Mattie Cooks

 So, lately I was having a taste for chili, the way my Mom used to make it.  I found the recipe (glad she wrote it down, at my behest) and it wasn't that complex... so after Mass and gym I went to Acme and did some shopping.  Honestly, it has been a long time since I bought ground beef (I rarely eat it), and I bought a bunch of other things (other recipes to try), so my grocery bill was, for me, stratospheric.  Usually I hit Aldi for a few things (fruit, fish) but I wanted to get everything at once.  Then I got home and went to work.

And...it turned out pretty good!  I used slightly different brands than she did (Giant Eagle has the better selection, I suspect), so the diced tomatoes were a bit larger.  I think I cut my onions a bit more than she did.  Mom often had chunks of ground beef, whereas I -- to get it to cook faster -- really mashed it up.  I think I added more chili powder and paprika.  So it's close, but it was still good.  I am thinking of adding green peppers (always a reason to add veggies to anything, I say) to it the next time I make it, or maybe some different meats, but... I was pleased.  Plus it has been a while since I had it, for the obvious reason...  I may crack that recipe tomorrow, depending on the day.

Of course, since I had a pot of chili to eat, I went to dinner with a friend tonight.  He suggested Siam Cafe -- I have been there, but it was on the list (I went years ago) so there I was, off to Midtown.  It was good.. actually, it was funny, when we arrived, I was the only Caucasian there; the rest were Asian, and I told him this was auspicious, as Asians would only eat at a good Asian restaurant.  He, of course, mocked me for my inability to use chopsticks.  I ordered a seafood dish, with fried rice on the bottom and an egg white-based sauce, and it was...pretty good (took half home, let's see how it holds up tomorrow).  It was good just to catch up and chat...

Finished Catcher today while making chili and started the next book, which is 500 pages of dense (in both senses) and small-sized text.  So book 6 will be a while...

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/08/us/hamline-university-islam-prophet-muhammad.html

Interesting?  I don't know... in addition to the academic freedom issues (and we know how I feel about that), the fact that trigger warnings were sent out -- and apparently disregarded -- to me is a big red flag...