Tongues of Fire Chili

What joy looks like when it comes in a bowl

This has been perhaps my least joyful Eastertide since I started keeping the practice of 50 Days of Joy … so far. I’m not fretting—just tending to the longing for an unforced and unhurried joy. A string of minor colds through most of April hasn’t helped.

Still, there have been pockets of joy.

One I keep returning to: hosting our Ascend gap-year students for dinner. I made my chili. Midway through the meal, Julia looked up and said, “Alastair has been perfecting this recipe since we got married. Eighteen years!” Then it dawned on her, “… the whole time you’ve been alive.”

Yes, I have spent the lifespan of Generation Alpha working on this chili.

I haven’t written much this season. But what I do offer, I offer boldly: this recipe. Make it for people you love. People you’re just getting to know. It’s worth your time. And joy will be nearby. I can almost guarantee it.

Let me know how it goes.