A relationship is like a good chili

      On a cold day I love nothing more than a nice bowl of chili. Im sure most of us feel the same. I love getting fresh veggies and a great lean meat and making it myself, letting it cook most of the morning so I have something to warm my belly at night. My chili has lots of layers of flavor to it and changes depending on the products I have available to me at the market. 
       As I was making chili this week I was thinking about my current single status. And I started laughing...relationships and chili are very similar. Im sure I am not the only person that has thought of this, but I instantly decided this was going to be my next topic! So here we go! 
       My chili recipe calls for a large pot (I like a dutch oven), to start. I place it on a medium high heat and add oil. I have chopped up a larger white onion and a few cloves of garlic. I add this in and let it cook down till tender. I then add my peppers, now you can chose how hot you want your chili I personally like a spicy chili so I add a couple Jalapenos and 1 Habanero. You can adjust this if you want and only add bell peppers. I cut these down and add them to the mix and cook till tender as well. Now make sure you add salt and pepper (black and red) and any chili spice you want at this time as well. After the veggies are cooked I then add the meat. Now I love a mix so I usually add ground pork and sirloin, but you can go strait turkey or even add something a little more exciting like venison.  Again cook till browned and add seasoning to taste. I love adding paprika, chipotle, and other dried seasoning. To add layers of spice and heat. After the meat is browned and flavored the way I like I then add my canned tomatoes and tomato paste. I put the paste in first to make sure it blends nicely. I also like to add a can of beer. Use what you drink. I love an IPA, so I normally use Sweetwaters 420. After all the ingredients are in the pot I bring it to a boil for no more than 5 minutes. Bring it down to a simmer and let it hang out and cook till Im ready to eat. The longer it cooks the better. But give yourself at least 2 hours. I top my chili off with some sharp cheddar and some sour cream. But you can top it with whatever you want. 
       Now how I think this is like a good relationship...When you are single your "pot" is looking to be filled with something tasty.  And you are always looking for that warm feeling in the pit of your stomach. Sometimes when you are dating you find this, you may call it chemistry. So you start adding you "veggies", normally the first time you met. It might be a story about work or a hobby but its the beginning of your "chili". You then get to go out on that first date. At this time you would add your "meat", it takes time to cook your meat all the way through so you continue dating. Making sure that you season your relationship to "taste". Once this is done you add the rest of your "ingredients" to your "chili" and let it cook. The longer it cooks the better it is. Much like a relationship. Relationships are full of layers, some days it may be hot and spicy and other days it might be bland. The beauty of it however, is you can always change up the spices in your pantry till you find the combo that is best for you! 
       I like many of you are out here cooking away every day. Some times I only need to cook enough for 1 and other times I need more. But I keep cooking! Cause I know that no matter how many times I mess up a dish I will get other chance to try to cook it again! Good luck and keep Cooking!