Chili

Well, Fall is definetly upon us and the best thing to have when it starts to get cold is chili. Ever since we moved here I have been on the lookout for spices, they seem to be hard to come by or we've just been missing them but whatever.... About two weeks ago, at the Sunday market I finally found chili powder, Yea!! Sooooo today I set out to make a big pot of hearty chili for us since the temperature was dropping like Kwame's reputation. I made the chili like I always do, adding 3 Tbsp's of chili powder & splash of Tabasco sauce for some kick; then I sit back and let it cook for a couple hours before tasting. When the time came to give it a try I got a spoonfull and the next thing i knew my mouth was on fire. Seriously, I was fanning flames from my mouth for 25 minutes, I have never in my life tasted anything so hot that my eyes were tearing up.

I can't figure out what happened so I look at the bottle again to make sure that it is in fact chili powder - and at first it looked like it was. Upon closer inspection it was labled "red hot chili powder" use sparingly. Simply put - I added 23 times what the recipe called for...Nice.

In a panic I call Tiffanie and we get online to figure out how to calm the spice. I add some potatoes, sugar & honey like Tiffanie says hoping this will help but the true test would come when Christian gives it a shot.

A few hours later, Christian gets home from work and says he can smell the chili all the way in the garage 5 floors below! He takes a bit, throws the spoon down and grabs the water and starts chugging it like there is no tomorrow. He says there is no way anyone can eat this, but I have faith. 5 hours later, the chili is (miraculously) manageable to eat!!

Well, I guess the next purchase I will make in the US is a big bottle of chili powder to bring back here - lesson learned!