Still Summer, but My Heart Said, "Chili!"

by BC
(St. Louis, MO)

Recently, someone gave me a three-year-old copy of Cook’s Illustrated. I’ve heard about this publication but never experienced it. Now, however, I can say that it is one of the finest cooking magazines I’ve experienced, and I plan to subscribe to it in the future! I love the way they examine each recipe from a scientific perspective, as well as a culinary one. After a week of iffy weather and not being able to utilize my solar cooker, I decided that on this gorgeous Monday I would try Cook’s Illustrated’s Basic Chili.

I began the cooking on the stove after chopping two yellow onions, a green pepper, and six cloves of garlic. Everything was then softened on the stove in coconut oil in my pot, along with the spices. I then added the beef and browned it. Then I added the cans of beans and tomatoes. It smelled delicious! As soon as these steps were done, I took the pot out to the solar cooker and placed it in for the “simmer” step. Even though it’s nearly 5 o’clock, I figured I didn’t need total sun for the simmer step; the beef is cooked through. This is just a further chance for the flavors to meld. This should be one tasty chili! I’ll post the family verdict in the next post!