I'm not sure I've had chili beans

Chili beans: [link] Mild and hot.

I have tried adding butter, because I did realize that it was mostly fat missing from the vegetarian chili, but it still tastes better to me with ground beef. I just want to not need it,you know.

That's big talk, Perkins.

It kind of is, since I have to work, but there's another 3 day weekend in Feb!

I could do it with ground turkey, but I'm kind of interested in using the fake meat after Laga's creamy bean soup with fake meat turned out so well.

but I'm kind of interested in using the fake meat

I use Yves Meatless Ground for JZ's veggie chili and it works very well.

Chili's the best because you can start with the basic outlines of a recipe but pretty much add or subtract any of it (except the tomatoes and some spices) depending on what you have around and just taste as you go to get it right.

I start pretty much everything with sauteed onions and garlic so I'd prefer to add the fat there than in the crumbles if I'm using them instead of meat.

I did experiment with the sauce + meat type chili, rather than the kitchen sink one recently, and it was freaking amazing. I kinda sorta used this Bobby Flay recipe: [link]

A totally different undertaking though.

there's another 3 day weekend in Feb!

Ooh! Doo eet!

This afternoon was an example of why I shouldn't try do mucho shit late in the week. But, still, got a lot accomplished, and discovered two major malls near work. Oops.

Ooh! Doo eet!

OKAY!

That's why I add vegetable oil. I honestly hadn't thought to do it until The Boy mentioned that the chili could be fattier.

Fat carries flavor, yo. I've started adding some butter and olive oil to my crumbles.

This is the best fake hamburger I've found. [link] They don't taste like awesome burgers, but they taste a LOT like good fast food burgers.

So far Chinatown has supplied me with the best faux meats. Which makes sense -- it's an actual cuisine that has evolved, not something cooked up by well-intentioned hippies in a lab. They have fat! They make use of mushrooms! Texture is clearly a priority!

What they don't have is things like meat crumbles or sausage. Some American style food is in the repertoire, but not a whole lot. Oh, and vegans have had problems with May Wah because they only translate the first five or ten ingredients, but veggies should be in the clear.

These are my favorites so far:

Tuna [link]

Citrus Rib Tips [link] (Soooooo good. Almost can not tell the difference.)

and the burgers up top.

A friend of mine wants me to go to Vegas with her over Valentine's Day weekend. The only issue is that I'm already flying to California on Feb 25th. Then again, I've never been to Vegas.

Decisions! Why so difficult?