Growing up almost every life event revolved in some way around food.  So I grew up very much loving food and loving sports.  The first sport I participated in was wrestling at the age of 6 and did that until I was 10.  It wasn't just a local sport...we drove all over Oklahoma going to wrestling tournaments.  Getting up at 3am to get to a 5am weigh-in.  Then running, pooping, spitting and sweating all while wearing sweats, trash bags or whatever we could to try and make a weight we probably shouldn't have been wrestling at anyway.  Finally we'd get our target weight recorded and then eat a huge and really unhealthy breakfast.  Something like donuts, milk etc.

The love of my grandparents was expressed in so many ways.  While both of my grandparents passed away several years ago, from time to time I'm taken back to specific moments I shared with them.  Sometimes while mowing the lawn, the memory of holding my papa's hand as he stepped into heaven comes rushing back to me.  You see, it was the day after I had been at the hospital with him in those final hours that I was mowing the lawn just to clear my head.  That's when I first broke down completely and was able to begin to grieve.   I can remember it as clearly as if it were yesterday.  The hot Oklahoma summer day, the sweat, the smell of cut grass, the sound of the mower and every other detail is tied to that one emotional moment.  I remember finding out my grandmother stepped in to heaven on Christmas morning while in the car on our way to Oklahoma from our home in Texas to see family for Christmas.  I no longer had an opportunity to see her.  For me the memory is crystal clear even today every time my family loads the car and begins to drive to see family around Christmas time.  I also remember getting to experience some amazing OU football games with both my grandparents.  I can remember what was said, what it smelled like and what it felt like.  I still in some small way relive those moments any time I get to attend an OU game in person.

It's amazing how we don't just remember moments like these in life but we almost relive them.  We can see the moment as if in the third person, as if we are standing outside ourselves watching.  We can taste it, smell it, and even hear the sounds of the moment like a dream that seems so real but we know is not.  

There's one thing the entire family could always remember, at least if you ever visited my mimi and papa's farm.  That's eating my Mimi's Chili.  Man was it good.  I could eat it all day and all night.  It was a hardy chili and was the perfect companion to a cold day on the farm.  Whether you were out feeding cattle, breaking ice on the pond so they could drink it or fixing fence out in the field.  That chili was an amazing comfort.  She always had a few secret ingredients that weren't really all that secret.  It was one of those meals we all craved and begged for anytime we visited.  So later in life when I made the move to becoming Not. Fat. Matt.  I decided to change my three meat chili to a Whole Food Plant Based recipe, or maybe even two that would fill that desire.  I came up with a "standard" basic chili that most meat eaters wouldn't know wasn't meat-based and likewise a Verde Chili that while not technically Whole-Food, is indeed Plant-Based and quite packed with flavor.  In fact the verde chili is always a favorite with family, friends and everyone in-between.

Every time I cook either one of these chili's it takes me back to the memories of spending time with my mimi and papa.  The aroma, the conversation, and the simplicity of a time in the past.  Chili has made a special place in my heart.