On 9/20, Saturday, we had our biostatistics department annual chili cook-off. I had never made a chili until last year (for this competition), but now that I have gone through my third chili competition, I am starting to get the spirit of competition. To me, it is clear that people who are trying to win just use steak for their main meat. However, in my opinion, the most important thing is bold flavor and slow cooking. Steak chilis are good because steak is good. But my chilis are good, not because I shell out the big bucks for steak, but because I slow cook and make sure I have bold, multifaceted flavor. Last year, I made a white chili (chicken and white beans). This year, I decided to go for heat, inspired by my hot peppers that I am growing out front. I based my chili on a recipe at AllRecipes called "Habanero Hellfire Chili." I was unimpressed with the large quantity of Anaheim peppers, so I traded them out for hotter peppers, including serrano, Thai, and ghost. By the end, I had a thick, stick-to-your-ribs chili. The heat was deep and lingering, probably a 5/10 on my scale. We named it "Firetruck Chili" because I wanted to scare people that the heat was like a truck on fire that hits you. Lauren drew a picture for it. At the party, I was voted third place. I think this was most likely because the judges did not appreciate the heat. I heard from many people that the firetruck chili was their favorite. My chili was my favorite (an honest and unbiased opinion), too. Also, my chili was gone fast. If we had taken a poll of all those who had chili, mine would have won. People's choice for sure. The winner won because he used steak chunks as his meat base.
This picture is now hanging on our refrigerator. Good work, Lauren! Do you recognize Clifford in the drawing?
In other news, my car, whom I affectionately call Nacho, short for Ignacio, has broken 200,000 miles. Lauren seems to think this means my car is entering the twilight of its life now. I know, however, that the car will run well for tens of thousands of miles more. Nacho is a trusty, reliable car.
In the beginning of September, on the fifth and sixth, we camped at a wonderful state park called Pocomoke State Park. We went with fellow young couple married friends we met during our days at our old YSA ward. One couple got there before us all and set up their huge 10 man tent and got the fire going. They brought coals and an oven mitt to deal with the fire. They also had cast iron cookware. I thought they were well prepared. Lauren loved having a dog, a shiba inu named Leo, with us. When we woke up early in the morning, I went on a short run with the dog. We ran along a trail with a double track path. I ran on one side, and Leo ran on the other. It was serene. Lauren got to have special time with the dog, too.
After camping, we went to Assateague Island to swim in the ocean. It was actually darn near perfect weather. It wasn't too hot for me, and not too cold for Lauren. The water was warm enough for Lauren to get in. The beach has wonderful sand, and the water doesn't get deep until pretty far out (farther than I would dare to go). We ran along the shore, we threw a frisbee, we buried our friend in the sand, and we back-floated in the water. It was a great day.
This last weekend, I drove to my uncle's house in North Carolina near Norfolk, VA. He is building a house-like building all by himself and he finally come to a point where he needed help from a second able-bodied man. I got there Friday night, and we worked on Saturday. We put up plywood sheeting on the roof rafters. It took about eight hours to get the job done. It was a lot of fun, and it demystified the house-building process a little for me.
Halfway done
Three quarters done
All the way done
I drove back home from 9 PM to 1:30 AM. It was a good drive, I definitely prefer the traffic at night to the traffic at mid-day. But maybe I am not the whipper snapper that I was because I had to rely on a Red Bull to get through to the end of the trip. It is good to be home.
P.S. Today, I finished a good book, The Boys in the Boat. You can read my Goodreads review here.
P.P.S. I saw this crazy "car" on the highway at 1 AM when I was driving home last night. It is called the Polaris Slingshot. It looks like a three-wheeled batmobile.
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