I have to tell you that my family has been lovely and so supportive as I've been talking non-stop about how cool it is that I've been blogging for 5 years. I read your awesome comments out loud as they would come in and the fam listened attentively.
It could also be that I made a Killer Arroz con Pollo and I had a captive audience, but that's not important right now. My Arroz con Pollo de Perez-Puelles recipe can be found right here.
I kept talking about the many wonderful cyber-relationships I've developed over these last five years and how, even how with those of you that I've met in real life, it's never been "weird." I always feel like I'm with old friends.
So, again, my thanks for being such wonderful readers and friends and so generous with your compliments.
The winners of the Fifth Blogoversary Giveaways are as follows:
********************************************************
1) The MBFCF Mug
goes to:
********************************************************
2) A Cuban Spice Apron:
goes to:
********************************************************
3) & 4) My Big, Fat, Cuban Family Cookbooks
go to:
********************************************************
and another MBFCF Cookbook goes to:
********************************************************
5) An autographed copy of my friend, Gustavo Perez-Firmat's fabulous book, The Havana Habit
goes to:
********************************************************
Congratulations to all the winners and thank you, my friends for all your very kind words. (Stop it. I'm blushing.)
Winners, please send me an email with HEY, MARTA! I WON STUFF ON YOUR BLOG in the subject line so I don't accidentally delete it. Send me your snail mail address and I'll make sure your goodies go out ASAP.
Thanks again for playing and for celebrating with me. I'll be resuming the Cuando Sali de Cuba posts this week and I also have lots more stories and giveaways (!) coming up.
Besos,
Marta
First of all, congratulations on your Blogoversery (is that really a word? Well yes, if Marta said it, it is so!)Your recipe for arroz con pollo is so close to my mom’s it isn’t even funny. Now get this, my mom was a Polish girl from southern Illinois, who met my dad who was a Cuben transplant. They fell in love and were so devoted to each other that my mom learned as much as she could from my dad’s relatives so she could become a smart Cuban cook, and a loving wife and mom.
I rember with total clarity the day that my wife and I asked mom how she made arroz con pollo. It was a Sunday, naturaly, and we were living in Marietta Georgia. And my mom told us that the only way we would be able to learn how to make arroz con pollo was to do it as she was giving out the directions (we think we were hoodwinked into this as she wanted some) So as we went through the steps my mom kept telling us to write each step down. Dinner came out lovely and I still have that original piece of paper with her recipe and the notes that she added.
To this day, Donna and I follow the recipe to the letter. imaagine that a Polacka that turned into a Cubana!!
Ed,I can’t even tell you how much I love that story! From the deception to make you cook the meal to the fact that you have kept that piece of paper all these years.
Would it surprise you to know that it was a Polaka that taught my mom how to cook a lot of Cuban dishes when she was a young bride.
It’s the circle of life. 😉
Besos,
Marta