Clay Pot Venison Chili ...

It is SO cold here today! I have been getting the hint from Silent Bob, my partner in crime, to make a warm something for supper. You see, it's wood cutting season here in the Northeast. Once the snow is on the ground, it's a lot easier to bring the wood out of the woods, if you've a small woodlot to manage. So, Silent Bob has been cutting and stacking wood, but now it's time to load it on a sled and haul it out of the woods and up to the woodpile. This will be next winter's wood ... an investment in more snug winters at the grey cottage. He definitely deserves a big pot of  'warm something', as he puts it!

 After cruising the blogs and touching base with Foodbuzz, I am seeing so many chili posts that I caved to offering another version. We make chili with venison in the winter. After hunting season, the freezer is stocked with tenderloins, steaks, ground sausages, and an occasional roast. Today, I'm using loose sweet venison sausage to make a big pot of chili. I have this nice flameware pot that will keep it warm after I've simmered it a bit. A big bowl of steaming jasmine rice and bottles of beer to cool the palate ... and a Christmas movie. We plan to hang out on the couch with the warm blankets and the Christmas tree lights for dinner and a movie! Tonight it's 'The Polar Express' which seems strangely á propos!

Trouble In Paradise ... Paddling Toward Bliss!

Let's just say that life in the cottage on the hill has been better. We woke up to rain ... rain ... and more rain. No gentle Spring showers, no! Torrents, 'sheets and pillowcases', buckets! You get the idea. Our cellar has about four inches on the floor and it's rising. The sump pump is trying hard, but it looks like it's not strong enough ... the old hoses have been pressed into service as siphons to aid the poor little pump that thought it could.

Late Winter Dinner ...

Last week, we received a visit from my sister and her hunter man! He'd been out with the boys hunting deer in Arkansas and scored big time! Oh, I love those guys! They shared the wealth! I currently have venison steaks, sausage, and stew meat in my freezer and I am psyched! I share with you a recipe that I developed after having an excellent venison entree at an inn up (over, down, whatever)  in Henniker (the only Henniker on Earth!), New Hampshire.

Welcome to January!

It's cold, it's snowy, and we're rosy-cheeked from shoveling all the drifts away from the doors. This latest storm was a beauty, but it went on forever! Silent Bob has made it his full-time job to run the snow-blower, haul wood, stock the birdfeeders, and clear a sledding run down the hill behind our grey cottage.

While he has been busy outside, I have diligently
 cleared out all traces of the holiday dietary debauchery that mounted up in the refrigerator (as per New Years Resolution #2). It's amazing the amount of detritus that accumulates over the course of the holidays! As I puttered away at the sorting, composting, trashing, washing, drying , refitting, and organizing of said fridge, I thought about dinner. What can I make with a red cabbage, carrots, a couple parsnips, celery, lemons, a green pepper, and condiments that are perfectly fine, but jumbled ? I have sworn to Silent Bob that we will not shop for more food until I have used up what's in this fridge... thank goodness there is meat in the freezer!