Okay, so maybe the title of this post is a little too long for blogdom but that’s okay. Sing it with me now (to the tune of “It’s my Party”)… it’s my blog and I’ll do what I want to, do what I want to, do what I want to.
Hmm, somebody really needs to stop me. 
It’s Friday. It’s been a long week and I’m tired, hence the goofiness. My “do people really want to see this side of me?” filters must be down for repairs. LOL
Anyway, I’ve been trying out several chili recipes this winter. There’s just nothing better than a tasty bowl of chili on a cold, dark winter night. Anticipating much tiredness tonight – and, by extension, a desire to cook when I came home from work that approached nil – I threw some stuff in the crockpot this morning to make chili. I used a recipe from Cooking Light called Pinto Bean Chili with Corn and Winter Squash. I actually made this recipe a few weeks ago. The process of eating it went kind of like this…
- Sit down in front of TV with steaming bowl of chili – experience anticipation
- Have first bite – Holy shit that’s hot!
- Think to self… “Was that heat hot or spicy hot?”
- Have second bite – Good god that’s spicy hot! Okay, time to toughen up. I’ve been getting better at eating and enjoying spicy stuff so let’s give this another try.
- Pete sits down beside me with steaming bowl of chili
- Have third bite – Okay, this kicks the shit out of the spiciest kim chee I’ve eaten AND the dish the tour guide ordered for me in Changsha, Hunan Province, China with – I swear to god – the intention of watching the white girl writhe in agony while not saying a word… ’cause that would be impolite.
- Pete has first bite and says something like “Mmmm, that’s tasty.”
- Have fourth bite and realize I can’t even taste the feta on top because of all the damn spice. Is it possible that I put in double the required chili powder?!?!
- Comment to Pete that it’s reeeeeeeeally spicy
- Lift spoon for fifth bite
- Think better of the idea
- Offer chili to Pete
- Go to kitchen to prepare peanut butter sandwich
Thank god for peanut butter sandwiches! Well, since I made it the first time Pete has been commenting that this is his favorite chili recipe ever. When asked on Saturday what he wanted to eat during the week this week, this chili got mentioned. I decided I’d give it a try again but this time reduce the hot stuff. The recipe calls for two tablespoons of chili powder and a 4.5 oz can of chopped chilies. This time around I tried one tablespoon of chili powder and 3/4 of the can of chopped chilies. The flavor came through much better (I could taste the feta!) but the spice totally went out the window. 
Seems I went a little too far in the other direction… The first time I made this I would have given it one star but this time it gets three. I’m fairly confident that the inverse will be true for Pete; I think he’s going to like the spicy version much better.
I’ll definitely make it again but I’m going to keep fiddling with the recipe. It needs more tweaking on the spiciness factor but I’m sure I can get it all worked out.
As for the second part of the title of this blog post… as wonderful as a steaming bowl of chili is I’m SOOOOO ready for spring. My bulbs are coming up – I saw their little heads peeking out before they got buried in the snow storm Monday. No fear, though, tomorrow is supposed to be 65 degrees. Nice!! And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why I no longer live in New England… (1) there is a season called spring, not just mud season and (2) it comes in March, not May. Of course, I guess it’s all about perspective. My co-worker in Manila told me not too long ago that it was chilly there and he was having to wear a coat. It was 75 degrees.
