Dangerous Tides Outside

A pot of hearty chili inside

It’s a wild day on the beach today. The surf is high and choppy, smashing into the rocks with great drama, and the tide is higher than I’ve seen since last winter, rushing all the way to the dunes. Twice, I’ve seen people running away from it, not realizing they’d get trapped. Right now, two older men are at the very end of the path, and I see them debating how to actually walk on the beach. I want to go out and holler to them, “Don’t do it!” but they won’t be able to hear me.

I see that it’s been a month since I’ve been here. Forgive my silence. I took a long, nourishing trip to northern Italy with an intimate group of writers and artists (more in a future post) and then slammed into a nasty virus that knocked me out for a solid week. Of course, the second round of revisions on the new book arrived so I had to tackle those first.

Which is all to say I’ll be back to regular posts very soon. In the meantime, I made a pot of hearty chili today and thought I’d share the recipe I’ve developed over many years. It was, like corn chowder, one of the first things I learned to make for dinner, and it never fails. If you can, do find Mexican oregano. It’s amazing and quite unlike the Greek version. (See how pretty it is?)

Chili with Beans

Olive oil
1 lb ground turkey
1 small onion, white or yellow
4-5 cloves of garlic, chopped ( more if you like)
2 heaping tsp cumin
2 tsp Mexican oregano
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 small can of mild green chiles
2 cans diced or crushed tomatoes
2 cans chili pinto beans
1 T roasted vegetable base
Water as needed
Salt and pepper to taste


Cover the bottom of a Dutch oven with olive oil and warm over medium high heat. Add chopped onions, then turkey and brown lightly. Add garlic, cook one minute or so, add the spices and stir to let them get warmed up, too. Add the chiles, tomatoes, beans, and stir all together. Add vegetable base. (I love this stuff and use it a lot. I also roast and make my own vegetable stock sometimes, but I don’t know many people who have the time to do that every day.) Turn heat to medium low and let simmer. It usually doesn’t need a lot of water, but I’ll usually add a half cup or so to start, then more as it ripens. Taste and correct the seasonings.

Good for a stormy day.

I’ve missed you all! How are things in your world as we head into November? Are you happy about cozying into the shorter days in the Northern Hemisphere? What are some of your favorite fall rituals?