New Year's Ruminations

by BC
(St. Louis, MO)

I hope everyone had a super Christmas! Despite the fact that one third of the lights on our tree decided not to shine this season, it was still a great one for our family--full of family, food, and fun, and remembering our Savior's birth (not necessarily in that order!).

As the weather for the past six weeks to two months has been so abominable, and I really haven’t been able to cook with the solar cooker at all, I decided to begin trying new recipes in my slow cooker that I can easily adapt to the solar cooker when the weather permits. Just this past week, I made Chicken Curry Chili, which was so thick and rich and had really good flavor! Lots of vegetables were featured, such as red pepper, butternut squash, onion, and zucchini. The combination of spices made it really flavorful: cumin, chili powder, and curry, although next time I think I need to dial back the chili powder a bit: one tablespoon was a bit too much! A half to three-quarters should be about right.

This was a hearty stew, and it was even better after the first day, as chilis and stews often are. Our family ate on it for almost 4 days. It’s a rather nice blessing to not have to cook every night when one or more people are ill—including the cook!

I’d like to wish everyone reading this a warm a festive New Year’s celebration! Happy 2015!