Feeding Soul
My cousin calls me Hattie and I call her Dorcas. These are terms of endearment we have bestowed on one another to balance the lives we lead.
“Calm down Dorcas, burning down the garage is not the best option here. Let the snow pile up, shovel....or don’t....who cares. I know IF you burn it down your wife won’t heal her wounded mind any faster and be able to tell you where the snowblower chord is. You will just be garage-less. Unless you think it will really make a difference and then I am in! I will come help you burn that emotional house to the ground, but you will still need to shovel the driveway. After all, I am coming over and Hattie doesn’t do snow boots.”
Dorcas and Hattie were sisters. Our Great Aunts. They lived in an old row house in Rensselaer NY. When we were kids it was the best place on earth. The front door was on the side of the house at the end of a long porch. The wooden floors inside were crooked and the stairs narrow. The house might actually have been on a slant, I don’t know. We would sit around the kitchen table and eat Vienna fingers and drink cream soda like it was Turkish delight. These were delicacies I did not get at home. In the living room there was a piano and my Aunt Dorcas would go on about how talented I was. This was the first place I ever felt I could do anything. I was somehow superhuman here, and the world, supported by my great aunt, was my oyster. The cars would rumble by the long windows of the living room, and I would play for them. Cause here, children were heard and all their potential pure magic. I, by the way, do not play the piano, nor have I ever had a lesson. My prodigy was pure noise, and I never felt so free.
Over the weekend my cousin came by for dinner. I had chili simmering on the stove all day. It was spicy and warm and somehow the perfect food to eat at the kitchen island talking of life the way it is now. Her partner had suffered a massive stroke over the holidays and while her recovery so far has been nothing short of miraculous, the future is unsure. We talk ramps, stairs, wheelchairs, hospital beds, boats, love, work, and everything our hearts don’t dare say out loud. After all we are nestled in the woods with no one around but RoRo the cat. You might as well just speak your truth. Life right now, feels a little like the slanted floors of our Aunt’s house and we are trying to find the magic in the corners.
Before she left she said “Oh, I brought you a gift,” and pulled out an old battered book; a bible. Inside was written “To Hattie from Dorcas” 1932. Speechless, outside of a big hug, I felt like our great Aunts were looking down on us saying, “Girls its ok, you are holding the answers, and if you look deep inside, know you can still do anything. You are still magic, and we are still listening.”
Thank you Dorcas.
The Turkey Chili of My Soul
The great thing about chili is you can take a base and add anything you like. I also like a row of toppings available for folks to dress it up how they like. This is creative cupboard cooking at its best.
Ingredients
1 16 oz. can of red kidney beans drained
1 15 oz can of Southwestern black beans drained
2 16 oz cans chili tomatoes with spices
2 lbs. ground turkey browned and drained
1 medium onion coarsely chopped
1 red pepper coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic crushed
1 T. chili powder…( adjust up or down to person taste)
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. cumin
1 t. salt
Directions
Combine in crockpot. Stir and cook on low for 10 hours or high for 5 hours. I like to adjust my spices. Last time I added a tsp. of smoked paprika and some chili flakes. I also like to add a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Some Italian sausage browned would also be good with the turkey mixture.
Creating a chili bar for friends is really fun! I like to add cheddar, sour cream, cilantro, guacamole or chopped avocado and of course, chips. This is a great casual dinner party recipe because it takes no time to make and you can put it on in the morning and forget about it.