Sad goodbyes to Halloween! Our annual party was wonderful, with family and friends gathering for an early dinner before the goblins left for trick or treating. We had the family favorite..homemade chili and cornbread. If you are a chili lover, you've hit the jackpot! I'll include the recipe below. My husband, Mike, endorses it 1,000%. He says it is delicious and doesn't appear to have the negative effects on the digestive system that some chilies have....Make sure to double the recipe to help out in the busy days to come. The homemade root beer, served in real chemist beakers, with just a titch of dry ice, completed the ambiance. My son, Jesse, made it this year and it was the best ever! Use the A&W root beer concentrate if you can find it. It really has the best old-fashioned flavor. Costumes were optional at our gathering, but I decided to wear a single zombie-red contact lens for mine. It drove everyone crazy and before the end of dinner I had to take it out because no one could look at me while they were talking. I yearned for Little Orphan Annie to show up at my door...(see last months blog)..but mom passed six years ago.
So on to the last few weeks of the exhilarating fall weather before the beloved snow quietly comes. November is a busy time for our family: four birthdays, an anniversary, Black Friday to prepare for at our business, and Veterans Day, a very special day for us. My dad served in World War 2 from 1943 to 1945, and we hear stories very often about his experiences. He operated the heavy equipment to make air strips in Manilla so the Air Force could land their planes. He tells us, though, that his scariest war experience was coming home to mom. They had married only three months before he left for duty. When he came home, his nerves were shot, as was most assuredly the case with everyone coming home from the war. During the night, if mom would cough or make any kind of noise, or touch him when he was asleep, she would end up on the floor and dad would spend the rest of the night apologizing. His reactions were fine-tuned and it took some time to get used to being home and knowing he was safe. The World War 2 generation will very soon be gone and that era will have passed, but will never be forgotten. It was dads 90th birthday on November 13th. We shared it together in the old family home of over 100 years. We all had cupcakes for dessert and in the picture below he is making his usual wish in his simple, sincere, adorable way, that our family would continue to love, support, and serve one another no matter what, as we always have done, and always will. Family is everything, as I was taught from the moment I was born.
May you all enjoy and give thanks to your God for your families this year at Thanksgiving. I wish you the happiest of times, with good food, good company, and peace in your hearts.
Leslie
Sausage and Black Bean Chili:
2 heads roasted garlic, peeled
2 twelve- ounce cans each of black beans, garbanzo beans, white beans, kidney beans, drained...basically any beans you have on hand
2 pounds fresh hot or mild sausage
2 pounds hamburger
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 chopped onions
1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 anaheim chilies, chopped
3 tsp salt
1 tablespoon cumin powder
3 tablespoons chili powder
1/4 tsp dried red pepper flakes, or not as much if you do not like it hot
2 35-ounce cans chopped tomatoes
1 cup apple cider
2 cups thickly sliced fresh mushrooms (optional)
1 14 1/2 ounce can pitted whole ripe olives, drained and sliced (optional)
Rinse beans after draining. In a large pan sautee onion in the olive oil. Add sausage and hamburger and brown, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Drain. Add the bell peppers, chilies, salt, cumin, chili powder, and red pepper flakes; cook, stirring occasionally for ten minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juice, apple cider, and garlic; stir. Bring the chili to a boil Reduce the heat to very low, cover, and simmer about two hours. Stir in the mushrooms and olives after about 1 1/2 hours. Can serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped fresh cilantro, and additional dried red pepper flakes.
Note: Remember to taste the chili often and adjust the spices to your taste.
