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My Chili Attempt

Perhaps some of you remember my Oven Saga where I survived without an oven for 4 months and only one stovetop burner for 6 years. The culinary arts are not my forte, and I blame the ineptitude on my childhood. When I was growing up, we had a garden, but everything else came out of a box or can. I never learned to cook.

But I try.

To fill some of my new free time due to my writing break,  I decided to make chili. How hard can chili be?

You might also remember my post about how I learn by Failure. This approach to life I also attribute to my childhood and my dad’s tendency to jump into projects high on enthusiasm and low on planning. That’s me. So here goes:

First I defrost the lamb burger (acquired from a local farm). Add it to the skillet with some chopped onion and fresh garlic, and since the only pepper I have is an orange bell pepper, in goes the orange bell pepper. Good so far.

Everything is cooking nicely, so it’s time to add the tomatoes and tomato paste, but I don’t have any. Uh oh. It’s already time to improvise. I rummage around in the cupboard and… aha! I have some canned tomato bisque soup! So in goes the tomato soup. It’s a little thin, but I can doctor that up. Just you watch.

Add the kidney beans. Check.

Now, I sent my husband to the store last week for chili powder, and he brought home two little jars of red stuff. “Chili Powder” the jar says. I scrounge in the cabinet, grab the jar of red stuff, and a jar of coriander seasoning. No cumin, oh well. I add coriander and open the jar of the red stuff, scoop some into the skillet and taste test.

Hmmm. Doesn’t taste very chili-ish. So I add some more. Tastes sort of odd, not bad, just… different. Hmmm.

To counter the lack of chili taste, I add garlic powder and more coriander. Still not right. Add more chili powder. Then I notice the label – Red Curry Powder. He got two jars of red stuff, but only one was chili powder! Now, what to do? The answer is obvious. Dump in a huge helping of chili powder and garlic powder to counteract the red curry powder.

All the powder is starting to thicken up the tomato bisque soup nicely. I told you I could doctor it up!

Add a little garlic bread (made with bagels because I’m out of bread) and the husband said it was good!

ALL TRUE!

**Comments closed due to a deluge of spam.**

192 thoughts on “My Chili Attempt”

  1. Spam folders – A love/hate relationship | Myths of the Mirror says:
    July 6, 2017 at 5:00 am

    […] for laughs here are a few that I found this morning in response to “My Chili Attempt” (spammer links not included for obvious reasons). I wonder what it was about my chili […]

    Like

  2. Holistic Wayfarer says:
    June 1, 2017 at 7:20 pm

    If the man liked it, you more than got away with it. Coriander is my favorite spice. Makes everything yum.

    Liked by 1 person

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      June 1, 2017 at 8:01 pm

      I guess I got away with it then! I like coriander too. That and garlic – can’t go wrong with those two. 🙂 Thanks for the visit and have a wonderful day.

      Like

  3. Sam says:
    May 17, 2017 at 7:57 am

    I throw a big bar of dark chocolate in it too, if I am making a big pan. Makes such a big difference in a good way!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. shehannemoore says:
    May 13, 2017 at 4:26 pm

    Listen, that looks ace and we are not going to speak of the time I baked the icing sugar instead of the cake mix. As for men? When it comes to the foreign country of what they bring from the shop, that is one I sometimes do not want to visit x

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Erik says:
    May 9, 2017 at 5:41 pm

    Keep in mind that every recipe was, at first, an experiment.

    And … did you see the movie The Hundred-Foot Journey (starring Helen Miren, as if I need to say more). If not, please make it a goal during your writing reprieve! It’s a truly wonderful movie — and one that makes the point quite deliciously that the old way isn’t the only right way. (Please, please, please see it; you won’t be sorry!)

    Liked by 2 people

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      May 9, 2017 at 5:54 pm

      I’m writing the title down right now! I’m assuming its on Netflix (which we can do now that we got high speed internet. Woot Woot!) My kitchen escapades make me laugh, Erik, but they usually turn out edible by the end, odd but edible. 😀

      Liked by 2 people

  6. Thelittlelai: Beyond limits says:
    May 3, 2017 at 9:29 pm

    I think this is really luscious for you have prepared it with all your heart. I know the struggle though, but you’ve made it your own. I’ll try to make one like this if I get the chance. Thank you so much for sharing Diana.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Fabiola Garcia says:
    April 29, 2017 at 11:07 pm

    That’s how the best recipes are created, working with what you have. Coming from Senior Salon. Please share your blog post at http://www.fabifabu.com/2017/04/16/inspiration-galore-project-party from Sunday to Wednesday!. Thanks

    Liked by 2 people

  8. reocochran says:
    April 29, 2017 at 10:06 am

    Curry is good in chili! I would enjoy this uniquely different chili, Diana! I like Indian jalrezi rice dish with tomatoes. . .
    I am glad you didn’t add green peppers to your chili. Especially since I found out in my twenties why I would get nauseous over stuffed green peppers baked in my Mom’s oven.
    While pregnant at age 24, my ex-husband added green peppers into a stew in crock pot. Wow, pregnancy hormonal reaction, created huge welts on my arms and striations across my big belly. I tried to take a cold shower and ended up in the ER! The doctor scolded my ex. “Why would you add something your wife told you since a child made her nauseous?” I had to have an injection into my arm and a long needle inserted into my uterus!
    So, long story short, the doctor told me red and yellow peppers are a whole different kind and much milder than green ones.
    Also, he tied the green pepper “oil” in skin of the vegetable to the green in cantaloupe’s skin! (Which to this day “ruins” the taste of any fruit salad to my taste buds.) My Mom told me when I called her to say thank you for never forcing me to eat green peppers. . . She said while pregnant with Me(!), not my brothers, she burped in late pregnancy with green peppers and vomited in early pregnancy. Interesting to me, when I was a toddler I refused to eat only once a stuffed pepper. Saying, “no, no, no!” Mom learned to make the stuffing part separately, hamburger, tomatoes and onions while my brothers (later) and Dad loved the mixture stuffed into baked green peppers. Wonder what science would say about only one in family of five gets this characteristic?! You may delete this long reaction to your cooking chili post, it won’t hurt my feelings. . . 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      April 29, 2017 at 10:13 am

      I’ve never heard of that reaction to green peppers! Just not for you, Robin, and you even knew it as a toddler. That must have been terrifying during your pregnancy. I’m glad everything was okay. No more green peppers for you. 😀

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Lynz Real Cooking says:
    April 27, 2017 at 10:43 am

    I remember your cooking stories and this one is great! Sounds like it worked out well!

    Liked by 2 people

  10. Marcia Strykowski says:
    April 25, 2017 at 5:16 pm

    Nice save, sounds like an extra spicy delicious chili!

    Liked by 2 people

  11. Aquileana says:
    April 24, 2017 at 4:52 pm

    Well… you made it through! 😀 This remind us that a little variation in the initial equation doens´t necessarily lead to a major change when it comes to the outcome. (Not sure if it applies to every field, but at least it does here! :D) have a great week ahead xx. ⭐

    Liked by 2 people

  12. kutukamus says:
    April 24, 2017 at 2:11 pm

    I believe all that. This sure look like some attempt that succeeds to tempt! 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

  13. roughwighting says:
    April 24, 2017 at 1:58 pm

    You need to copyright your recipe! Sounds miraculous! 😲

    Liked by 3 people

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      April 24, 2017 at 2:48 pm

      I can’t recreate it, Pam. It was a haphazard dumping in of ingredients. I was in trouble early on this one, but somehow pulled it off. Of course, chili is one of the harder meals to destroy. Ha ha. Thanks for the visit and have a great week!

      Liked by 2 people

  14. heylookawriterfellow says:
    April 24, 2017 at 10:20 am

    If my dear wife cooked with such reckless abandon I would sneak chicken nuggets on my commute home. That said, I’m glad it all tuned out edible.

    The tomato bisque thing made me snort, by the way.

    Liked by 4 people

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