Chili and Blues

As my earlier post Food Wine and Song has proven to be one of my more popular posts, I though I'd give it another try and offer up more great music to savour while cooking.  This time, it's a video of Howlin' Wolf performing the song Smokestack Lightnin'  before a British audience in 1964.  Chester Burnett was given the name Howlin' Wolf on account of his unique singing style.   Musician and critic Cub Koda declared, "no one could match Howlin' Wolf for the singular ability to rock the house down to the foundation while simultaneously scaring its patrons out of its wits."  This video is one of my very favorites - I just can't get enough of it!  Seriously....I must have watched it 30 or more times.  Watch how he really loosens up around 3:45.  I love it!  And notice how muffled his harmonica sounds - that's because his hands were the size of baseball gloves.  According to Wikipedia, "At 6 feet, 6 inches (198 cm) and close to 300 pounds (136 kg), he was an imposing presence with one of the loudest and most memorable voices of all the "classic" 1950s Chicago blues singers."

I searched through my recipe collection to find something spicy enough to match this great music, finally deciding on a family recipe for Chili.  Enjoy!

 Slow Cooker Chili Con Carne
      
            453 g. ground beef
            1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
            1 can kidney beans, rinsed & drained
            1 can Maple baked beans ( must be maple-style)!
            1 large jar spagetti sauce
            1 can whole kernel corn, drained
            1 onion, chopped
            1 green bell pepper, chopped

            2 stalks celery, chopped
            2 cloves garlic, minced
            2 tbsp chilli powder
            1 tb Dried parsley
            1 tb dried oregano
            1 tb dried basil
            1 pk onion soup mix
            1 pinch of cinnamon

Brown beef with onions & garlic, then combine with remaining ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on high for at least 2 hours or on low for 8 hours.