Smells of Home

                A brightly lit kitchen filled with the lingering aroma of carmalizing onion and garlic, soon to be dimmed by the smell of bubbling cumin, chicken and beans, has become home.

When I left home to come to college for the first time I always knew I would be going back to that place. Although I did go home again, it was never really my home in the same way. Home was more of a retreat from the busy world of a school and a return to all things familiar.

The first time my mom made her famous White Chicken Chili I turned my nose up at it.

“What is that? I’m not eating that!” I announced, scrunching up my nose at the smell as I returned home from swim practice. I went up to my room hoping this stunt would result in a “better” meal. I was a seventeen-year-old junior hell-bent on not being satisfied with anything.

Something magical happened as I sat in my room. A mix of garlic and cumin wafted into my nose, a hint of chicken and a dash of onion trailed close behind. My feet directed me toward the door, gingerly turned the knob and moved me into the kitchen. I sat there talking to my mom and enjoying the warm, loving kitchen created by the bubbling chili. We started eating and I found it hard to stop.

Since that day I have used my mom’s recipe and turned it into something of my own. The ingredients are engraved in my heart, the measurements in the eyes of my mind. When I miss home and all that is familiar, I turn to this chili. The chili that melted my heart soon after I displayed my immediate disgust for it’s smell. I have made the chili for my roommates in college, visiting my friends at other schools and for family friends. The response is the same every time: this is incredible, may I have the recipe?

I invite them home, to my brightly lit kitchen, as I say:

Here is what you will need:

-          Olive Oil

-          Garlic

-          Cumin

-          Diced Green Chili’s

-          A large jar of Great Northern Beans

-          Chicken Broth

-          1 LB of chicken, shredded (canned or however you prefer)

Drizzle the olive oil in a large pan and set on medium heat. Dice the onions and a few spoons of garlic in the pan and toss in the pan until they begin to brown. Add two small or one medium can of diced green chili’s and let simmer for a few minutes. Throw in all of the chicken and the entire jar of beans. Cover with chicken broth, add Cumin to taste and let simmer until you’re nose tells you it’s time to eat.

                My measurements are not exact, but one thing I know is that adding more of any ingredient to your desired taste is recommended. The longer the dish simmers, the more broth you should add. Do not be shy on cumin and garlic. This is a chili that matures as it sits and becomes more delicious with every bite.

Welcome home.