I learned last night that a very dear friend of my parents passed away on Friday. She was the mother of the Cool Older Girl who read Catcher in the Rye out loud to me. She died of complications from diabetes.
She was a person for whom the diagnosis of diabetes must have felt particularly cruel. She was a gourmet cook who made excellent use of her giant kitchen with restaurant stove (six big gas burners) and butler’s pantry, and boy did she love to eat and drink.
Once when my mom was sick in bed — understatement there; she had sciatica and could not move — this friend brought us a big pot of chili. It was so good that as soon as she was better my mom demanded the recipe. It was so good that as soon as my sister and I grew up and left home we demanded the recipe. Mom, Sister, and I have all served it to friends who then demanded the recipe. We have each brought it to numberless potlucks. The recipe was my contribution to our preschool’s fundraiser cookbook. It was the first thing I taught Lena to cook. To me this recipe is a reminder not only of her love of cooking, but also her love of my family. And now I present it to you, with the hope that you’ll try it out this week in her honor.
Pat’s Chili
|
|
|
Brown the beef, onion, green pepper and garlic in your largest stock pot. Drain. Add remaining ingredients. Do not skimp on the wine! Bring to a boil, then simmer as long as you possibly can.
Makes a ton. Freezes well.
P.S. Diabetes is a horrible disease. If it hasn’t touched you personally you might think — as I used to — that it’s not so bad, it just means you can’t eat sugar. When my father-in-law was dying from diabetic complications one of the doctors commented that the inability to produce insulin is just a side effect of diabetes; it should really be considered a vascular disease. When Pat died she was on dialysis. She’d had some toes amputated. And she didn’t even become diabetic until she was in her 50s. Here’s a link to the American Diabetes Association, which, by the way, meets give.org’s standards of accountability.
5 Comments
I have a friend who is pre-diabetic, with cholesterol through the roof, and it’s pretty scary. She eats well now but decades of bingeing on sweets (plus a family history of heart disease) have taken their toll. There should be warning labels on anything with sugar in it!
It is scary!
I should clarify, though, that Pat had Type 1 (“juvenile”) diabetes.
The recipe looks great. Unfortunately, i have no chili powder on hand. I always talk myself out of buying it at the grocery store, saying, “How often do I use chili powder?” Well, never, if you never buy any. Maybe this will finally inspire me enough.
Our mechanic has diabetes. He is blind now, and recently had toes amputated.
Veronica, go get the chili powder. This recipe uses 3 tablespoons, which is a lot. You only have to make about two batches to use up an entire small bottle. And — how could I have forgotten to mention this? — I have some great recipes for using up the leftovers. Just wait till you taste my mom’s famous Frito Casserole! :D
What a lovely tribute and a sad and touching story. I may bust out the big pot Saturday night (when I will have a bottle of wine open.) Thank you for sharing this.