Friday Preparations For The Saturday Morning Crock Pot Cook Off At Ace Hardware.

Tomorrow's the day. The day of the crock pot cook off.

So today, I'm getting things in place. Tying up loose ends, making check lists, and lists to check my lists. I have my cold cooler ready. I have my hot hotter ready. Last Saturday, I made Batch #1 of chili, with venison as the base. On Sunday, I made Batch #2 of chili. I froze both batches. On Wednesday, I transferred the frozen chilis to the refrigerator to thaw out. Tomorrow morning, I'll heat up 4 parts of chili #1 with 2 parts of chili #2 on the stove top, pour into the crock pot, and take my chili to Ace Hardware.

Today, I made a few accoutrements for my chili. First, seasoned tortilla chips.

I sliced my tortillas into twelfths. Store bought tortillas on the right. Homemade tortillas on the left. Melted a stick of butter.

Added in my seasonings: 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp coriander 1 tsp cayenne 1 tsp Sazon Goya con cilantro y tomate 1 tsp Sazon Goya con azafran See here for Goya seasonings.

I brushed the triangles with my seasoned butter.

Sprinkled on a bit of chopped cilantro. And baked in a 275 degree oven until lightly browned and crisp. Next, my seasoned creme fraiche.

Yesterday, I had made a pint of creme fraiche. (Upper right corner in picture above.) Very simple. 1 pint heavy cream 2 TB buttermilk 2 TB lemon juice Mix ingredients, cover, and let sit at room temperature overnight. Refrigerate. Now, I'm going to season my creme fraiche with green onion, jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice, and lime zest.

I only used two green onions, not the three shown. And one jalapeno, not two, shown. Grated zest of 2 limes. And cilantro.

Juice of one lime.

Lime juice gets added to creme fraiche.

Cilantro goes in.

Green onions.

And the rest of the green stuff.

Lookin' good.

Mix together, dip a chip in, and it's divine. You can taste every flavor. And it's very greeny. Next, I'm preparing my corn salsa.

1 large can diced tomatoes 1 can corn 1 can green chilies some canned jalapenos from my garden cilantro lime juice and the package of seasoning from a Taco dinner kit

Drain the 'maters.

Add the drained corn.

Add the chilies.

Add the juice of one lime.

Add the cilantro. You could add parsley if you're not fond of cilantro.

Stir in the seasoning packet from the taco dinner.

The seasoned creme fraiche, the corn salsa, and the tortilla chips are wonderful. Tomorrow, I need to grate cheddar cheese, chop some jalapenos and cilantro, and slice green onions for other additions to my chili. NOW, you KNOW Imonna have a crock-scape tomorrow. You'll just have to wait and see. Or will it be a chili-scape?

But until then, I'll just give you a hint. What's Mr. Hawthorne doing here?

Why, I believe the dear man is making Rosie some chili earrings!

We'd gone out Thursday morning on a search for scape items. I found some plastic chili peppers, then I went to a bead place where they had the earring thingies. Mr. Hawthorne got out his Dremel and drilled a tiny hole in the peppers, then strung them with copper wire and attached them to the ear thingies.

He's wearing his magnifying glasses with visor. He means business. Those are not bolts in his head.

Ta daaaaa. My earrings. Now, if that's not love, I don't know what is. Thank you, Mr. Hawthorne.

My earrings. Wish me luck, all! I'll be wearing my lucky underwear.