Wait 'til next year!

Mark did not win the chili cook-off. We think it was because one of the judges was his grandfather and the other his teacher, and they didn't want it to look funny. And as his mother, the chairwoman of the board, I concur.

Mark's chili was very good, but we are talking about ways to improve it. The winner was a delicious white chicken chili that Bob said was really soup, but I thought tasted like chili. Even if it was soup, it was great, and I'd love that recipe. Number two (I thought, but I'm not sure whose was whose) was a thick chili made with stew beef (or maybe venison). Anyway, it was what my sister used to call "stringy meat." I've used that before in chili, and think it's a good choice.

Mark's chili wasn't as rainbowy as I wanted. Since I had to take the slow cooker to work and barely made it to the school on time, Mark had to put everything together the night before. He had

• 2 lbs of browned hamburger (we should have drained this better)
• 2 large cans of whole peeled tomatoes (this summer we'll use fresh, maybe from our garden)
• 4 cans of dark red kidney beans
• diced purple onion, poplano chili, Serrano chili, and a small red thing (the Bi-Lo was out of jalapeno)
• 3 T dark cocoa powder (maybe needed more)
• 3 T chili powder (probably too old... buy fresh)
• 1.5 T cumin (needed more & too old)
• salt

It was good and flavorful, but could have used a POP.

What I wanted to add, but which should be added near the end of the cooking so they don't turn all mushy and gray:

• shredded carrots
• julienned zucchini
• julienned squash
• red, yellow, & orange bell peppers

I think I'll try this this weekend, and use the stew beef. I also usually use black beans and pinto beans as well as the dark red kidney beans, but Mark wanted a more classic look.

We'll see.

The Chili Cook-off

Tomorrow night, Mark will enter the chili cook-off at his school. He has been thinking about this since the last time, which was two years ago. He thinks he needs to keep it simple but hot. He watched the judges and realized that was what they went for.

This is one of the reasons I love Carolina School for Inquiry. While Mark would be Mark anywhere, it's only at a child-centered inquiry based school that his Markness is so thoroughly embraced. Every time I speak to one of his teachers, I hear, "Let me tell you what Mark did..." The really cool thing is that they say that to all the parents. "Let me tell you what Devon did..what Shayna did.. what (fill in the blank) did.."

Mark has been thinking about the chili and has experimented. He won't be thrilled, but I'm going to suggest some veggies to make it a HOT RAINBOW chili. And of course, the secret ingredient is: cocoa. Don't tell.

I'll let you know how it goes.