Short Essay 1: Ian's Tin Can Chili

The ground beef sizzled as I finished cutting the onions and opening the cans of various tomato and chili products. This was a familiar process and the cooking of “Ian’s Tin Can Chili” was underway. Growing up in a close-knit family I was constantly spending time with family members and this led to my introduction to the kitchen. Every Tuesday and Thursday since I can remember my aunt Eileen and grandmother Gran have been venturing to my house to care for my younger brother and I. One day chili was the planned meal and as a young child sitting at the counter I offered my services to aid in the preparation of the chili. Gran began to show me the ropes of how chili was to be made. This process, started many years ago in Evergreen, Colorado was one that would destine me to a life of strict chili expectations.

While it is not the specific meal of chili that makes the chili so nostalgic and important to me, it is my history with the dish and everything it represents to me. Chili began as a family bonding activity and evolved into a meal I associate with one of my favorite activities, skiing. This activity was a family bonding activity because as a young child of probably five or six I began helping making chili. While my role was surely limited in the cooking process I found great joy in thinking I was helping my grandmother Gran make the families’ meal. As I aged I assumed more and more responsibility in the production of the delicious meal. Beginning in middle school was about the age where I began to cook the meal alone. At the time this was an important step to me, I felt as I was growing up and maturing. I had moved from being the student to completing the cooking process alone. As I have grown even older I see the experience of cooking chili as a way to reconnect to my strong family connections and the nostalgia of being a young kid. Each time I enter the kitchen and begin to pull out the ground beef and the other pieces of the meal I think back to the memories I have of my first experiences making “Ian’s Tin Can Chili.”

Besides linking to my past chili is a connection to my favorite activity, skiing. Since I was four years old I have been heading up to the mountains nearly every winter weekend to spend time in the cold and snow of the Colorado mountains. The act of skiing has a higher caliber of family connection and nostalgia for me, making it an even more important activity than cooking chili. However, the two in conjunction is a memory I have and will cherish for a long time. Nearly every day after returning from the mountains my family would sit down to a delicious pot of homemade chili and refill our empty tanks from a hard day of skiing.

While the importance of the food does not come from the fact that it is chili, the importance is found in the memories and actions surrounding the process of making the food. As a five year old I can remember climbing the steps on the step stool, placed near the stove, just to see over the counter and be able to reach the ingredients. Also, the memory of how the chili came to be known as “Ian’s Tin Can Chili” is very nostalgic in itself. As a young child some of the cans of beans, tomato products, and chilies were heavy and slippery. The combination of these various facets led to a can of chilies slowly sliding out of my hand and directly into the chili. The can followed its contents into the batch of chili and I can still see and hear the “plop” of the can hitting the chili surface. My young five year old eyes shot open as wide as possible and I thought to myself, “Oh no, what have I done?” Gran quickly reassured me it was no problem and no big deal. We all quickly began to laugh and gave the chili its new name. From the process of making chili, the aroma that fills the house while cooking, the nostalgic memories of family, and the ties to skiing chili is a food that not only gives me nourishment, but joy. This will be a dish I continue to make and teach my kids and grandkids how to make a delicious pot of chili. Food can be a magical thing for anyone and chili is the food that brings me to my roots.