Sunday, we loaded the whole fam damily in the family truckster and headed to LSU for a chili cook-off. A fabulous guy who wears his Soldiers’ Angels wings proudly, “Mad Mike” Freedman from CT, was in town making his chili as part of an International Chili Society (ICS) event. Scott Navaroli, his friend and fellow chili cook and firefighter from MA shared a booth with him. They were both just fabulous guys and my kids couldn’t get enough of them.

This was the first “sanctioned” cook-off we ever attended and the family had a blast. Hubby and son #1 wanted to try everything and within 5 minutes had matching stains down the front of their shirts – bwahaha! Princess whinalot sampled some chili and I tried all the salsa – yum. Son #2 ate a hot dog – he’s so daring. Mike got hubby invited to a judge the “verde” category. We left before the winners were announced but wished Scott and Mike well. The ICS is hosting a cook-off this May in Webster, MA for Soldiers’ Angels. If there are any chili cook-offs near you, please go support them!

Mad Mike Freedman, me, Scott Navaroli


Mike & Scott’s favorite pose, “The East Coast Stare.”