God it smells good in here

Time for chili!
Wing-It Chili. Like, make-it-up-as-I-go chili. The most fun way to make anything like this.

Wait, no, I lied. Any way to make anything like this is fun. I love stews and braises and simmery things and anything where I can open the cupboard and say to myself "Hmm, what else would be good in this?"

God, I love it.

Anyway, the chili is packed full of heat from like five different sources (the only thing I didn't put in was samabl oelek -- maybe I should have!) and cocoa and cinnamon, mmm. I'd have loved to try a little coffee or beer or maybe whiskey? I'm all about the whiskey-related cooking lately, apparently.

Anyway, it smells beyond awesome and I'm about to go have a big hot comforting bowlful. It's cold outside and the Christmas lights are up and I hope there's some nice movie on TV that I can snuggle up to while full of chili.

Then, MORE GINGERBREAD HOUSE!

The cardboard pieces being all done, planned, cut and labeled; now is is time. Not quite the moment of truth yet, but the moment of mixing lots of delicious things together in a big bowl and baking them, which is almost as good.

Chili time. Off I go.