Chili

Chili by Lucia Vera

Videography and Production by Isabel Vera 

Lucia Vera is an alumna of St.Mary’s University. She has been cooking for over 30 years and learned to cook from her mother. She has taken this knowledge to create her own recipe for the dish, chili. She is known for her chili and is often asked to make it at family gatherings. In this video she is demonstrating how to make chili. This video is a continuation of my second class project titled “Let’s Cook Together”. In this video project Lucia makes the dish mentioned in the audio interview.

Recipe for Chili

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 1 (15 oz.) can of diced tomatoes
• 1 (8 oz.) tomato sauce- optional
• ½ small onion diced or sliced
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon of chili powder
• 1 lb. of pinto beans (raw or canned)
• 1 (15 oz.) can of kidney beans
• Large pan, small mixing bowl, whisk, tablespoon, teaspoon, large spoon/ladle, measuring cup/tea cup, knife, cutting board, smaller pot, serving bowl.

Recipe:

Start by preparing raw pinto beans in advance. Wash them thoroughly, place in pot, add 6 cups of water, 2 teaspoons of pepper, 2 teaspoons of salt, boil on medium heat for 2 hours. Add water as needed. If you do not want to make beans by hand, use canned pinto beans instead. Next cook raw beef thoroughly. Add 6 cups of water to beef, as it is still raw. Cook until beef is brown, drain the fat. Chop or slice an onion and add to cooked meat. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, diced tomatoes and chili powder to chili. Let the chili simmer on medium heat for 30 minutes. In a small bowl, add flour and 1 cup of water.. Whisk flour and water until it is a liquid consistency. Mix in whisked flour to the chili. After mixing, let chili simmer for 5 minutes. Add the whole pot of either canned pinto beans or the pinto beans made in advance into chili. Add can of kidney beans. Mix them into chili and let simmer for 10 minutes. Mix all ingredients again and add salt, chili powder, pepper, and garlic powder as you go along until you get the desired taste and consistency. After you are satisfied with the end product, let stand for 10 minutes before serving. A great compliment to chili would be corn bread or any side dish you desire. Lastly, enjoy the chili.