This was not bacon-flavored popcorn, but popcorn with actual chunks of bacon! A tin of popcorn with a meaty bacon center: somehow, all the bacon had congregated to the middle during shipping (or maybe it was supposed to be like that?)

Tragically, it wasn’t very good. The bacon had made the popcorn a little soft, and everything was way too salty. Plus, the experience of popping bits of bacon in my mouth as a snack was a little strange, even for me, a full-fledged bacon lover.

After I go to the grocery store (or during the summer, after I get a batch of fresh veggies from the CSA or the farmer’s market), I wash, de-seed, trim and store my vegetables in a tupperware in the fridge. This way, I can quickly add peppers to a salad, or munch on a carrot or celery stick for a snack.

Notes:

• Tough vegetables (like carrots, celery and broccoli) I slice a bit. I don’t peel my carrots, just clean thoroughly.
• Medium-tough vegetables (like bell peppers) I cut in half and take out the seeds.
• Soft vegetables (like cucumbers and zucchini) I only rinse. Once they’re cut, they’re not as good, and I don’t eat them quickly enough to ensure they won’t get dry or soft.

I store the whole lot in a large tupperware with a lint-free towel on bottom and top. The towel whisks away moisture so if the veggies sweat a bit, they won’t be sitting in a little puddle and get squishy. If the veggies are fresh when I buy them, they last atleast a week.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• 1/3 lemon
• 1 15 oz can of garbanzo beans
• olive oil
• salt

Directions:

1. Remove garlic skin.
2. Add garlic, splash or three of olive oil and beans to food processor.
3. Squeeze lemon juice out of lemon and add to processor.
4. Puree.
5. Add more oil if needed, scraping off food processor sides to make sure all the beans and garlic are pureed.
6. Add salt to taste.

Serve with warmed slice pita bread or quartered carrots.

How to make these beauties: 2 tubes of crescent rolls (cut each crescent roll triangle in half), a half a pack of pepperoni diced small and then mixed into half a tub of cream cheese. Load up each little triangle with a teaspoon of the cream cheese-pepperoni mixture and pink the corners of the dough together at the top. Bake at 350° until they’re lightly browned at the edges (8-10 minutes). The “recipe” he found for these appetizers called them “White Trash Puffballs”. I thought “Wontons in a Blanket” was a little better, combining the wonton look, with the meat-wrapped-in-dough “blanket” aspect. All the meat and dairy eaters in the Supper Club thoroughly enjoyed them. And I thought they looked super cute.

Metropolis Coffee shop in the Golden Triangle neighborhood, Denver. They have the best microfoam on any latte in town. I think it’s best drank (drunk…?) in a ceramic mug. Although the most common way I have it is in my sigg mug after a bike ride — the design shaken up beyond recognition.

After the great company, the best part was the fresh guacamole: lightly mashed and still chunky avocado, liberal cilantro, sprinkle of coarse sea salt, and a lime wedge coated with cayenne.

Lola, 1575 Boulder St, Denver, CO 80211

Guacamole: A+
Chips: B-
Atmosphere: A
Happy Hour Prices: A-