My mother-in-law has a wonderful Christmas tradition. Yes, you read that right. Christmas tradition. I know it's only June, but there's a story here which applies. She makes the most fantastic Monkey Bread. Monkey Bread, for the uninformed, is a beautiful thing. Simply put, it's pieces of biscuit dough dipped in sugar and cinnamon ...
Food and Drink
La Llave Coffee Basket – A Winner
Someone's Mami is in for a wonderful surprise. Congratulations to the winner of the La Llave Cuban Coffee Basket for Mother's Day. ****************************************************************************************************************** Nery, please send me an email with HEY, MARTA! I WON SOMETHING ON YOUR BLOG in the subject ...
Family Dinners
I probably shouldn't make such a big deal about it, but I do. Family Dinners are super important to me. It has nothing to do with surveys or statistics. Although statistics are on the side of regular family dinners for keeping families connected and eating well. Family Dinners are kind of sacred around here. Confession: I don't ...
#LookAtMyFood
Are you one of those people that buys a cookbook based on the ability to see the finished dish in color? I totally am. I guess it's because my learning style is primarily visual. When something is being described to me, I "see" it in my mind's eye. This is also why I can't watch R-rated movies where things are too graphic, ...
Happy Birthday, Julia!
The list of my culinary heroes is long. There is good old Nitza Villapol, who, in spite of her embrace of communism, is still the definitive Cuban cook. Her Cocina Al Minuto is a must-have in every Cuban kitchen. Of course, there are the Three Guys from Miami, that I had the opportunity to meet in Miami a few years ago. Click here for that ...
Lucy and The Wardrobe (and the Mamey Smoothie)
I was in Burbank with my girls recently. Our intention was to get a quick bite (and some provisions to bring home) from Portos. Portos is a divine Cuban Bakery that's not too close to where we live, but very drivable in a pinch. And we had business in Burbank so we weren't even cheating. Of course we were deluding ourselves. A trip to ...
It’s Not Easy Being Green – Avocados from Mexico
Growing up Cuban meant we didn't eat many salads. And by "many," I mean, "none." For the most part, the only time green things appeared on our plates were the tiny, diced pieces of bell pepper in our sofrito. (For the uninformed, sofrito is at the beginning of most Cuban dishes. Sauteed onion, garlic, and green bell pepper ...
Ponzu Roasted Pork
When I'm cooking Cuban food, I have my familiar go-to items. I can make a good sofrito (sauté onion, garlic, bell pepper) in my sleep. And usually my marinade of choice is Bitter Orange (Naranja Agria). That is, until I found Ponzu. *cue angelic chorus* I am crazy-in-love with the citrusy goodness that is Ponzu. It's a lot like my beloved ...
La Merienda (A giveaway)
It's around 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Lunch was over a few hours ago, but it's still too early for dinner and you're already hungry again. What do you do? You must have a tasty little snack in the afternoon to hold you over until dinner, of course. Growing up Cuban in the 60's and 70's, the three o'clock hour ...
It’s the Little Things (A Giveaway from IMUSA)
Growing up Cuban has always meant turning normal size things into the diminutive form. When there were Everest-sized mountains of sandwiches, they were called "bocaditos." Or "just a mouthful." Lies. It took more than "just a bite" to consume these particular delicacies. We don't just drink café, we have a ...
Modern Day Thank You Notes
I have a love/hate relationship with the digital age we live in. I kind of hate that unless your phone is turned completely off anyone can find you at any time. For the record, I never, ever turn my phone off. Not while I have kids out in the world, which is most all the time, but that's not important right now. But I love when friends send me ...
Orange(!) is the new black. (A Giveaway)
I am waiting (a little impatiently) for my fabulous new kitchen appliances to be delivered. I think we're still about a week out from that. You would think I'd be totally content now since I'm getting all new appliances, but you know how it is, suddenly everything starts looking like it needs upgrading or replacing. *sigh* There is, ...
Giving back to our Veterans – Cooking With the Troops
In July of this year, my family and I were privileged to take part in a wonderful event in San Antonio, Texas where we got to provide a great, big, home-cooked, Cuban feast to wounded veterans at the Warrior Family Support Center at Brooke Army Medical Center. When I share the story of how wonderful it was to be able to serve our ...
Mizkan® Challenge # 4 – My Favorite Light Recipe – Pan Roasted Asparagus!
As you know, I've been privileged to take part in a series of Cooking Challenges by Mizkan® along with several other Latina bloggers. You can find my other challenge recipes (& videos!) here, here, and here. This week's challenge is My Favorite Light Recipe. It was kind of fun to take a recipe that I usually make with ...
National Coffee Day – It’s “taka taka” time! (A Coffee Giveaway, too.)
Don't ask me how I know these things. I just do. This is one of those geeky things that has gotten stuck in my brain and screams to be celebrated. Like Hobbit Day, which we always celebrate elaborately. Or like Pi Day, which also happens to be Albert Einstein's birthday. Or even Star Wars Day ("May the 4th be with you!" - ...
