Beach Fourth: Summer Chili

Do you ever have an image in your head of how you'd like something to be in an ideal situation?  I think most of us do.  I know I imagined being a new mother as lying in bed with my husband while our adorable baby cooed at us.  Which is not how things actually go.

But sometimes. Sometimes those romantic visions actually do materialize.  Which is what happened with our Fourth of July.

My ideal Fourth of July involved having a hotel that overlooked the fireworks so we didn't have to camp out somewhere all day, or even deal with parking and traffic.   We tossed around a couple of ideas - traveling across the country, staying in town, but eventually ended up deciding on heading north to Dana Point.

We headed up a day early and checked into our room.  

The key part of the room?  The reason behind our stay?  Our front "porch"  looking right out onto Dana Point Beach where the fireworks would be.

After checking in and dropping off our bags, we headed to the beach.  Thatboy had picked up some Zinka for fun and decided they should REALLY have some fun putting it on.

The big boys went off for a little surfing while the little guy and I played in the waves.  Then Thatboy went off to surf himself leaving me with the two sand-monsters.

Eventually we all ended up sunning and playing together.

We were close enough to head over to Thatmom's for dinner, and then back to the hotel for some sleep.  When we woke up the next morning it was July 4th!

Before I even met Thatboy, I went to the Sawdust Festival every summer.  Once I met Thatboy we both went to the Sawdust Festival every summer.  So it only made sense to take our kids while we were in the area.

The boys got to make some Fourth of July art.

And watch some glass blowing.

We then grabbed dinner at one of the most touristy spots I could find.  It seemed fitting to be extra "vacation-y" with this vacation, so we went with some place with Mai-tais and a view of the water.

After dinner we grabbed some ice cream and headed back to the hotel to it it on our porch.

Then came the magic part of the evening.  The boys got ready for bed.  Baths, teeth brushed, and in their pajamas.  I set up a bunch of glow toys outside while they got ready and then they came out and played until it was time for fireworks.

And then we sat back and watched the show.

It was the most perfect way to do Fourth of July.  Thatkid even watched the last few minutes in his bed.  And after the show, both kids were tucked in and asleep.  No driving anywhere.  No going anywhere.  It completely matched the idea in my head.

It was a wonderful way to start off our summer.  I recently learned that some people are funny about summer.  Did you know that there are people who don't eat chili during the summer?  I know.  I was shocked too.  It doesn't heat up the house and chili in summer is so much better because you can use fresh tomatoes!  YES!  We all know that fresh tomatoes make everything so much better than the canned variety, so it stands to reason that chili with fresh tomatoes would be better than chili with canned tomatoes.  The other great thing about chili in summer is using the best, most sweetest, summer corn.  I like to make chili whenever I have leftover corn after grilling a bunch for dinners or a party.  But I'm also just as likely to grill corn just to make chili.  Especially when I come into a bunch of vine-ripened tomatoes.

Summer Chili

2 ears corn, shucked

6 Tbsp butter

6 onions, sliced

3 lbs ground beef

3 lbs fresh tomatoes, chopped

6 oz tomato paste

1 cup beer

1 Tbsp salt

1/2 tsp Tabasco

3 Tbsp chili powder

1. Grill the corn about 2 minutes per side, until it is browned.  Remove kernels from ear of corn.
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  
3. Add onions and cook about 5 minutes, until tender.
4. Add ground beef and cook until lightly browned.
5. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, beer, salt, Tabasco, and chili powder.  Cover and cook for 45 minutes.
6. Add the corn and simmer for 15 minutes.