Well, we found out what 10-percent chance of rain looks like on Saturday morning for the Maple Leaf parade. It looks like about 10 minutes of wet.

Saturday meant the end of the weeklong celebration and it was full of fun things to do ... and eat. Thanks to my sister-in-law, Pam Roets, for filling the void left by Betty Saferite and I not having time to enjoy the fire department pancakes like we usually do every year. Pam’s cookies, muffins, banana bread and brownies plus hot chocolate hit the spot. After the parade, it was time to head uptown and around the square to sample as many of the vendor offerings as possible. Pam then brought some chicken noodle soup to the house and dinner was chili, compliments of Crystal and Randy Jones. I love a day with no cooking but lots of good food and good friends.

Crystal gave me a wonderful pink and black Elvis lunchbox. I was so excited and told her I could take my lunch to work in it. My husband said it’s not big enough for that.

Friday, I was one of the judges at the St. Luke’s Nursing Center chili cook-off. With almost 20 entries, it’s a lot harder than you would think it would be. It’s always interesting to sample all the different variations on what you might think would be a basic dish: spicy, sweet, thick, not so thick, smooth, chunky.

Chili recipes can differ quite a lot, depending on the type of meat, beans and spices used to cook it up. Pick your favorite color. There’s white chili, green chili, red chili. White chili usually contains chicken, cannellini beans and chopped green chilies. For green chili, buy up some pork tenderloin. Red chili features tomatoes and/or tomato sauce.

There’s also some cities and towns that lay claim to their own chili specialty. Cincinnati chili is more a topping for spaghetti and hot dogs than a dish unto itself and almost always is sprinkled with shredded cheese. Sometimes, it has a little secret ingredient — chocolate or cinnamon. Texas-style chili contains no beans or vegetables. There’s a popular Lone Star State quote that goes, “If you know beans about chili, you know there ain’t no beans in chili.” If you are using beans, pintos are by far the bean of choice for most chili makers.

While beef is the favorite chili meat, venison has become quite popular for chili. If you’ve ever tried it, I’ll bet you liked it very much. If using beef or venison, it can be a cubed up roast or ground up into hamburger and they each add a different texture to the dish. Add no meat for a vegetarian variation.

I like to make my chili, soup, stew and chicken and noodles one night and let it sit in the fridge for a day before eating. I think it lets all the flavors meld together and it thickens up so you need a big spoon to get a big bite. Of course, there’s a little sampling the first night to make sure all is well. My regular chili is pretty basic: ground beef, chili seasoning, tomatoes, tomato sauce and pinto beans. No matter what you preference in chili, it’s a great comfort food that’s a favorite of almost everyone.

From “Recipes My Mother Gave Me” comes the white chili recipe. It calls for cooking your chicken in oil to brown. I usually use stewed chicken that’s been boiled in chicken stock and use navy beans. Either way, it’s a winner. For a monkey bread variation, try the cinnamon breakfast cake from “Our Favorite Recipes.” For a flavor change and a little splash of color, you can spoon on half a can of cherry pie filling just before baking. More cookie recipes from my friends. This time, Carolyn Johannes serves up Paula Deen’s prize-winning cookies.

I hope you have a wonderful fall week and happy eating!

White chili

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces

1 small onion, peeled and chopped