on chili appreciation

So, why should you love chili?

First, let me admit that, at first, I did not even like chili. I thought it was strictly dude food, along with hot dogs, mac-and-cheese-in-a-box, and more. Then, I made a batch or two and set out to find a good, all-around chili recipe, which I did find and have been using for the past two or three winters (recipe below).

Chili grew on me for a few reasons. First, it takes all of about 20 minutes and under $10 to get a good batch going. Once you've got it up and simmering, lower the heat, throw the lid on and do something else. As I write this right now, my apartment is full of the comforting scents of chili. I managed to skip all of last winter, so this is the first batch in a long time. Secondly, when it's cold out, a bowl of something warm - like pho, like chowder, like bisque - is righteous. Lastly, you get to use things that might otherwise just sit on your spice rack. That alone is satisfying.

The chili I chose to make today put to use some Hunter's Blend ground meat I picked up from D'Angelo Bros. Meats in Philadelphia and had kept in my freezer. It's a mixture of whatever Sonny D. has at hand, and this particular batch is six types of meat - pheasant, wild boar, venison, antelope, beef and one other kind I cannot recall. At the suggestion of a good friend and his smart girlfriend, I went easy on the spices so as not to overpower the meat mixture that was made with such consideration. If you've ever met Sonny D'Angelo, witnessed his butcher shop antics or seen him harass anyone, you'll feel good in knowing that he stands by all his products with a lot of pride. As mean and misunderstood as he might be, I can picture him sitting somewhere, inside from the cold, making a chili much like the one on my own stove right now.

So, whatever it is that you get out of chili, even if it's just a good food to throw into a crockpot and serve while watching the football game, what I want to do is encourage you to realize that it's a food that shouldn't be taken for granted. Find your own thing or two to appreciate about it, whether it's for being the rustic, simple food that it can be, or because it came from the hand of an angry Italian guy in South Philly.

"Good Chili," originally from www.chilicooks.com

1 lb. ground meat
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 c. water
2 tbs. chili powder
1 tbs. flour
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/3 tsp. ground allspice (my own addition)

Brown the ground meat, onion and garlic. Drain out all the liquid. Stir in remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for an hour. Makes 4 servings. Done.

today i discovered the andi system and almost cried

Today, on a quick stroll through Whole Foods, a small sign caught my eye going down the escalator. "What is the ANDI system?"

I spotted another sign down in the produce section and what I read almost brought me tears of joy. If this has been going on all year, it's the first time I noticed it - the Aggregate Nutrient Density Index, a numerical system on in-store grocery items and produce that rates them based on their vitamin/nutrient density per calorie. Kale and Collards, dark, leafy vegetables you've been hearing and reading were so good for you for years now - 1000 points, a perfect score. Soda, the sugary, colored, liquid corn - go home, 1 point.

Sure, I had to seek out the card that explained the scale, but this kind of marketing is exactly what this country needs - an easy-to-read, clear graphic with a number that straight-up tells you which foods are best for you, and which filled with filler or even empty, addicting calories like the ones you read about in Fast Food Nation. The ANDI system was adopted from a book written by Dr. Joel Fuhrman's book, Eat For Health, which proposes that a formula exists for healthy food: H=N/C. Health equals nutrients divided by calories.

What does that tell you? Well, nothing that you don't already know if you've listened to any of the books that have hit mainstream in the last few years. Whole foods and, generally, a plant-based diet will fortify you with vitamins and nutrients. Nothing processed, nothing with preservatives. And, if you look at it this way, nothing too white.


I thought of Jamie Oliver. I thought of Huntington, West Virginia. I thought of how much far away things still are from being perfect, how it's cheaper to go across Union Square to the McDonald's for two Big Macs for $4 than it is to buy a pound of grapes right here in this Whole Foods. But, this is a great start, and what's more, I think it's a system that even our parents might buy into. Many younger folks might easily, but, if they do, as a group, then we're onto good things.