Buffalo Rising Online

Feb 3rd, 10:30am By Christa Glennie Seychew

Its game day, folks, and if there’s anything that Americans love as much as football, it’s probably the food that accompanies it. For many, Superbowl provides welcome relief from the rigorous diet and exercise that many have committed themselves to since their New Year’s resolutions were made. (Might I suggest that they allow themselves another day or two of freedom, as Mardi Gras is only two days away?) For others, it’s a chance to really strut their stuff when it comes to casual entertaining.

I like to keep it simple. Hearty, one-pot, American fare is the way to go as far as I’m concerned. I decided to cook up a pot of chili this year, nothing fancy, just good. It seemed like a good opportunity to try out one of our city’s coolest products: Growing Green’s Amazing Chili Starter.

Growing Green is a group working through the Massachusetts Avenue Project on Buffalo’s West Side. It’s a great program where kids from diverse backgrounds turn the produce of their well-tended gardens into products that can be sold at local farmers markets and grocery stores. We’ve written about them before, for more information, follow this link.

My jar of Amazing Chili Starter was purchased at the Lexington Co-op from the top shelf of the soup aisle. Its concentrated flavors come from locally grown tomatoes, green bell peppers, onions and jalapenos along with black beans, fresh cilantro, lime juice, garlic, chili powder, salt and olive oil.

I used the directions on the jar as a guideline and am very pleased with the results. It recommends preparing the starter with diced green peppers, onion, zucchini, and carrots, a can of tomatoes, a little water, a pound of beef and a few seasonings. I chose to make just a few adjustments. I added only half of the peppers and onions suggested (they recommend four peppers and three onions; I chose to use two peppers and one onion). I threw in an extra can of black beans for more texture and flavor, and cored my zucchini, sautéing it in olive oil before adding it to the pot to maintain a firmer texture. These deviations from the recipe, along with the use of a pound of Hanova Hills quality ground beef (also from the Co-op), culminated in a chili crescendo.

For those more interested in a traditional Texas Chili, the beans that come in the starter are minimal. I can see that adding fresh chili peppers, omitting the zucchini and substituting the water for flat beer and the ground beef for a large portion of browned, cubed chuck would bring about excellent results.

If you’re looking for something to whip up for tonight’s game, or any other night for that matter, grab a jar of this great tasting, locally made product. As I mentioned, it can be purchased at the Lexington Co-op (about $6) or at Elmwood’s Wintermarket which operates today and every Sunday in the basement of the Lafayette Presbyterian Church from Noon – 4PM.


Massachusetts Avenue Project (MAP)
271 Grant Street, Buffalo, 14213
716.882.5327

Lexington Co-op
807 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, 14222
716.886.2667

Wintermarket on Elmwood
Lafayette Presbyterian Church
875 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, 14222

Hanova Hills Farm (home delivery available)
775 Hurlburt Road, Forestville, NY 14062
716.965.2249
hanova@netsync.net