Fire Reverie

When it gets colder in Florida, we always have a fire in the fireplace! I love to sit on my chaise and gaze into the fire and feel the warmth and relax and be mesmerized. We had friends over for dinner to celebrate their upcoming birthdays and we had wonderful Spanish Bean Soup along with cuban style sandwiches. It is my homage to the Columbia restuarant, a series of regional restuarants begun many years ago in Ybor City, (Tampa) and expanded to several including St. Armands Circle in Sarasota. My great aunt an uncle lived in Tampa and we would often go there for dinner. We got the recipe for the soup many years ago and it is a food memory that I so enjoy making. So after dinner, it ws fun to sit by the fire and enoy the flames!