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The Pawtuxet General, episode two.A "something for posterity production."Greetings,from Pawtuxet Village, Rhode Island.Welcome in.Today, we've got all sorts of funand interesting things to talk about.You are right on time to catchlocal hints, tips, recipesand all things "Pawtuxet-ish."I'm starting with a little fall poem.The Pawtuxet steams.As bunnies, fleeing from the approachingfeet,wind whips an old flag,as lanterns gleam along the street.Today, our soupwill be bean and meat and vegetable chili.The pairing will be a vodka smoothieand we'll have the second installmentof "The House on the Corner."If you'd like to reach out with questionsor have an amusing Pawtuxetvillage story, please send us an emailtoJess@pawtuxetgeneral.com.This is bean meat and vegetable chili.This chili is so hardy,so colorful, It's a real crowd pleaser.So, when I was still a counter personat Little Falls, one of my bossesfelt like a hardy, special soup.So I asked for some key ingredients,and when he came back, I had at it.So he poked his head aroundwhile I was seasoning and said, "Whoa,not so much cumin! Too much chili powder.Don't add any more!Promise!"I looked him in the eye and said, "Yes."Then, when he went around the corner,I put in a tablespoon more of each...Perfect. And he loved it.The recipe itself?You're going to need four tablespoonsof olive oil, 1 lb.of ground pork.1 lb.of ground beef, one bulb of garlic,chopped, two yellow onions, chopped,one of each colored pepper,one green, yellow, and orange.two cans of red kidney beans.And two cans of white cannelloni beans.Also,a number ten can of crushed tomatoes.Now our seasoning. Be generous.It's going to have four tablespoonsof cumin,four tablespoons of chilipowder, two teaspoons of pepper,two teaspoons of salt,and four tablespoons of Italian seasoning.Let's start with a saute!Four tablespoons of olive oilin a hot pan.1 Lb. of ground pork.1 Lb. of ground beef.And the garlic and onions, both chopped.If you could put those into the hot panand saute those with half of theseasoning, it'll give time for the meatto absorb some of the flavoring.Once the onions have softened,add the peppersgreen, yellow and orange, all choppedand the kidney beans,the cannelloni beans, the crushed tomatoesand the rest of the seasoning.Then, gently simmer this for an hour,stirring every five minutes.Now, if you'd like somethingwith a little more heat,you could add some anajo chili pepper orjust some plain old Tabasco at this point.I want to tell you about my friend,Mike, and his Electromagnetic PinballMuseum and Restoration Arcade.It's an all inclusive placeto relax and share anything relatedto modern pinball and pinball and arcadegames.A group of pinball and arcadefans with an addictionto games of all kinds and Lego too!$10 gets you free play on pinballand arcade games all day.You can find them at 881Main Street, Pawtucket, Rhode Islandor onlineat www.electromegneticpinballmuseum.com.A lovely, fruitypairing is the vodka smoothie.This is a very reasonably priced cocktailand very simple to make.Find the cheapestfrozen fruit in your frozen section.Also, get frozen lemonade mix.You may use any vodka of your choice,and some fresh mint is very handy.Fill your blender with the frozen fruit.Put in one third of acan of the lemonade mix,and fill to the topwith the vodka of your choice.Blend until smooth and garnish with mint.You can keep the actual blenderin the freezer to top off, at any time.Enjoy!And now, for the latest installmentof the "Houseon the Corner," moving upstairs.I was 13 and had shared a roomwith my sister, our whole lives.And, since the third floor was empty,we had trouble keeping tenants up there.Most recently,my Uncle P had crashed up there for a bit.Like any young teen, I was looking forspace and asked if I could move upstairs.My parents said that if I cleaned it up,I could pick whatever room I wanted.The third floor was a 1978 wonderland.Each room had geometric wallpaperand corresponding colorsto the individualthree color long shag carpeting.Here is the layout.There was only one doorinto the apartment, and it opens to showthe kitchen.On the right, was an oven range.A "head" was built into an angled walltable and a sink with cupboards,next to that.One long Hall connected all the roomsand only the bathroomwas off the kitchenand only the bathroom had a door.The first room, on the left,was the green room.Then, the brown room, on the right.The last two roomswere at the end of the hall.On the right, the orange roomand on the left.The blue room.I chose the Orange Roombecause it seemed, well, cheery.It had three major bonusesover all the others.A very cool orange-yellow, a white,hanging basket lamp, obviouslywith matching three-color shag carpet,a window seat, to siton, and a roll-out escape fire ladder.I was very excited to move in.So, I dragged my twin-bedmattress up the stairs and set itup, facing the door, so the baseboard heatwould be all around the bed.Victorians are notoriously drafty.I read, undisturbed,for hours; bliss for me.Before I knew it,darkness had come and it was time for bed.After washing up and reading in beda little while longer,I turned off the light.I had just closed my eyes when I heardTHREE LOUD KNOCKS at the kitchen door.Then, I heard heavy footsteps,coming down the hall.Definitely not my little sister's.I call out, "Dad?!" No answer.Footfalls come closer...and I see it.A tall shadowblocking out the light behind it.It walks, right into my room,right up to my bed, and stands there.I thought my heart would beatright out of my chest.I cannot move or scream.I cannot close my eyes.In my head, I start to pray.I prayed every prayer I had ever learned,which were a lot.I could feel the man standingthere as well as see him.He was malicious and looming over meat times.Hours passed.At last,I could shut my eyes and I prayed harder.I was still awake when my alarm went off,my alarm was an old fashionedbrass bell clock.When it rang,I opened my eyes and he was gone.I jumped out of bed and flew down the halland down stairs to family and safety.Later that day, after I had told my familywhat had happenedthe night before,I asked them for suggestions.Mom said, Putsalt on the door jams, say my prayers,and tell them to leave you alone.Dad said, Hang something in the door,so I couldn't see it.What is ghost-proof?I put up a soft sculpture cloudwith a ribbon rainbow that ended in bells.That night, I am so tired but prepared;I have a flashlight,extra covers, to pull over my head,my camp-Bible and a really long book.I was going to try and stay up and readwith a light on, as long as I could.I fell asleep.I woke up to footstepscoming down the hall.My pretty overhead lights still on.I pinch, myself making sure I'm awake.The man comes down the halland stops, outside my room.Seething darkness just stands there,looking at me.Relieved that he can't get in, I pray,until I fall asleep,and, in the morning, he's gone;every night this happens.I become less afraid as time goes by, butask to change rooms, anyway,to see if it stops.My parentssay OK and I move to the green room.Now, this room has greenwood-paneling and matching three-tonegreen shag carpeting.It is the first room on the left.I set up the new room with my bedfacing away from the door,so I couldn't see him, and movedthe rainbow-bells to the new doorway.That night,I heard him walk down the hall.As he stopped in front of my new door,I turned and, sure enough, therehe was, striking fear into my heart.At some point,I fell asleep, Bible in hand.I asked dad for a door.He installed an accordion doorwith a tiny,ineffectual, plastic lock, and,I thought I'd won.That night,I fell asleep quickly, only to be wokena few hours later by threeloud knocks on the door,two feet from my head.I learned to go backto sleep and ignore it.There are other incidentsthat were not so easy to ignore.So, please,come back for another ghost-storyfrom "The House on the Corner."Prerecorded in Pawtuxet.