Rainy Day Comfort

It was about 3pm yesterday, as I was staring out my office window into the dismal rain, that my friend Liz emailed, looking for a chili recipe. Before I could even hit reply, I'd decided that I, too, absolutely needed to make chili for dinner. It was one of those nights.

There are many great things about chili - it's ability to freeze, the fact that it tastes better the next day, it's combination of so many delicious flavors, it's heartiness, I could go on forever. The greatest thing about chili, though, is how comforting it always is. There is something so filling and soothing about it - perfect for a rainy Thursday night.
My go-t0 chili is based on a recipe my cousin sent me a few years ago. It is loaded with three types of beans but light because it uses ground turkey instead of beef. Plus, it doesn't take seven hours in a crock pot - it can easily be made on a weeknight and is still super flavorful. Last night I covered it in cheese and ate it on the couch - I almost forgot about my freezing walk home in the rain.

The interesting thing about chili is that there are so many different ways to make it. My mom makes a delicious Cincinnati-style chili, that goes on top of angel hair pasta. My godmother makes a no-beans chili that is divine. No matter how you make it, though, chili is always at least one thing: comforting.