The other day, it occurred to me that I have been on social media for about a third of my life. Growing up in Nigeria, I won’t exactly say that I grew up with technology. Technology and the internet was something that slowly drizzled into Nigeria. Moving the US when I was 16, opened my eyes to the internet and social networking online. Even before the days of Facebook, I spent a considerable amount of time online. One of my favorite things to do online is to learn about food. I have always been curious about the way other people eat. Food bloggers have become my demi-gods and I have become the person who falls in love with recipes. This Chipotle Chili from Gaby of What’s Gaby Cooking is one of my new loves.
One of the randoms about me is that I don’t really watch television. Between Youtube, Netflix and Amazon, I get more than enough screen time and entertainment. The fourth pillar for me is Instagram Stories. I just love watching stories because they are often unguarded moments. Watching stories me feel like I can relate to the people whose works I admire because one veneer of gloss is removed. The moment I watched Gaby making this Chipotle Chili on her stories I knew I had to give it a try.
My favorite thing about this chili has to be the use of the chipotle pepper in adobo as well as poblano pepper. Chipotle pepper in adobo is one of those ingredients that I use for only a specific recipe. Poblano pepper is one that I am not familiar with. I had never cooked with Poblano pepper before making this Chipotle Chili. When I say Gaby mention that she uses chipotle pepper and poblano pepper in this chili, I lost in the thought of how quickly I could make it.
I should say that I am not very good at cooking with other people’s recipes. As someone who dreams of food in various iterations, I can’t turn off the impulse to improvise. I used ground beef instead of chicken because that’s what I had available. For this Chipotle Chili soup, I felt like I had an opportunity to use up some leftover mirepoix that I had in the fridge. The other amendment I made to the recipe was to increase the amount of garlic.
When I was almost done making the recipe, I realized that salt was not included in the recipe. I am not sure if this was intentional or an omission. What I do know is that I add salt to my food when I am cooking. So, adding salt became the final amendment to the recipe. The Chipotle Chili turned out better than I imagined.
I made this Chipotle Chili at night to have for dinner. Then, I reheated up a portion the next day for pictures. After taking my pictures, I ate the reheated soup. OMG! It was better than the night before. The flavors in the soup had melded so well together. So, if there is one tip I would give, make this soup ahead of time. It is so worth the effort and time it takes to cook each step.
