Cheers! It’s Chili Weather at This East Texas Ranch!

By Sarah Zubiate
Founder and Farmer at ZUBI’S

Cheers! It’s FINALLY Fall on our Farm in East Texas! 

For me, the fall season means so many things, pandemic or no pandemic.  Being with my family ranks up at the top, and evenings by a warm fire telling stories, laughing, and just being together bring me so much joy!  

Of course, you can occasionally find me behind our bar at our home, warming up with some whiskey, but the great outdoors is more my speed and particularly enjoyable these days. The sometimes-unforgiving Texas heat has finally started to wane, and the beautiful trees on our property are starting to change color.  By late November, the leaf colors are absolutely stunning, matching the vibrant Texas sunsets.

And with fall comes our family favorite — warm, cozy campfires! This time has become even more enjoyable now that our oldest son, Louis, has successfully listened to and mastered “Poppy’s Pointers” in building impressively well-constructed and long-lasting campfires. We use fallen oak, cedar, and pine trees from our property, which makes for perfectly dried out sections of firewood. These fires are often accompanied by a cool breeze and open-air, filled with the sounds of geese and ducks flying across the autumn sky. This time allows me to unwind with my usual glass of wine, my homemade ZUBI Farms Chili, and of course, s’mores, but also is the perfect setting to refuel and function in a very busy and sometimes hectic life.

In case you are looking to help your little ones to safely learn how to build a fire, the techniques below are critical and very helpful as shown in the video!!

Poppy’s Pointers for the Perfect Campfire: 

Chop pieces of dry Cedar and Pine to act as the kindling crosshatch, as they both burn easily. Kindling can be pine needles, wood chips, or paper as well. As you can see from Louis’ video, he’s been taught that oxygen is more important than fuel — just like a can of oxygen will explode if placed under heat. As shown in the video, Louis makes sure the pockets of oxygen can flow at the base of this fire. Cedar and pine have more sap content and thus burn more easily. If available, use oak trees as the TeePee since they are denser and burn slower. Poppy taught Louis to pay attention to the diameter of the crosshatch base of the fire for the flow of oxygen. Light each section of the crosshatch and just like that … it’s built!

Now, back to that Chili recipe.

I use my ZUBI’S Salsa as the base for many recipes. Instead of spending time chopping tomatoes, garlic, cumin, cayenne, onion, lime & jalapeno, we spend the time chopping and packing these scrumptious ingredients at our organic farm’s facility. They’re cooked to perfection and eliminate a ton of time for me in the kitchen. Our 8 oz. jar is on sale right in time for this holiday season. I guarantee your chili will be a hit with all who try it — even your little munchkins if you have them! 

Thanks for joining in on my East Texas adventures!

-Sarah