It's Sunday, April 27, in the late afternoon and I just got back home from a couple of "emergency" type errands - both unexpected. Before sitting down to write I walked around inside the house and looked out the windows. There are fresh blossoms on all sides: forsythia to the west, viburnum and flowering quince on the south, yellow tulips on the east and some herbs on the north. As well, the peonies and wisteria and irises and many other plants are showing new growth.
This past week was spectacular in presenting new beauties every single day. In fact, I don't personally remember any time when there was so much change in the landscape in a week's time. Last week the azaleas near the walk leading into church were in tight bud and this week they were in riotous bloom. Dandelions have sprung up everywhere and their little yellow blossoms are clothing the fields, yards and roadsides. The flowering pear trees are in full snowy white bloom in downtown Port Clinton. I've seen a couple of red bud trees - airy and lacy and delicate. Weeping cherry trees with "pink on pink" branches are particularly nice right now.
Grass in lawns has sprung up and I saw the first lawns being mowed this past week. Down at City Park there's a carpet of tiny white flowers under some of the trees. Whenever I see that, I remember back many years ago when our grandfather took my brother and sister and me for a walk in the woods and showed us a multitude of tiny flowers like a mat on the ground. That's a great memory to give a child.
Inside the house there is a very tall arrangement of forsythia branches in the living room and smaller displays of cut tulips and daffodils elsewhere. It's impossible to relate how good it is to have fresh flowers in the house once again. No wonder people love spring so much. It's breathtaking!
I had a good time helping to judge the chili cook-off last Saturday in downtown Port Clinton. Ken Kostal invited me and since I had time to help (again), I did. This was a "blind" judging. In other words, we judges had no idea who had made the various chilis we were tasting. There were 13 chilis in cups numbered 1-13 on the table. The idea is for each judge to taste each one, make private comments on the numbered sheet for each chili, and then to rank the three personal favorites in priority order.
This is more difficult than it might appear. Some can be "eliminated" after a time: too salty, way too spicy, bad texture, etc. But as it gets down to the end, it is very difficult to assess which are the best ones. I kept my eyes off all the other judges. I didn't look at their faces at all because we'd been told to judge individually and not to speak to each other or to indicate preference with body language or facial expression.
The chili we judged is a mixture of meat, tomatoes and spices but may have no beans or pasta in it. This is a very different chili than the one I make at home because that always has kidney beans and often has pasta (elbow macaroni) in it.
Well, anyway, I finally made my decision and turned in the form. I'll judge again, if I'm asked, because it's interesting. But my stomach sure burned for a while from all those spices! On the way home I got to wondering about chili - where it originated and what a "real" chili consists of. I looked it up and now realize that there are literally hundreds of chili recipes.
One book said that chili had its beginnings in the American Southwest, probably cooked over campfires along the early cattle trails. Tough and un-aged meat was disguised by fiery seasoning from the region's chili peppers. And, there are hundreds of kinds of chili peppers, some hot and some mild, so the chili would have many different flavors with the variety of peppers used.
According to cookbook author Bernard Clayton, Jr., the chili contest was born in 1967 and that led to the great number of recipes we have today. The author mentions a few types - Gross National Product, Rebel Roulette, Hot Pants, Buzzard's Breath, and Survival. Lots of different ingredients are used in these including unsweetened chocolate. "For true believers," Clayton says, "those who hold to meat and seasonings only..." there is a long list of forbidden ingredients: celery, carrots, parsley, sugar, sherry and rice are among those that the purists do not use.
Most chilis today have tomatoes - fresh, frozen, canned or whatever. Most start with onions and garlic. Common spices are cumin, oregano, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Many people like to use "chili powder", a commercial blend of chili peppers, salt, cumin, oregano and garlic. I use chili powder for seasoning in my chili. But one of my sisters-in-law uses "hot sauce", a liquid that has spices, sometimes including cayenne pepper in a vinegar base.
A couple of famous people have contributed to the popularity of chili. President Lyndon Baines Johnson created "Pedernales River Chili", named for the river near his ranch in Texas. That chili has all the basic ingredients but also includes a beef broth.
And "Mom" Unser, mother of two famous race car drivers, made chili for her sons at the Indianapolis Race Track. Gradually she made it for more and more drivers until there was one big party each year. Mrs. Unser's chili was unusual. She used pork rather than beef and added plenty of jalapeno peppers and Tequila! She also added canned kidney beans to her chili (again, according to author Clayton) in his cookbook on soups.
On Saturday, May 3, there will be a household hazardous waste collection from 9-12 at the County Fairgrounds. Paints, pesticides, cleaners, propane cylinders (hand-held), household batteries, anti-freeze and motor oil are among the products that may be disposed of. So this is a good time to clean up any old materials you have lying around. Note that roofing shingles will not be accepted.
As a rule, I generally do not write about deceased persons in this column but I'll make an exception this week to mention two particular gentlemen. Jim Lannen, a friend of many, many years, is now gone from us. His funeral was Friday at Immaculate Conception Church. Fr. Missler mentioned in the homily that Jim was a caring, genuinely good person.
I certainly agree. Jim was well known in Port Clinton and elsewhere in this area because he was a banker. He served in the days when banks were "local" and the bankers knew their costumers personally. Jim was a community leader, was civic-minded and knew practically everyone in town. He also had a great sense of humor and helped many people along a road to success. I will miss him.
And I will also miss Bob Armbruster. Bob and his wife Grace were originally from Port Clinton but spent much of their adult life in various parts of the world. When they retired they came "home" and immediately became an integral part of the community. After Grace's death, Bob trudged valiantly on alone. He was involved in so many things. He was a church choir singer, a Sunday School teacher, a community foundation "founder", Men's Prayer Breakfast leader, an elected official, (and much more).
Bob Armbruster was a natural "leader." He knew how to get things done, knew how to empower others, knew how to laugh, and knew how to show how much he cared about his community.
The world is a better place because guys like Jim Lannen and Bob Armbruster took their place in it with courtesy and honor and élan. They were good people but they also made their lives meaningful just by living each day to the fullest. We can all learn from the example they set.
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