Sometimes I inherit friends.  Kimme is one .  She is Kimberly, my best friend’s other best friend.  Over the years she has become one of my best and dearest friends.  The three of us celebrate our birthdays together and we stick by each other in a crisis. We had that crisis a few years ago when Kimme’s husband fought a two-year battle with cancer.  It’s now been two years since he died ( not sure why but I like the word die better then passed ).  There is no describing Kimme because she’s a “gotta see her for yourself” kind of a girl, but let me try.  Kimme is an original, authentic, deep, funny and spiritual person.  She’s adorable beyond belief, stylish (beyond belief).  Kimme is the most loyal friend and partner and did I mention yet that she’s a truly gifted chef?  If only I were a man, I have thought over these past few years, I would surely love to be married to my best friend Kimme.  Alas, I am a woman and I’m married.  Kimme has been ready, very ready for at least a year or more now to meet a new man.  I have been cheerleading for her to meet him, but a lot of guys are just schmucks, lets face it.  Kimberly suspected she was going to hook up with someone from our past, perhaps even an old high school flame.  And she did go on a few dates with old high school friends but nothing really panned out.  A few weeks ago I got a call  from my childhood friend Michael.  He said he was sorry to have been so out of touch; that he recently broke up with the mother of his children, and that for sure he would finally attend a party of mine.  He’s blown a few of those parties off and was determined to show up for me.  It was going to be nice to reconnect with Michael and he did show up; though I’ve since heard that he almost didn’t.  You can see where this is headed, I didn’t connect with Michael at all at my party.  Michael was too busy talking to Kimme, first outside on two chairs facing each other.  For hours.  Then inside my house where I had DVD’s of old parties running all night, one even from the 70’s.  They were watching their old selves in those parties and looking back at their new selves and guess what? They fell in love.  Deeply.  It’s been a few weeks and they have rarely spent a day apart.  One of my favorite things, besides food of course, is making matches.  I am not taking credit for this match.  This was a relationship that seems destined, truly meant to be.

Just a week or two before my party Kimme went out and bought a much needed new bed.  The bed she was using had been in her life for her whole marriage (32 years) and had even been used in her husbands other brief marriages.  It was a change that was long overdue.  She didn’t realize it at the time but she was making the universe ready for this new relationship.

Kimme makes a wicked chili.  One time a few years ago I invited her to my house for a dinner party that she would teach me to make the chili.  It’s really clever that I can have a dinner party but Kimme will do the cooking.  I’ve done this a few times with her because I love her cooking.  I invite her over, and then SHE cooks.  It’ s genius.  Chili is her family party meal.  The other day I heard that she was having all her family over, or at least most of them ( there’s a lot ) and she would be having Michael there with her kids.  A first.  She served chili, it was a big hit.  It always is.

Kimme’s Chili

Just throw all these ingredients together.  Kimme does.  Free for all style, go for it!

3  15 ounce cans of Hunts chili beans, hard to find so any chili beans you like

1 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes

1 medium size can, not the 28 ounce of tomato sauce

1 bag Carroll Shelby’s chili pack ( leave out the small bag inside of cornmeal )

this is not exact so use however much you like I put in 1 tablespoon cumin

around 3 tablespoons chili powder, Kimme uses more

big dash or a few tablespoons of Worchester sauce

1.25 pounds or so of ground beef that has 20% fat

½-3/4 chopped onion

Tags: best friends, chili recipe, feng shui, Kimme Winter

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