Deep Thoughts and a Chili Recipe

Someday you’ll understand.

The Great Depression.

Boomers everywhere have heard their parents say, “they went through the depression”. Cottage cheese containers piled up under the sink. Ziploc bags, aluminum foil, cloth diapers rinsed and reused. The crust at the end of each loaf of bread got tucked away in the freezer to make stuffing later. Never waste a single thing. Bread ties piling up in the drawer. Denim patches on our jeans. Sometimes baking soda in place of tooth paste. Making ends meet. We’ll make do. Put another potato in the oven, company is coming. Freeze the cheese. Freeze the milk. All these things met with my sarcastic eye roll. Until this week.

....

Today I hung my laundry up to dry because it just felt like the thing to do today. I don’t have anywhere to be and I didn’t really want to hear the sound of the dryer. Some people don’t even have a dryer. A trip to the store this morning was a startling wake up call and a slight glimpse of what it would be like to want something that could not be had. There were many bare shelves and a somber mood among shoppers. My friend and I divided and conquered our shopping lists. We’re good for a couple of weeks now. Lots of ideas for making food ahead. I’m loving the new ideas for using what we have.

My friend made this beautiful chili today and it will serve us two meals. The colors are so appealing to me and it definitely fell into the comfort food category. We make a good team in the kitchen. Sometimes she cooks and I clean up, and vice versa. Just want to share this recipe with you. What comfort foods are you making right now? Have you been thinking about your people who lived through the depression? What kinds of things did you learn from your parents about the Great Depression that have stuck with you? Tell me.  Love, Susan 

Chicken Chili

Cooked chicken

1 can of Cream of Mushroom (or chicken)

2 cans white (Great Northern) beans

1/2 chopped onion

1 jar Salsa Verde

Optional: 

Canned green chilies

Or pickled jalapeno

THROW IT ALL IN A CROCK POT AND LET IT SIMMER.

Toppings (Optional)

Cheese

Tortilla chips

Sour cream

Avocado

Jalapeno

Peppers

Cilantro

Squeeze of lime 

Be a Liker 101

The other day, my friend called me a “liker”. It was the nicest compliment I’ve received in a long time. It’s been on my mind ever since.

We were at the country music festival and had just eaten dinner we bought at the BBQ stand. She had the pulled pork sandwich with 3 awesome sides, and I had a garden burger. (Kudos to the vendor for recognizing the non meat eaters!) The bbq beans were sincerely the best I’ve ever had. As we headed back to our seats, there were Girl Scouts selling cookies. I offered to buy a box and asked my friend if she likes Thin Mints. She said no, so we went with the Samoas. I mean ... I just needed chocolate! She said, “oh, you’re a Liker”.  

Yep. I am a liker.

Let’s take cats, for example. I generally consider myself a dog person. I  like cats. I think I could even learn to love cats if I gave it a chance. When I arrived at my above-mentioned friend’s house, I was greeted by her 2 beautiful cats. I said, “hello, I’m a dog person but I like you!” They were great representatives of their species and accepted me into their world for 24 hours.

This scenario could be repeated over and over with various groups of people, religious sects, political parties, weather, food, etc. I usually can find something to like about everything and everybody.

The point of this post is ... well ... HERE IT IS ...

I like a lot of things but I’ll tell you what I don’t like.  I don’t like hate. I don’t like labels. I don’t like generalizing or stereotyping. I don’t like bullying. I don’t like name calling. I don’t like being patronized. I don’t like hard sells. I don’t like lemon flavored Girl Scout cookies.

My eyes are wide open these days. I’m amused (for lack of a better word) by the chaos and tension we are all suffering. Yes, we’re all suffering. If you are reading this and don’t believe you are affected by what is happening in the world, my hat is off to you. 

Please don’t misunderstand me ... I have strong opinions and feelings about the current state of affairs. But, who is responsible for how I feel? Definitely not you. Your beliefs and understanding of the world intrigue me. But hear me out. What a boring a world it would be if we didn’t have some kind of strife. Getting stuck in name calling and drawing lines in the sand are not moving us to where we want to be. 

Want to know how to be a liker? I try to look past all the labels we put on people. It’s as simple as that. Find something to like about (fill in the blank). If we can’t do that, we’re kind of screwed. 

Or be a hater. I’ll still find something to like about you. 

Love, susan