This is a picture of me calming myself down

The kids went back to school today for an hour each. We spent some time over at Mom and Dad's visiting, and the children said goodbye to each other and Alex and Fi to their aunt and uncle. I'll see them one more time after work tomorrow to help drive to the airport. After supper I cooked up a storm. Our first crock pot of the fall. I know it's not really chilly enough for chili, but that's what I felt like making - one for tomorrow and one for the the freezer. The crock pot is lovely. It will feed Andy and the kids at supper and still be warm for me when I get home later tomorrow night and need a friendly bowl and probably also a big glass of red wine.

I use a "heart smart" recipe that's a mixture of several I've tried. Andy's not crazy about it. He likes a very meaty-beany concoction with flour added to make a brown gravy. It looks positively...Scottish! But he pours in lots of cayenne pepper so it does not taste Scottish at all. He never uses the crock pot - just the stove and a big pot. My chili has tons of onions and carrots (sometimes zucchini and cauliflower, but don't tell!) and garlic to stretch it out. I pour in some wine too, which makes the flavour more round and full, and the smell...mmmmmm. Mine is medium hot with firey sauce and pepper flakes available on the side. I like to serve it with some cheddar cheese on top.

So I'll come home from the airport tomorrow and have some chili and think about Barb and Kim and Maya and Lukas and Simon flying away to spicy and nourishing adventures in Africa, and everything will be just fine.

question: what's your comfort food?

mompoet - partial to pasta with olive oil, salt and parmesan