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Uh yes I agree he uh says "uh" so much that I uh forget what the hell he's uh saying. It's REALLY annoying. He critiques the next food network star...maybe he should uh critique himself. Ahhhhhh.....

I put malt syrup in at first to give it a boost, but now it's just flour and water.

Now that it's going I try to actually make something every feeding instead of throwing it out, but I'm limited by the amount of flour in the house and my family's tolerance for bread products.

@jonfoxx, I'm a purist when it comes to sourdough. It's how I learned how to make it years ago, and it's pretty much foolproof if you're following good directions. If you start introducing all sorts of foreign wildlife (bacteria, mold, yeast) you increase the risk that you're going to have a contaminated batch of dough. In the end, the sourdough culture is going to need to live on flour, not on potatoes or lawn trimmings, so it just makes sense to me to start it in a clean environment with just flour and water.

If for some reason a person can't get a culture going with just flour, the first things I would suggest would be different flour and different water before I'd start adding other things.

If you know what a sourdough culture is supposed to behave like and you want to experiment with additives, that's another story. But if a person isn't familiar with sourdough, I don't know that I'd trust them to recognize the difference between a sourdough culture and a botulism culture.

And if someone is intent on experimenting, I'd probably suggest that they try some foreign cultures or they grow local cultures using different types of flours.

Just had some amazing chili last night! Try the Best Chili Ever! :)

One of my daughters-in-law is a chili adventuress. She found a magazine recipe for white chili sometime in the 90s and turned us on to it--we make it probably once a month now. Our red and white chilis are like all of yours--always good but never the same. Her red chili has two constants, which she started adding after reading one of my Frugal Gourmet cookbooks: like @salpico's recipe above, she always adds a pinch of cinnamon and a tablespoon of cocoa to the pot. It doesn't taste odd, exotic or anything like that, it's just enough to add depth and make you wonder what the magic spice is. People always ask for her recipe.

I like beef to be very coarsely ground, but if I'm substituting pork, I cut in into 1/2" cubes. We're bean people: eating meat in red sauce without beans doesn't do anything for us.

We divide the recipe into two pots, a medium-spicy one for the adults and a tamer version for the little kids.

I am with the other posters--no way i could give a real recipe. Mine is different every time, depending on ingredients on hand and who I am feeding. Plus, regional ideas about how chili "should" be come into play for sure. I am still adjusting to the "yankee" version involving green pepper and celery that I keep encountering here. :) Tasty! But odd to me...

Hope yours was great! Really, can chili be bad?

I can't help you, I'm afraid. I've lost my chili mojo (maybe I never had to begin with?) as I discovered yesterday after a failed attempt. I'm going to use it to make chili lasagna. I'd make chili mac but I have lasagna noodles and no elbows.

Beef Chili w/Chocolate
6–8 servings Cooking time: 3 hrs.

2–1/2 lbs. boneless chuck steak, cut into large cubes
1 quart beef stock
2 medium onions, diced
4 shallots, minced
5 garlic cloves, minced
4 medium bell peppers, roasted, skinned, and roughly chopped
1–28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2–15.5 oz. cans pink beans
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 tbsp. ancho chili powder
2 tbsp. ground coriander
1 tbsp. ground cumin
1 tbsp. smoked sweet Spanish paprika
1 tbsp. dried oregano
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
salt & pepper

Season the beef cubes with salt and pepper, and set aside. In a small bowl, mix together the ancho chili powder, coriander, cumin, paprika, oregano, garlic powder, and cinnamon to make a seasoning mixture.

Place the beef cubes in the pot and add the stock. Add additional water, if necessary, to cover meat by 1”. Bring to a boil over medium–high heat, and skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Add in the onions, shallots, roasted peppers, and garlic. Stir in the seasoning mixture. Crush the tomatoes in a large mixing bowl with your hands. Add the tomatoes and the tomato paste to the pot. Simmer until the meat comes apart with no resistance, about 2 hrs. As it cooks down, add a small amount of water, if necessary.

Using 2 forks, pull the meat chunks apart into shreds. Drain and rinse the beans. Stir in the beans and the cornmeal. Simmer for another 45 min. uncovered. Stir in the cocoa powder and simmer another 5 min. Adjust seasoning to taste.

In response to my own thread, I am kicking it down several notches..tonight will be roasted broccoli and steamed snapper with spices..If I don't watch it, I will have to be airlifted from my house...

I had a few friends over for one of the girls' bday brunch on Saturday. The menu included roasted potatoes, poached eggs, smoked salmon with cucumbers and tomatoes and thyme cream cheeese and an amazing fruit salad.
and then after a nap we made biscotti! Fun times!

I made potato leek soup (a tad gummy) with bacon on top. On the side we had my first attempt at bread from the Artisanal Bread in 5 Minutes cookbook (forgot to slash top, a bit gummy also). Dinner was nachos (perfect) and made at home DQ Peanut Buster Parfaits (more than perfect). Watched Wizard of Oz with my girl and that, too, was more than perfect!!!

@italiancupcake! what a whirlwind you had.... first the dumplings and then the donuts..... good for you girl..... i could use a weekend like that myself..... i'm glad your donuts were good. thank god i don't live too close to that place or i'd look like a donut myself...

anyway, this weekend i had company on sunday so i made a roast local pork (with the skin, crisp!), spanish arroz, some roasted veggies.... a big salad from the local farm stand..... homemade apple sauce. and vino, lots of vino.