. Jim Stoddard (tie for 3rd)
3. Mike Usiak (tie for 3rd)
2. Jeff Netser
1. Jim Weller

I am very very thankful to all who have supported me, helping me to get to my events, and a very special thanks goes to Michael R Brown for providing transportation and for all the help he was at the booth at this event!

I entered with the Salsa recipe from my previous entry, and did fairly well, just not in the top 3. The verde recipe was very similar to a recipe I mentioned in a previous post here, though had a few changes for the competition. I kind of made it up as I went along. Here's a photo!

The cookoff was a blast, and I hope to go to many more until I finally win! Until next time, though, that's all for now! ;)

-Kim

Salsa!

No, I don't mean the dance.

I didn't update this blog when I made my batch of salsa recently, so I wanted to post the recipe, so here you go!

2 Medium Tomatoes
2 Serrano Chile
1 Jalapeño Chile
2 Cubanelle Chiles
1 Orange Bell Pepper
1 Yellow Bell Pepper
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Green Bell Pepper
1/2 of 1 Large Red Onion
16 oz of pureed tomatoes
1/2 Lime
1/2 small bunch of Fresh Cilantro
1 TBSP Kosher Salt

Cut the Chiles in half and scrape out the seeds. Lay them flat, skin side down, and with a knife placed flat, cut out the ribs, leaving the flesh and skin in tact and cut into 1/4" cubes. (For a more spicy salsa, simply chop the chiles whole into 1/4" cubes.)
Cut the Bell Peppers in quarters and cut them the same way as the Chiles, removing the ribs.
Chop the Tomatoes into 1/4" cubes.
Chop the Red Onion into 1/4" cubes.
Separate the Cilantro leaves from the stems and rough chop.
Combine all chopped elements in a large mixing bowl and add the pureed tomatoes (but not the cans).
Cut your lime in half and juice in hand or over a strainer to remove the pulp.
Stir loosely with a large spoon to combine, chill for 2 hours to allow flavours to meld.
Sprinkle in Kosher Salt to taste; about 1 TBSP.

Serve with your favourite dipping chips. I served it with white corn tortilla chips.

Here's the best thing: It gets better as it chills in the fridge; the flavours just get better and better. :)

Enjoy!

Chile Head or Chili Head?

Greetings everyone!

How about an early update, since my updates have been rather sporadic lately, rather than regular? A post at the beginning of the month is certainly a great way to do that! But enough of that...

Health issues aside, I've not had much of a chance to get out and show my passion for chili and chiles recently, since the last chili (Chili with an I, to borrow a phrase) competition I was at was in mid October, and I won't likely get to another one until January at the earliest. This means that I need to find other outlets for my passion for not only chili, but chile (that's Chile with an E) peppers as well.

I follow a number of blogs and websites that talk about the newest things in Chili and Chiles, including Scott Roberts' website, and Dick's Chili World. While I can buy chiles at local stores, and can get all sorts from the web, and I can make chili whenever I want, I've not given enough time to specialty stores such as Pepper Palace, which I ambled into today at Water Tower Place in Chicago, IL. Thusly, this entry will be about that experience.

I've been to enough specialty culinary supply stores in malls to see a nice wall of hot sauces, mild sauces, salsas, and other chile pod creations, usually catering to people who have a desire to collect and show off what they buy rather than to actually take these sauces home and try them out. In addition, in my experience, the staff running such stores may have knowledge about one or two of these sauces, but don't have experience with everything on the wall. When I walked into Pepper Palace today, I wasn't sure what I would find.

First of all, I didn't just find one wall of hot sauces, I found an entire store. In addition,  I found O'Neill Ryan and James Conroy: two very knowledgeable and enthusiastic gentlemen who love to talk about chiles until they turn blue in the face, and who are serious about educating their customers about anything you can find in their store.

(O'Neill Ryan (l), and James Conroy (r))

I wandered in (and my partner wandered away) and was greeted by both of these aficionados, who were more than happy to answer any questions about their store, and even more questions about anything in it. I asked them, after having looked at some of their sauces, and having read a few articles on Scott Roberts' site, if they'd heard about the recent buzz about the Carolina Reaper (aka the HP22B Chile Pepper, article here), to which they answered no and began to research it that moment. After some talk about said chile, O'Neill must have deemed me worthy of some level of chile-head-dom (is that even a word?) and took me over to their tasting table, which included all sorts of hot sauces from the tame to the tail-whipping.

We had talked about the Butch Scorpion, which is used in their Scorpion Stinger sauce, and he asked me to get a spoon. Oh boy, I'm in for it. I politely smiled and asked how soon I'd be dying, talking a little more about my research, and he smiled and simply asked me to hand him my spoon. As much as I'd love to say I woke up later in the ER (for shock value), I'm even happier to say that while there was indeed very significant heat to the sauce, the flavour was absolutely wonderful. Through some sweat, hiccups, and a few screwed up faces, the fruity notes of the chiles came out wonderfully, and the bite, while building and powerful, did its job and then let my mouth rest with a lingering memory of its visit.

This led us to talking more about chile peppers, trying more sauces, such as their Chocolate Habañero Sauce, and even talking about festivals such as ZestFest, and local chili cookoffs. I told them both about my involvement in chili cookoffs, and that the next one I was hoping to attend was in Orland Park, the Chilly Willie Challenge Regional. I asked if they'd ever been to any of the local cookoffs, and mentioned how much I'd like to see them at one. I'm hoping that, based on O'Neill's reply, that they can start to come to a few of them as a vendor. They seemed very interested in drumming up some local interest.

All of this being the wonderful experience that it was, I ended up walking out with what they suggested as the best introduction to their line of sauces, their Ghost Pepper Sauce, and a promise to return soon to talk more about chiles, chili, and to try a few different sauces. I can happily say that while they've only been in this store for 8 months, I hope to visit them at least once a month from here on out, especially since I got my partner to finally enter the store with me, and she found something for herself as well!

All in all, I think that in addition to being a Chili Head, I'm becoming more of a Chile Head than I've ever been through meeting O'Neill and James, and through the knowledgeable and friendly service they offer. If you are in Chicago and have a genuine interest in Capsicums, are just getting started in the world of hot sauce, or just want to learn more about sauces in general, stop into their store. You'll not be disappointed.

A Scent of Cumin in the Air

Someone asked me not too long ago why I liked Chili Con Carne so much. To be honest, I'd not given it any real thought beyond the fact that I just happen to like how it tastes. However, I've been giving it some more inspection, and it really is far more complex than that, I think.

I am very much a Pacific Rim girl. Starting there, I was born in California, spent my early life in Hawai`i, have lived in California, Hawai`i, Tennessee, Texas, spent time in Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. I've spent extensive time in Baja, Mexico. All of this before I even hit 25. It is only in recent years that I've moved to the midwest, so you can easily say, without a doubt, that I have the Southwest and Pacific Rim in my blood. I have chile peppers burned into me as part of my native cuisine, and so it comes natural to me to crave foods that not only serve up the heat, but that also bring a lot of the flavours together of the region to make wonderfully savoury dishes. Enter Chili Con Carne.

No, its not Molé, which is more authentically Mexican, and its more than Salsa Mexicana. Its also more than just biting into a Jalapeño or Habañero. It is certainly not entering a "Death By Capsaicin" challenge. Its about flavour combined with a bit of a kick. Chile Con Carne, despite all the mystery around its origin, is a great fit for this craving. There is so much variety in making the dish, so much control a person has over the profiles going into it, that it is easy to make the dish a thousand times and never have an identical experience. Chili (Con Carne) is a wonderful melting pot of flavours, is a great food to eat in any season, and for me personally, is a wonderful comfort food.

I know that my partner thinks I'm obsessed, but really, isn't anyone who really has a passion and love for something obsessed to a certain degree? I've been making Chili since I was 12, and have recently started to compete in cookoffs sanctioned by The International Chili Society, learning even more about the varieties and types of Chili that are out there. I never knew there were people who competed on a national level in the preparation of Chili, and when I found these others, I felt like I'd found a new family. The more I got to know them, the more I realized that many of them have the same passions outside of "Competition Chili", and make amazing Chili for the sake of making a great pot of "red".

Let me say something to clarify my position with my partner:

I love my partner to death, but she has a very midwestern palate, and does not tend to get involved in my more fiery adventures when it comes to Southwestern, Mexican, and spicy food in general. I'd never force her to, naturally, because she's got her own tastes, and we have a wonderful time being foodies and adventurers with the rest of the cuisines out there, especially Middle-Eastern and Indian foods. I'm also introducing her to Pacific fish, which she's never had very much of. She's really loving it. She puts up with my Chili hobby, but its just not her thing. No harm done.

For the rest of you, my adventures in Chili have led me to a whole new world (don't you dare sing it aloud!) of rediscovery of Latin American cuisine, from South America to Mexico and Spain. Having been raised with a green thumb (thanks, grandpa!), I want to start raising my own herbs and spices (when possible) to make some of my own blends, once we live in a place that will sustain a garden. I want to learn to make my own Molé, and thanks to some inspiration from Rick Bayless, try my hand at some Yucatán cuisine.

I'm a cook, have always been, and am really thrilled to be able to have this kind of cuisine at home to share with my partner and with my friends. Chili is a great way to do that, because it is such a versatile dish, and can be made so many different ways. Even as a sauce for, dare I say it, seafood. I've found some great ways to make a Chili Con Carne applicable to so many dishes, and there are so many chile peppers out there, that I am likely never going to run out of things to try. I hope to share more of them with you as I do.

What Happened To July?

Heya gang,

So... I know I missed a month... but what can I say, its been quite the month to miss. July has been full of health issues and family stuff, so I've not had much I could contribute. Things are... well I'm not dead. :P

Ok, so back to cooking. I don't have a lot for you, but I wanted to share some of my more recent forays into the cooking world. Lately I've been working on my Chili, as you know, and I've actually completed a far far better batch... in fact, two batches since the last entry. And in the last week, particularly this past weekend, I got to connect with the competition chili cookoff crew finally, and have been learning a LOT! Thanks to Isaiah Frechette and Jim Stoddard particularly for all their help thus far. I've learned more in the last 48 hours than I've learned in the last 9 months of research and cooking experiments. I'm actually preparing for my next round of recipe revisions, though I don't think we'll see another until September. I'm also hoping to connect with some of these folks in person at one of the upcoming chili cookoffs in the semi-local area. More on that as information becomes available.

We've been eating a LOT of roast pork shoulder. We have a recipe that we based ours on, though I've changed it a bit, particularly due to weight, and have adjusted cooking times appropriately. I've added a few of my own twists as well. One reason for the pork indulgence: The local supermarket has been selling a double pack of whole, bone-in pork shoulder (left and right shoulders, respectively), weighing about 15lb total, and for a very reasonable price. One of these packs lasts us at least a month and a half.

These are extremely useful cuts of meat, very versatile. We've made everything from pulled pork sandwiches to pseudo-carnitas, sliced roast and gravy, cubed pork with a chili sauce... its been wonderful.

Today's lunch, for example, was made from the roast pork we made yesterday, which we shredded, and I reheated in a non-stick skillet today with a chopped up chipotle and its surrounding adobo sauce, as well as some dried ingredients such as cilantro, mexican oregano, roasted granulated garlic, and onion powder. With a little bit of kosher salt to finish it off, I added a little bit of water to the pan and lidded it to let the spices soak in, simmered for about 10 minutes, and then made tacos out of it with some warmed flour tortillas. Great stuff!

I'm afraid that, meager as it is, that is all I have for you this time. I will try to have an entry next time that reflects my usual kitchen geekery. Thank you all again for reading, see you next time!

Holy Macaroni and Chili, Batman!

Ok gang,

Barely making it in for a June entry, but I made it!

Today's adventures aren't as extreme as some of my others, so more just an update or two. I'll work backwards, starting with the most recent bit of cooking. I made Macaroni and Cheese. I found a general recipe that I liked, and of course, I modified the living daylights out of it. I don't have any photos of the making of it, but I do have a photo or two of the finished product. Here's the short list of what I did:

1. Grated 8oz each of extra sharp Cheddar and Colby cheeses, set aside.
2. Chopped up 1/2 of a medium yellow onion.
3. Portioned out some Smoked Paprika, Ground Onion, Ground Roasted Garlic, and Ground Cayenne Pepper.
4. Portioned out about 1 cup of heavy cream and 5 cups of 2% milk.
5. Boiled and drained 1 pound of elbow noodles, cooked to just before al dente, cold rinsed to stop the cooking.
6. Melted 1 stick of butter in a pot over medium heat, let the water bubble out and added about 5-6 tablespoons of flour to it and made a blonde roux. It took about 7 minutes or so to get the color I wanted and that there were no lumps.
7. Slowly added the milk to the roux, whisking to make sure no clumping occurred.
8. Added the spice mix, onions, and 2 bay leaves, and whisked until blended.
9. Cooked this mix for about 10-12 minutes over medium-low heat to thicken.
10. I then whipped up a single egg and used the mixture to temper the egg in, making a custard, and then returned the tempered egg mixture to the pot.
11. Added about 2/3 of the cheese, which had been mixed together to make sure of an even distribution, and stirred in until blended.
12. At this point, I seasoned the sauce with kosher salt and black pepper.
13. Final rinse on the noodles, which had remained hydrated without an issue, shook them good to drain the remaining water, and then added back into the pot and mixed well.
14. Scooped the mix into my favourite trio of ceramic baking dishes (seen below), coated each with the remaining cheese, and a topping made of panko breadcrumbs that had been tossed in about 6/8 of a stick of butter, which I'd melted in the microwave.
15. Uncovered, placed these on a sheet pan in case bubbling over occurred, and baked for 30 minutes.
16. I then pulled them from the oven and rested them for about 5 minutes before cutting it into portions.

I'd given my partner a taste of the sauce before I portioned the casseroles out, and she was ecstatic. I'm amazingly happy with how this came out! I've not made a Béchamel Sauce in ages, and I'm only so-so when making a Roux. But even so, this came out amazing. A photo of it follows below.

The other thing to note is my first attempt at a competition red chili. I'm not posting this recipe, though I will say that I started by writing a recipe based on my experience with making homestyle chili, and then went to town in the kitchen. I ended up modifying the heck out of the thing, making notes all throughout the process, and making my recipe sheet look like an insane grand unification equation gone berserk. But in the end, it came out amazingly good, but not at ALL red.

In fact, it came out brown. :(

*SIGH*

However, the people I served it to, at one of our annual meat festivals, bear hugged me. And these are grown men, who are professional heavy metal rockers. I think it was a taste success. But it isn't where I want it yet. A photo of it follows as well.

And now... the photos!

The Mac and Cheese right out of the oven.

Extreme closeup!

*sigh* Brown, but amazingly good chili.

Keep cooking, everyone, and I'll see you next time!

Another late update... I need to get better at this...

Hi gang!

Ok, I know I'm posting in a rather sporadic manner, and I'm rather overdue, but here's something new for you.

I've been spending a lot of time on a cast iron forum that I found, and am really excited to have made that connection, because there is just so much good information! I know I showed you all my "catch" from Michigan, and even the pan that I cleaned from that batch. That pan was cleaned using "The Oven Cleaner Method", which involves setting out a tin roasting pan with a garbage bag in it, and the pan inside of that. You spray it down on both sides and then leave it to soak in, wrapping the bag tightly so that the oven cleaner doesn't evaporate. It takes a few coats of the toxic smelling stuff, and its messy and hard to deal with, and takes a few weeks of sitting and reapplying coats, smelling up the house and possibly doing damage to your lungs.

The gang on the forum have other methods that are much more effective, and less dangerous to your lungs: using electrolysis to clean the pan, and using a bath of water and sodium hydroxide, or lye. Because I live in a small apartment, and I don't have room, nor money, to invest in an electrolysis rig, I decided to research lye even more.

First of all, its caustic stuff. Lye is used in soap making, and believe me, it will get you clean, but in its pure form, when added to water, it can eat away at your clothes and skin. I did a lot of reading online both at this forum and in other areas on the internet, and found that while it can be dangerous, so is a car, if you are irresponsible with it. Be cautious, and respect your tools, and you'll be fine. I decided to do this.

I got myself a nice lime green Sterilite tub/bin, and ordered lye from a chemical supply store. I researched the proper labeling and safety precautions, and made some labels for the bin, added my water, and then added my lye. While I don't have photos of any of the results yet (and I apologize for that, life has been kinda insane lately), I do have photos of the lye bath being setup and the pans resting inside of it, being cleaned nearly immediately upon entering the tub.

The tub, ready to accept water and lye.

The tub, full of 5 gallons of water.

Adding lye to the tub.

Two pans, already coming clean from the bath.

I'll have more photos next time of the results of this cleaning. Enjoy all, and sorry for the late update. Happy cooking!