Bacon to the Rescue

"This is horrible. Tasteless," my mother said. At 88 she's effusive with her praise--and her criticism (which is thankfully quite rare.) She was right. The bean soup from one of my favorite vegetarian cookbooks was super boring. After quizzing my houseguest, J, my daughter, and her husband, bacon was the winning remedy. I also added just a few hot pepper flakes. Tonight's re-imagined bean soup was good. Rounding out the meal were a goat cheese, leek, and chard quiche. And an apple crisp.

Desserts are pretty important here in Margaritaville. We finished the lemon bars last night--I served them with a dollop of vanilla ice cream, and due to a pomegranate "emergency," we also sprinkled pomegranate seeds on top. Tart + Sweet+Tart= Delicious.