There are things I like and there are things I love. (I'm not talking about the obvious, like husband and kids and grandsons.) Right now there are a few things in my life that have I more than love. Truthfully, I'm a little obsessed with them. I know you'll appreciate these as much as I do, because you have excellent ...
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“Veinte años no es nada.”
When I started writing online, I was homeschooling my 2 youngest kids, Lucy and Jonathan. So I wrote about that.Writing a “web log” or “blog,” was all the rage in 2006, so I started keeping that online diary and called it, “My Big Fat Cuban Family.” (With much gratitude to my funny and clever daughter, Amy.) I wrote about my life and my ...
Welcome to Casa de la Loma
If you read my last post, I explained that we needed to move out of our home and turn it into an AirBnB. Let me start with the full disclosure: I did NOT want to leave my home and (holds nose) RENT IT OUT. EW!We had moved the big stuff into storage and moved ourselves and our most pertinent items into the Jackson’s home. All this happened ...
Downsizing? Or Upgrading?
A year ago - last March to be exact - Eric accepted an invitation from Lucy to accompany her on a business trip to Seattle. Meanwhile, I invited Amy and Sebastian (you may call him Bash) to come and keep me company. I feel compelled to share this part of the backstory because somehow it seems to explain the interestingly ...
Getting Our Kicks
In 1976 I was 21 years old and it seemed like everyone everywhere was proudly and patriotically celebrating America’s Bicentennial (as God intended). 🇺🇸 Here we are in 2026 which marks America’s 250th or the “Semiquincentennial”which is a mouthful, so let’s just go with the official quarter millennial hashtag: #America250. Although, I low key kind ...
My Big Fat Cuban Cooking Playlist
As we head into the holidays, we are marking the beginning of what my dad used to call The Gran Comelatas. There's going to be lots of eating which means there's going to be lots of cooking. Lots and lots of cooking. And eating. And so on, and so on... I don't know about you, but there's nothing that makes me happier in the kitchen than some ...
El Flan de La Reina Recipe
Cuban Flan Recipe de La Reina My mom calls herself La Reina del Flan (which would make me the Reigning Princess of Egg Custard, but that’s not important right now). On Christmas Eve, we sometimes have other desserts along with it, but in my big, fat, Cuban family, my mom’s flan is a given. I have a ritual I go through every Christmas with her. ...
Pastelitos de Guayaba Recipe (Guava Pastry)
Marta's Homemade Pastelitos de Guayaba Recipe (Guava Pastry) My husband is an Internet Marketing Guy. (He prefers to be called “The Marketing Guru,” but that’s not important right now.) He tells me search engine facts like: “Your site has had X number of hits today.” This information totally makes me feel cool, although I’m a little puzzled by how ...
8 Rules to Getting Your House Cuban Clean®
I wrote the following after years of struggle, not with dirt or cleanliness, but with guilt that my house was never clean enough. I hope it proves cathartic for those of you raised in homes where Cuban Clean® was a thing. Also, this is NOT a sponsored post. This is The World According to Marta. This is the time of year when you throw open all the ...
10 Cuban Superstitions That Helped You Survive
I've been writing this blog since 2006. That's 9 years of (over)sharing about my big, fat, Cuban family and our sometimes nutty life. Growing up Cuban brings with it its own set of rules and many shared experiences. We have certain products that we are compelled to use and behavior which we don't quite think is odd, because...Cuban. For example, ...
Cuban Bruschetta. Believe it.
I know what you're thinking. You saw the title of this post and you said out loud, "There's no such thing as Cuban Bruschetta." That's also what my mom said. (But then she's a Cuban Mother and it's part of her job description to argue recreationally, but that's not important right now.) Lucy (who is the Bruschetta Expert of the family) asked, ...
