Chili for Chilly Weather

2011 is my 7th year in Seattle, I am still not used to the cold weather. Even my husband, who's been living here his entire life, cannot stand the chill. And after consuming copious amount of herbal soup these past couple weeks, we agreed we need something we haven't had in a while. But it has to have the same warming effect herbal soup has.  

What to eat to fight the chilly weather? Chili, I guess.. My husband is notorious for eating Stagg chili. Which is okay, when nothing else is available. Last time I made chili, we ate it inside taco shells. This time, I made corn bread to soak up all the chili goodness in the bottom of my bowl. And too bad, I've consumed all the cilantro with the chicken rice, so I used parsley instead (unfortunately, parsley lacks the kick cilantro adds to the dish).

For the chili: 

• 1 lb ground pork
• 2 cups dried white beans, soaked overnight
• 1 (28oz) diced canned tomatoes
• 1 whole onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 dried chile, chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil 
• 3 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp paprika powder
• Salt and pepper

Heat the oil in the pot, saute onion until translucent. Add in the pork and let cook for a while. Season with salt and pepper. Add in all the ingredients and cook until the white bean is tender but still hold its shape. Serve with cilantro (I ran out of cilantro, that's why I use parsley) and sour cream. I like to sprinkle with dried pepper flakes for extra heat. Sometimes my cuckoo self like to add in Sriracha sauce to my chili.

For the corn bread:

• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups yellow corn meal
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 egg

Preheat oven to 375F. Pour the melted butter into an 8-inch square baking pan.


Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix egg into the milk. Stir the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients. Pour batter into the pan. Cook in the oven for about 30 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.


No matter how tasty the corn bread is, I bet my son will want his chili served over steamed rice.