Chili redone

The other night I adjusted the chili recipe from my cookbook - Ancestral Cooking.
I made a large pot for a celebratory dinner at Emily & Jesse's new house. Unfortunately I couldn't join them as I had shingles and didn't want to give little red Ned the chicken pox.

This time I made the chili on the stove, but it works in the fireplace, as well.

Cover the bottom of a large dutch oven with a bit of olive oil.

Chop (I use my cuisinart) 1 medium onion, 2 cloves of garlic and a couple of carrots.

Salt and sauté them in the olive oil until limp but not brown.

Add a couple of pounds of ground meat. For this batch I used bison, organic beef, mild Italian chicken sausage and ground turkey.

Add ¼ teaspoon (a few strong grinds) of fresh pepper, 1+Tablespoon chili powder, 1+teaspoon of the following: ground basil leaves, dried oregano, chopped dill weed, and dried parsley. Adjust to your liking.

Add 1 small (6 oz) can of tomato paste, I quart jar or can of cut-up tomatoes,

about 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar, 1+ Tablespoon Dijon mustard,

½ cup red wine or what-have-you. I threw in the liquid from the tomatoes and did not add any wine for this batch.

2 or 3 drained cans of beans – dark red & light red kidney beans, and Great Northerns or another white bean. I use canned beans, but am about to make this starting with dried beans.

Add a cup or so of corn. Sometimes I use corn that I have striped off the cob during corn season; sometimes I use canned corn. I drain as needed. I took this photo before adding the corn from the freezer, which was striped from the cob at the dining room table last summer. It doesn't look all that different - with or without it.

Season with salt and more chili powder, as you wish.

I serve this with a chunk of cheddar cheese with a grater, sour cream and hot sauce for those who like things hot. They do say that some like it hot.

None of the amounts in this recipe are sacred. Play with it and make it your own. Some people like more beans, others like more meat. I am happy to accommodate.

This goes well with corn bread – the recipe for which I will add shortly.

You might note the olive oil on the back of the stove. That is a Haig & Haig Pinch bottle that I found on the top shelf of my closet in Canada. Mother must have kept them for whatever other use. Thank you!