I am not the type to start decorating in November for Christmas. I know many of you do. I choose not to. I am patient when it comes to the festive home decor. I wait until about a week before Christmas to start. It's my own personal preference. I think it's just that much more magical, but that's not important right now.
But I have already finished my shopping and have my cards ready to mail. I'm currently working on a gift book for my family and our Christmas video. I am busy!
Because I'm feeling so relieved that my shopping is done and am also feeling just a bit generous, I thought it would be fun to share some of the places I frequent online to find cool and geeky and Cuban gifts.
Today, let's talk Cantina.
Back in The Day, my family had the option of having hot meals delivered to our door via an ingenious method: La Cantina.
The metal container had 3 compartments and each held some wonderful culinary gift. The cantinas were packed and delivered hot around dinner time. Can you imagine? Hot Cuban food delivered at dinner time? I could weep from the beauty of it.
It was the ultimate take-out.
The last time I was in Miami, I picked up an old-school metal cantina. And I use it often as a lunch box or for sending leftovers to my daughter.
I always get asked where I found it, so for those of you who are 3,000 miles away from South Florida (where you can probably find these in every corner store) here's your cantina hook-up.
You can find this beauty online at The Cuban Food Market – click here for link.
Then there was the hard plastic one that I used after Thanksgiving. They call it a bento box. Who knew? – click here for link.
It seems they've discontinued these particular colors, and there are both small and large sizes to choose from.
The whole idea of the cantina makes me happy. It reminds me of my childhood and brings with it a kind of nostalgia. Comiendo de cantina? I wish someone would bring that back.
Who am I kidding? I wish someone would show up at my door at dinner time with hot Cuban food. *sigh*
Did you have cantinas delivered to your door? Tell me.
My family did the delivering.
My mom delivered cantina in Miami also, with us kids in the back seat…and the silver one’s were used…later on, when I got married, he had cantina but by then they were using those aluminum pans with the paper tops that had silver lining:)
The only cantinas around these parts are the Mexican Cantinas. Oye, como le gustan a los guajiros Americans su comida Mexicana- wow. No cantinas, no Cuban Bread, no pastelitos de guayaba. Oh thanks Marta- now I’m homesick! 😉 BB2U
Sweet!
It’s not the same with the aluminum pans with the paper tops.Is it just me, or does the food tastes better in the old school cantina? 😉
bohemian,Click on that link to the Cuban Food Market and order yourself a little slice of home. (You can thank me later.)
Besos,
Marta
My Tia to make money on the side in Miami when she arrived from Cuba cooked food and my mom was one of her most loyal customers. Gracias a dios because my mom was a horrible cook so I looked forward to seeing my mom arrive with our metal cantinas. LOL!
Lucky for us, there’s always one really fabulous cook in the family. LOLI want to bring back cantinas. I do. 😉
Thanks for the memories Marta, I just ordered my cantina.Maria ( Talahassee)
I wonder if the Cuba Food Market is having a rush on cantinas and they’re wondering what the heck happened? LOL!
Wow, the memories. My mother started cantinas when I was about 12 or 13, we stopped when I was 17 I think. I never had the solid containers – I started when they had already moved to the aluminum disposables. EVERY SINGLE CUBAN STAPLE FOOD! – Ropa vieja (that one was the favorite!), picadillo, masitas de puerco, frijoles – red, black, gandules… moros, yuca, ajiaco, vaca frita, garbanzos**,carne con papas, carne asada, maduros, sopitas, always ‘arrozito’… what a variety!There were a few you learned to stay away from mostly – any steak (too thin and too well done/soggy), anything you wanted crispy. But the slow cooked/stewed meats, they were absolutely wonderful.
Do they still have cantinas? It was a great food value, but I suspect they have regulations now that make it more difficult. If it was doable at a reasonable price, I can imagine the positive response a business like this would get in my area (suburban NJ) – lots of busy commuters with little time to cook…
** – About the garbanzos. It is unfortunate that I have a garbanzo problem to this day. See, they would put garbanzos in the cantina a **little** more often than most of the beans they used… to the point that I got completely and utterly exhausted of them. To this day, I avoid garbanzos Cuban-style at most opportunities. I’m ok with hummus, etc, but made like frijoles-style? I usually gag a little. Alas, we all have our ‘crosses to bear’. 😉