Chili.

I make my chili more or less how my mom always made it when I was growing up.  Back then they had this stuff called Tomato Sauce Special, which was required for my mom's chili.  They don't make that anymore, so I just use diced tomatoes and plain tomato sauce.  We make do with what we have.

I use ground turkey in my chili most of the time since we can't taste a difference and it's supposedly healthier.  So I started out browning the turkey.  When it was cooked, I drained it.  Obviously, decent citizens do not pour fat down the drain, but some of us never figured out the best way to capture the grease.  I usually do some variation of the photo you see here.  It's awkward, it's inconvenient, and 

often I lose some of the meat in the sink.  Occasionally, I will pull off a piece of aluminium foil and fit it into the drain to make a fat-catcher.  That's probably a better tactic since you can use the foil to throw the fat away.  If you know of a better way to do this, don't tell me. Change is scary.

I returned the meat to the pot and assembled the rest of the ingredients.  The spoon rest you see here is glass artwork made by Judd Mann.  You should check him out.

Anyway, here's what goes into the chili.  Like I said, I make it like my mom always made it.  A few times I've ventured into new territory.  I look up recipes.  I think about NOT using a pre-made chili mix full of extra crap we don't need.  If I can season my own spaghetti sauce, I should be able to season my own chili.  I don't know, maybe it's because of the history and the love.  Maybe it's because when I make chili, I'm never far from the kitchen with the orange vinyl floor and ceiling tiles from which a squirrel once fell. Whatever the reason, this is where it's at.

If you have a chili recipe that has been passed down, share it with me.  And I guess if you can suggest a better way to drain meat, go ahead and share that, too.