Cooking up something special
Katherine Mooney ’17, a film and new media studies major, makes herself at home at Wheaton by cooking a favorite chili recipe from her childhood.
Growing up in a family of five children in New Jersey, her mom’s chili was a staple during those cold winter months. At Wheaton, it has earned her bragging rights as the winner of the 2015 Chili Cook-Off sponsored by the Programming Council.
As the winner, she received a new Samsung tablet and Aramark will cook and serve her chili in Chase Dining Hall for dinner on Wednesday, February 10, starting at 5 p.m.
“This dish reminds me of my mom and it’s something that season after season we’ve had in my house,” she said.
She lives in Farm House, a residential theme house that unites students who are dedicated to bringing small-scale sustainable agriculture to the Wheaton campus. So she gets to cook the dish right in her own kitchen and share it with her roommates.
“This ties into what we try to do here at Farm House, which is bring the community together. The recipe makes a lot of food, it’s really easy to make, and it’s something that we can all sit around the table and enjoy at dinner.”
Vegetarian Chili
Ingredients:
• 2 cans of kidney beans (dark, light, or one of each)
• 1-2 cans of black beans (save half the juice from one of the cans to add to the mix later)
• 1 can of cannellini beans
• 2 jars of salsa
• 2 cans of stewed or crushed tomatoes
• 1 tsp of cumin
• Dash of chili powder
• Dash of cayenne
Directions: Open and rinse all the canned beans in a colander. Mix all the ingredients into a crockpot (or in a pot on stovetop), including the juice from the can of black beans. Stir well. Cook on high heat (crock pot) or medium heat (stove) for an hour to an hour and a half, stirring occasionally. Then, add more seasoning to taste, turn down the heat to low for 2 hours or more if it is in a crockpot. Optional: Serve with tortilla chips, shredded cheese and sour cream. Serves 8–10. Enjoy.