Nyel’s Chili and Corn Bread

Yesterday we had bowls of steaming chili for lunch. It was only medium good. For one thing, it wasn’t Nyel’s made-from-scratch chili but, more importantly, it wasn’t Dennison’s. I have to confess, Dennison’s chili is the only kind I really like. But it wasn’t on the grocery shelves and so Nyel had purchased two other kinds and presented both for lunch in a ‘blind taste test.’

With the first bite of each, I knew that my favorite brand was not one of the choices. I didn’t really want to proceed with either but it was one of those days when there wasn’t much else on offer by our pantry and refrigerator shelves. Plus we were a little pressed for time. So I “made do.”

TurkeyBarely Off the Hoof

Fortunately, the circumstances of our lives are such that we seldom have to fall back on ready-to-eat, processed foods. But, when we do is when I become what Nyel describes as a “picky eater.” I managed with yesterday’s chili but, had the circumstances been different, I would probably have skipped the meal altogether. Take sandwiches made by any substitute for Best Food Mayonnaise, for instance. Miracle Whip? Forget it. Oh, and did I say none of that fat-free mayo, either. I’m one way about my mayo.

I think it all goes back to my childhood and the foods I grew up with. I was never really crazy about my mother’s cooking (although I didn’t learn for years and years that there were other culinary methods besides boil-the-vegetables-until-they-turn-gray.) But, almost everything in those years was “from scratch” and so having a can of chili or a package of macaroni and cheese was a Big Treat.

Sydney’s Cheesecake

Too, those were the days when there usually weren’t many competing brands. In our household, anyway, it was Skippy’s peanut butter, Morton (iodized) salt, French’s mustard, Del Monte’s corn niblets etc. Period. I confess to many carry-overs when it comes to brand name preferences. I definitely was imprinted early in life and when a well-known brand disappears from the grocery shelves I’m in a bit of a flap.

Fortunately, for both my health and peace of mind, Nyel is a use-fresh-ingredients and cook-from-scratch kind of guy. And he loves being creative in the kitchen. Our processed foods are pretty much limited to a few condiments and the occasional concession to my childhood. Like chili beans twice a year from a can. But it has to be the right can!