Cook some chili, for Pete's sake!

02_23_14

Cook some chili, for Pete’s sake!

By Stacey Anter

The Library Detective

Are you sick of all the snow, yet? Does driving in freezing rain give you the shivers? Are you sore from all the shoveling?  For Pete’s sake, eat some nice, hot, chili! You’ll feel better! February 27th is National Chili Day. Usually the last Thursday in February, National Chili Day is the perfect day to celebrate the comfort food that is chili.   According to the National Chili Day website (http://www.nationalchiliday.com/), “[t]he first documented recipe for chili con carne is dated September 2, 1519.” Here’s another interesting bit of trivia for you: “hot chili peppers burn calories by triggering a thermodynamic burn in the body, which speeds up the metabolism.” So, eating chili will give us a head start in losing that winter weight for upcoming beach days? Sounds good to me! For more interesting facts about chili, chili history, chili cookoffs, and some tasty recipes, visit their website, no matter how spicy or mild you like your “bowl of red.”

However, if you are culinarily challenged like I am, you might prefer to have a personal chef prepare your favorite comfort food, if you can afford it. A co-worker at Coventry Library once told me that “if you can read, you can cook.” She’s right, of course. She’s a smart lady. But naturally, it won’t taste as good as if a personal chef cooked it. February 26th is National Personal Chef Day. It would be nice if we all could have our own personal chef, especially when we are watching our weight and need low-fat, low-calorie, specially cooked meals that are also delicious. Whenever I try to cook something from a recipe, it never comes out as mouth-watering as it looks in the picture, that is, if it’s edible at all. If you are interested in becoming a personal chef, or hiring one, visit The American Personal and Private Chef’s Association at  http://www.personalchef.com/.  

Have you ever wondered who in the world is Pete and why do we say, “for Pete’s sake?” Well, February 26th is For Pete’s Sake Day and was invented by the Wellcat.com people (http://www.wellcat.com/winter.htm). “For Pete’s Sake!” is an idiom used to express frustration, surprise, or a similar emotion, along with phrases like, “For the love of Mike!,” “For pity’s sake!” and many others. These idioms are replacements for phrases that may be considered offensive like “For Christ’s sake!” or “For God’s sake!” So, who is Pete, you ask? It is entirely plausible that it refers to the Apostle Peter, but it could also be an idiom used as a combination of various similar phrases mentioned above.

So, why are you still sitting at your computer? For Pete’s sake, go make yourself some chili and boost your metabolism! It’s almost March!

I call myself the Library Detective because I can find the answers to any question you can think of, or at least I can point you in the right direction.  To find out more about chili recipes, personal chefs, visit your local library; there are more Library Detectives there, too.