Two very different recommendations

First, Maureen Dowd on health care = required reading.

Second, I've been pretending I'm still on vacation, and wanted to eat something that reminded me of places more tropical, so I cracked open the Key West Bahama Village Jerk Sauce that I bought and marinated some chicken. (I also had a Malibu and Coke. I'm thisclose to breaking out the blender and making pina coladas.)

It only rained one morning, on our last day in Key West, so we occupied ourselves by going to a shop called Peppers of Key West, where you could sample lots of their products. Between my parents and me, we managed to come home with the jerk sauce, Key Lime Mustard Sauce, Raspberry Wasabi Mustard, and this Key Lime powder stuff that you mix with cream cheese to make a dip. I swear to God, it's like key lime pie on a bagel. Soooo good. I also liked the Pineapple Coconut Mango Tequila Sauce and I think one of the chutneys, but we tried to restrain ourselves.

Definitely check out their website, but be warned - a lot of this stuff is crazy hot! After we'd gone through about a dozen samples, the lady asked us if we'd like to try some of their hotter sauces. My mother said, mouth burning, "You mean... this wasn't the hot stuff?"