Thyme After Time: Not So Fast! White Chicken Chili

There's a tiny little voice inside of you. It speaks to you when you sleep. It nudges you when you're awake. It whispers. It beckons. It calls you to find your passion, whatever that may be.

The voice is your own personal muse.

She's there all of the time. You don't believe me?

Then it may be a while since you two have chatted. Let's take a quick trip back.....way back to childhood.

There you are, sitting on the floor or at a desk or at the kitchen table. Look how cute you are with your crayons and markers. (The scented ones were the best!)

Look at that beautiful picture you worked all day on. The sun had to be in just the right place. The Hand Turkey's feathers had to be just the right color. The blades of grass were smiling. Everything in that picture took time to draw. Every element in that picture was so very important. Remember not wanting to take a break until you had made it all perfect? Your muse was right there with you coloring and smiling.

Let's jump ahead...

Remember the first crush you had? There was this tiny little butterfly feeling in the back of your throat. There's a lot happening when one has a crush and those butterflies are everywhere. With so much going on, that muse may have even gone unnoticed.

Think back...to a favorite song that you sang right along with the artist...not a care in the world.

There was that feeling again. It's very slight. It's the tiny little butterflies. It's your muse.

She's still there, you know.

Life has sped up so much that going and going and going nonstop has become a normal thing. The muse waits patiently for you.

You know that feeling. You knew the feeling of inspiration. You knew what it was like to immerse yourself within the inspiration until there was no such thing as time. All you need do is look back to childhood. You'll find it.

My muse? She loves to cook. She loves art. She loves creativity. She loves being unique. Creating anything out of something that didn't exist before is how she breathes...

I don't always hear her. I don't always feel those nudges, those little butterflies she sends until I stop.

I slow down.

Sometimes I have to do nothing at all to find that something I love doing, instead of going non-stop doing things I have to do.

That's why this dish makes so much sense.

It's a dish that calls upon my muse. It slows me down. It takes times to get all of the elements just right to make this dish a symphony of flavor. It takes time to ready each actor (ingredient), tune each instrument, color each flavor. But the end result is a Mona Lisa of flavor. It's Vivaldi. It's Stephen Spielburg.

It's chicken chili.

Sure, you could take a few shortcuts and use canned beans and not take time to roast the peppers but why?

If you want to find your muse, slow down, take a little time and enjoy the day.

A bite of chili, a smile...

and

Oh! Are those the hot peppers or my muse tickling my taste buds?

White Chicken Chili

1 lb Dry Cannelini Beans

3 Poblano Peppers

1 Anaheim Pepper

2 Cubenelle Peppers

2-3 Jalapenos

1 Whole Chicken, cut in pieces

1 Tbsp Olive or Vegetable Oil

2 Onions

6 Cloves Garlic, minced

1 Tbsp Cumin

1 Tbsp Coriander

Salt/Pepper

32 oz Low Sodium Chicken Broth

1/4 Cup Cilantro, minced

1 Lime, juiced

Extra Limes, Cilantro, Tortilla Chips

Rinse your dry beans and pick through, removing any stones or mutant beans you find.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large oven safe pot cover the beans with one inch of water and bring to a boil.

Cover and place in preheated oven for an hour to an hour and a half, until the beans have softened.

*Freshly cooked beans are so much better than canned. They impart such a velvety texture. If you feel like splurging, use Rancho Gordo. They are my favorite! They are also the freshest you can get! Canned beans are okay in this recipe if that's what's on hand. If you have the time....go dry!*

**The older the beans are, the longer it will take to cook with the process above.**