Confessions of the Twilight Saga Junkie

I never intended to read the Twilight Books.  Last December, I was browsing through the bookshelves at Nick's parents house, when I came across the first book.  Vaguely aware that this series of books were hugely popular when they came out a few years ago, I decided read a few pages to see what the hype was all about.  A few pages was all it took to get me hooked...  

SPOILER ALERT: If you have not read the books but are planning to, DO NOT read further as I make no effort to conceal the plot. 

It is embarrassing to confess that for months I have been  completely absorbed by a piece of fiction, written for teenage girls.  It took me about a month to finish the four books, but it was another 3 months until the desire to constantly read and re-read parts of the stories started to ebb. 

I have been trying to understand why these books had such a strong pull on me. 

• It is the story of true love, unequivocal
• It is the story of forbidden love
• It is the quest for permanent youth and beauty
• It is the quest for wisdom and skills that a lifetime is not enough to acquire
• It is the quest for becoming "good" (righteious?), despite your "fate"

If the above list is not simple enough, here is the obvious:  The main male character of the book is smart, drop-dead-gorgeous, nice, in control, and incredibly gentle and protective of his beloved.  Who would not fall for that!?

Inevitably, I eventually got past the pure ecstasy of the love story.  Once my brain started functioning again, and I began to analyze what I am reading, a few questions/issues surfaced.

• Anyone would be bored to death attending high school for a 100 years.  Why aren't these vampires attending college or grad school.  No need to hide, since there are plenty of human perpetual students.  Alternatively, Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett could find jobs or at least some useful occupations. 
• What were these vampires doing during World War II?!  What with their speed, strength, and extra senses, they should have excelled at flying planes, driving tanks, target shooting, or heck, just annihilating Hitler and his junkies all together.  
• If Jasper lost control over blood from a single paper cut, then he could not have possibly made it in a classroom.  Plus the book carefully avoids the simple fact that women bleed every month (until it becomes relevant for Bella).  Smell that, dear vampires.  (I do admit that a discussion on menstruation would not have contributed anything useful to the book.)

Do I sound too harsh?  Just remember that I am writing this while still fully enjoying rereading the "saga" for the Nth time.  

P.S.  I just did an internet search on "Twilight saga junkie", and many hits came up--apparently I am not very original.

What's Cooking: Chili

I have been meaning to write up this recipe a long time ago.  Finally...

Ingredients:

• olive or vegetable oil for sautéing
• 2 onions, coarsely chopped (about 3 cups)
• 3 carrots, finely chopped
• 2-3 sticks of celery, finely chopped
• 2 large yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 4 tsp minced canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce (or to taste), minced
• 1 15-oz can black beans, well drained
• 1 15 oz can kidney beans, well drained
• 1 15 oz can pinto beans, well drained
• 28 oz can of diced or chopped tomatoes, preferably fire roasted
• 15 oz can of tomato sauce
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced (optional)
• 1 green pepper, chopped, (optional)
• 2 Tbsp chili powder (or to taste)
• 1 1/5 - 2 tsp cumin powder (or to taste)
• fresh cilantro, chopped, for serving (optional)

Method

1. Heat oil in a heavy large (humongous) pot, add onions, carrots and celery, and cook for a few minutes, until the vegetables are just starting to get soft.

2.  Add chopped peppers, and cook for another 7-10 minutes, until the peppers start getting soft.

3.  Add. garlic, spices, and chipotle chilies, and cook for about a minute, stirring well.

4.  Add beans, tomatoes and tomato sauces, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes. 

Serve with cornbread, Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese, or sour cream.   

Notes:

• Any combination of beans would work--the original recipe calls for all black beans.  The above combination works well for us.  Cook the beans yourself, avoiding cans, if you would like to reduce sodium.
• On chipotle chilis
• If possible, use a food processor to "mince" (or turn into paste) the chipotle chilis (with the sauce).  I usually process the whole can, and store the remains in a glass jar in the fridge.  It lasts for a very long time.  Also good with eggs, fajitas, etc.
• I used 4 teaspoons before we started feeding the chili to Nat.  I have been using 2 teaspoons ever since we started sharing our food with Nat, and mashing a little cornbread into Nat's plate of chili.  These maneuvers seem like a nice compromise in spiciness between him and us, the adults.
• Simmer the chili covered if you would like to retain more liquid.  Leave the lid off if you would like the chili to thicken
• I like my chili fairly thick, so I have never added more than ~1/4 cup of water.  You can add water or vegetable broth to add more liquid to the chili.
• Options to increase the amount of chili cooked
• I would not necessarily double the recipe... but if you try, please let me know how it works out
• Add another 2-4 cups of beans (I would recommend black)
• Add another 28 oz of fire roasted chopped tomatoes
• Add another pepper--yellow, green, or poblano (esp. if you like things spicy)
• Add another onion
• Do not forget to up the spices just a tiny bit if you are increasing the beans or tomatoes.  Plus you can never have too much cumin (IMPO).
• The chili freezes well

Recipes I referenced:

• Black Bean, Yellow Pepper and Cumin Chili
• Deb's Three-Bean Chili (you have to scroll down a bit to get to the recipe)