It’s meant to be flexible and unfussy. Sometimes I brown some beef, sometimes I pour in a little beer. Lately I’ve been adding a can of pumpkin and loving it.

Tonight’s unscripted chili was a collaborative effort, pulled together by loved ones who unknowingly donated to this gigantic pot of food on my stove. Blame it on New York rent prices, blame it on the shitty economy, blame it on the fact that I have an English degree and made the silly decision to work at a non-profit and, you know, help people — no matter how you look at it, at best, cash is tight right now, and there’s nothing like a big bowl of chili to nourish me from the inside out.

My “recipe”:

-Peppers, tomatoes, and beer from a friend who took pity on my desolate fridge, the interior of which could be used as a stunt double in Ghostbusters.

-Cannellini beans from my sister.

-Hot sauce, a gift from my last birthday. I used half the bottle.

-An onion and garlic I borrowed from the Roommate. When you’re roommates, it’s borrowing.

-Canned pumpkin, purchased by the Roommate after Trader Joe’s inexplicably didn’t have any. (Way to let me down, TJ’s. I’ll just take my very cheap wine and be on my way, thankyouverymuch.)

-Packets of Sazon seasoning that originally belonged to an ex-boyfriend. I’m not sure how they ended up in my kitchen. Consider it alimony.

-A can of tomato sauce I stole from my mother the last time I was upstate. When I ‘fessed up, she said, in typical Mom fashion, “Oh, honey, I’m happy you took it! I was thinking that we had too much tomato sauce in the pantry anyway.”

Directions: while wearing yoga pants and an old sweatshirt, mix all ingredients together on stove top until they resemble chili. Serve over an old potato you found in the street. Recession, what now?

******

Footnote: I clearly need professional aid when decanting chili in freezer-friendly Tupperware containers, because the mess I made makes it look like I just murdered a Chihuahua. Which I would never do, because I am a dog-lover. Even of those stupid small ones. Mostly.

Other than my slight hangover excitement over my friend’s news, it’s a pretty low-key day.  Today is turning out to be one of those to-do list Saturdays.  Nothing horrible, just some laundry and dirty dishes (I’m not sure we actually do dishes during the week in this apartment.  We seem to save them for the weekend).  And a trip to the dog park with my two favorite puppy twins!

We’re taking care of my cousin’s dog, Lola, who is a fatter version of Jack and a big ball of lovin’.  It’s so much fun having two dogs!

I should get to my list. But before I do any of that, I need a playlist.  Don’t you always need some good music to motivate you? I came across the new version of “We Are the World” and, since I’m a total sucker for super emotional musical collaborations, I watched all 8 minutes of it. Twice.

My impressions:

• I want to do karaoke with Pink. How fun would she be at a bar?
• The lead singer of The Fray is super bald and super cute.
• Jennifer Hudson has some nice pipes.
• It’s Enrique Iglesias, everybody!
• Is that Jeff Bridges?
• I secretly like Sugarland.  Shh.
• Lil Wayne “sings.” It’s weird.
• Wyclef Jean is awesome.

I’m not totally missing the point of this remake, by the way: you can still donate to Haiti relief by texting “WORLD” to 50555.

Off to be productive!

There was a little of this in the morning:

And a little of this in the evening:

And then, later in the evening, there was even more of that.  A bunch of us went on down to Wolff’s Biergarten to celebrate The Roommate’s Boyfriend’s birthday.  You may remember Wolff’s from Oktoberfest a while back.  It’s a fun bar and if you go on your birthday, you get a boot full of beer! (Way cooler than it sounds).  Behold Das Boot:

It is not as easy as it looks and this guy was a champ! Treat yourself to a boot on your birthday or at least head down to Wolff’s for some Oktoberfest before snowshoe season.

Fall = food here in Albany. Last week was LarkFest. This weekend PolishFest took place in Latham and Wolff’s Biergarten hosted Oktoberfest. And for the first weekend in October the Society for the Advancement of Philanthropy is having its second annual Meatfest fundraiser while restaurants on Madison Ave. near Steamer 10 are hosting a Taste of Madison. We’re all about the fests and the food here in the Capital Region.

The Boyfriend and I met up in friends outside of Wolff’s on Saturday to check out the bar’s very first Oktoberfest.

The street was unexpectedly packed with people. I think even the event coordinators must have underestimated how much people enjoy their German food and beer, because you could barely move down the street!

There were a few scattered vendors, plus a pony ride and face painting for the kids. There was also a polka band.

And a dunk tank filled with beer.

This poor guy looked so cold. All in the name of charity, I suppose. (Proceeds went to the Veggie Mobile and the Albany Police and Fire Station).

But the true highlights included the giant truck that housed ginormous kegs of Oktoberfest and, of course, the German food from Wolff’s.

The Boyfriend got knockwurst and bockwurst, bacon mashed potatoes, and sauerkraut, while I went simple with knockwurst and sauerkraut. Please note that in my excitement I slathered the thing with sauerkraut and mustard before considering a photo.

We also shared a Spaten Oktoberfest.

Personally, I enjoyed showing my Puerto Rican boyfriend how we Germans eat.