Chili for Bloggeraid

In honor of the Olympics, BloggerAid has decided to run an event where participants make an entree that is classic of their country of origin or the place they currently live. You know I had a real hard time with this. I could not come up with a dish that was something I wanted to make and embodied America. The first thing I thought of was apple pie. I didn't want to make pie. Just about any dish I was thinking of would link back to some other culture/country. America certainly is a melting pot. I like that it is, especially when it comes to food. So many spices and different foods are available here. So for a foodie, the grocery store is a candy store. So to speak.

I know that any Texan worth his salt will roll over reading that I even made turkey chili, but to call it chili would certainly be ludicrous. That's the beauty of having ones own blog. I can name it how I want to name it. And you can think I am a silly Yankee. Well, cause I am silly, frankly.

What exactly is chili and where did it come from? Well the thing of it is, is that no one really knows. There is theories but it really cant be pinned down to one country. "The only thing certain about the origins of chili is that it did not originate in Mexico. Charles Ramsdell, a writer from San Antonio in an article called San Antonio: An Historical and Pictorial Guide, wrote: "Chili, as we know it in the U.S., cannot be found in Mexico today except in a few spots which cater to tourists. If chili had come from Mexico, it would still be there. For Mexicans, especially those of Indian ancestry, do not change their culinary customs from one generation, or even from one century, to another." There are many legends and stories about where chili originated and it is generally thought, by most historians, that the earliest versions of chili were made by the very poorest people. J. C. Clopper, the first American known to have remarked about San Antonio's chili carne, wrote in 1926: "When they have to pay for their meat in the market, a very little is made to suffice for a family; this is generally into a kind of hash with nearly as many peppers as there are pieces of meat - this is all stewed together." (What's Cooking America)


Turkey and Multi Bean Chili

In a crockpot combine:

½ cup dry pintos
½ cup dry canelloni
½ cup dry black beans
1 tablespoon kosher salt

Pour enough water in with the beans to cover by one inch. Place the handle end of a wooden spoon in the water and go down just low enough to touch the beans to make sure it is covered by an inch. Soak overnight. Do not drain in the morning.

Add to the crockpot:

4 garlic cloves, minced
1 quart stewed tomatoes
1 cup roasted butternut squash, mashed
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon homemade chili powder
2 teaspoon cumin
1 cup onion, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 ½ pounds ground turkey
Lawry's salt

In the morning add the garlic, tomatoes, butternut squash, chili powders, and cumin to the beans and turn on the crockpot to low.

In a frying pan, saute onions until lightly golden and then add peppers. Saute until wilted. Add turkey and season lightly with Lawry's seasoned salt. Brown the turkey a little. Add to crockpot. Turn up to high and cook for three or four hours or low for five or six. Just before it is finished add 2 tablespoons of fine ground corn meal to mixture to thicken it up a bit.

Garnish with sour cream, jalapenos, cilantro, avocado and green onions..

If you are interested in finding out more about Bloggeraid, click on the link here for Culinary Olympics. You can purchase the Bloggeraid cookbook by clicking the link in the upper right had corner of my blog.