Needed to REMIND MYSELF of this, today:
My ‘secret ingredient’ when I make Chili is beer. Any kind will do - the cheaper the better! ;) I’ve also heard that adding a bar of dark chocolate to Chili is really something to write home about, though I’ve never tried it.
We survived the ‘Alberta Clipper’ that came through last night - the Weather Guessers were all up in arms about it, as usual. A DUSTING is all we got - I’m handling it with a BROOM later this morning.
Yeesh!
And, Yes! My BAD ATTITUDE has returned with a vengeance! I NEED SPRING TO GET HERE! STAT! I put off tomato starting for a week so they won’t be too huge when I put them in the ground end of May. My peppers are up, though - still waiting on one that is poking along - I see LIFE in the dirt, but nothing above yet.
Everything needs to HURRY UP and bend to my will! And enough with the cold weather, already! Yeesh! :)
Needed to REMIND MYSELF of this, today:
The “yo yo” weather is making life difficult as far as growing anything is concerned. We had 87° the other weekend, overnights in the 50’s. Highs the last couple of days are 30’s with overnight in the low 20’s. The plants & trees are fooled into blooming & then get a freezing, killing blast for their efforts. Per the forecaster I find most accurate, he is thinking April will be cold & wet. We need the ‘wet’ due to lingering drought conditions, but I wish the cold would go away.
I have heard of beer & chocolate in chili, but have tried neither. I have my chili heating up on low - it smelled good cold out of the fridge so once it’s heating well, the house will smell great! I am glad I did all the prep work yesterday - I am having a much more relaxed day today :-).
BTW, doing a lot of looking around online for DIY products. Our 2 grocery stores do not carry lactose-free dairy items other than milk, cottage cheese & some Cabot cheddar cheese. No cream cheese, yogurt or sour cream. I found lactose-free cream cheese 45 minutes away .... $7.99 for a ‘block’ of one brand & over $4 for an 8 oz. tub in another brand. No way I’m paying that kind of money.
What I found was that I can easily make cream cheese with 2 ingredients (lactose-free milk & lemon juice or white vinegar). Yogurt is a little more complicated, but again I can use lactose-free milk. Unfortunately, sour cream cannot be made with lactose-free milk although it is super easy to make otherwise. Greek yogurt, which I can make lactose-free, is a substitute for sour cream, so I’m ‘good’ there, too :-)
Also, as easy as it is to make cream cheese, I can make it when I need it so it’s always fresh & good. Mom eats yogurt every morning, so I plan to start making our own. I may invest in a yogurt maker to super simplify the process. Evidently, homemade yogurt is far superior in beneficial active cultures to store bought, plus no additives, & mom/I could both benefit from that.
Chili....Add a few Finely chopped prunes early in the cooking to add some sweetness!
My ‘secret ingredient’ when I make Chili is beer. Any kind will do - the cheaper the better! ;) I’ve also heard that adding a bar of dark chocolate to Chili is really something to write home about, though I’ve never tried it.
Yes to beer and YES YES YES to dark chocolate. #2 Navy Son brought that idea to us from Cali when he separated from the Navy. It definitely adds a "wow factor" to the flavor of your chili, but you'd never guess that it came from a chocolate bar.