It's a beautiful early springtime in Western North Carolina and we're hoping that the groundhog up in Pennsylvania was wrong about six more weeks of winter. We've barely had one day of winter so far this year but we have often had snow in early March. It's wise not to make any bets on weather in NC.
Hopefully winter weather won't come in and damage all the buds on the dogwoods and camellias or the pretty daffodils that are springing up everywhere. Or bother the cute baby animals that are springing up in Lattimore.
On a ride around Lattimore this week, Mom and I noticed a lot calves in Dad's pasture. And in Tommy's pasture we saw lambs, baby goats and even a baby donkey. Tommy's pasture is always fascinating with classical music playing in the barns but even more so the day that Mom and I stopped by. Daffodil, the goat, had just delivered triplets and there were also three lambs delivered that day. It was so exciting that I took Jay and David back by the next day. Lattimore is just full of excitement.
Honestly, it was fun to slow down a little and just enjoy the sunshine, the daffodils and the beautiful animals.
We also enjoyed having the basketball team over for dinner one night to celebrate having some home games and also to celebrate Jay's 21st birthday. It's always fun to cook for a crowd of hungry boys and since some of their families were in town, we enjoyed cooking for them too. David brought out the big cooker for ribs and the charcoal grill for beef and pork tenderloins. I made mass quantities of mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn from the Lattimore garden and several other things. It was a fun and relaxing time together and they took no prisoners. I've discovered that it's pretty easy to clean up when there aren't any leftovers.
So, I don't know if it was the huge team meal or the zumba classes that I've enjoyed the last few weeks or the super bowl coming up or seeing all the cute baby animals, but I have been craving some healthy vegetarian chili recently.
Years ago when vegetarians were kind of rare in my world, I asked my one vegetarian friend how she made chili. She kind of grinned and said, "Well, I make it like you do. Except when you are putting in the meat, I am putting in chopped vegetables." How simple is that?
Last night I made vegetarian chili and she was right. Even David the meat lover liked it. I usually wing it when making chili, but I did try to pay attention this time. When it was time to put in ground beef, I added chopped squash and zucchini. This one's got a kick to it but we think it's a keeper.
Sally's Vegetarian Chili
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic (I use McCormick minced garlic in oil because it's easy)
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow squash, cubed
1 zucchini, cubed
1 or 2 tablespoons oil to saute vgetables
Saute garlic and onion until transparent, then add celery, peppers, squash and zucchini and saute a few minutes to soften a little. Then add:
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 can diced tomatoes (I used no salt added), not drained
1 can rotel, not drained
a Cup or so of Water
Season with:
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon cumin
A shake or two of celery salt
Crushed black pepper
Simmer all together and serve with Mama's Cornbread (recipe on previous post). You can afford the cornbread calories and you need a little grease since there is no meat in there! Enjoy.
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