Yes, of course it's me, Kikita. Who else would be accidental in their coolness? =D Now that I've turned 25, I swear something is different about me. I spent 25 years saying, "This is not my real life," because my life really is a novela and I always find myself in "movie-like" situations (Meaning: "If I saw this ...
Food and Drink
The Double-Double deserves a standing ovation.
You know I love to cook. And you know I love my Cuban food. But you have to realize that I'm also just a Suburban Mom most days. And sometimes I do get supremely tired of schlepping (in Spanish, I think "arrastrando" would be the comparable word) my kids to classes and practices and friend-outings and all that. For someone who ...
Going south.
About 30 years ago (or... in another life) I was vacationing in Mexico and stumbled onto a lovely resort near Monterey, Mexico. The food was your high-end resort fare and with one exception, mostly forgettable. The exception? Avocado Cocktail.Like shrimp in cocktail sauce, but instead it was made with fresh Haas avocados. Genius! It remains, ...
The Perfect Blend
I just got back from Miami and I’ve got to admit: If there’s one thing Cubans know how to do well (besides dancing and cooking and arguing, but that’s not important right now =D), it’s how to make the Best Coffee on This Earth. Seriously, every Cuban home I was lucky enough to have been a guest in, served the most delicious, practically perfect, ...
It smells like a Cuban home
When I was growing up, I remember that each day I woke to a most distinctive blend of aromas.I knew my dad was up and getting ready for work when the mingled scents of Vitalis, Bustelo, and H.Upmann Finos insinuated themselves into my dreams and yanked me out of my sound sleep. To this day, the distinctive aroma of Cuban coffee gives me a sense of ...
Belgian Waffles Recipe – Easy Like Sunday Morning
Ask any of them: "What's dad's favorite meal?" No hesitation: "Breakfast." "What would he order?" No hesitation: "Belgian waffle." Wherever we go on vacation, or out to breakfast, he always orders the Belgian Waffle. Usually with strawberries if they're in season. So, Father's Day ...
Because I (Kikita) am obedient.
After a long day of working at the Babalu Booth and making sure people were signing the petition to free the political prisoners in Cuba, I asked Mami where we were going to have "dinner." (is it really dinner if it's after 11:30pm?) “We’re going to Versailles Amy, are you ready?” And because I’m just so obedient, “Ok, Mami, I’m ...
The decadence of capitalism
I'm so jaded.I forget that we live such a privileged lifestyle.I take so much for granted.Until I have an out of town visitor who, every time I show him something declares he's never seen anything like it before.Like Sprinkles.There was a "cola." A line snaking out of the front door and wrapping around the shops.The people seemed ...
The sweet part
My brother, Rudy, and his beautiful wife, Carmen flew in from Texas yesterday - for the funeral. "I'm going to make arroz con pollo," Amy declared authoritatively. (She made enough arroz con pollo to feed the small army that is my big, fat, Cuban family, but that's not important right now.) First, Eric and I arrive with the ...
Celebration of Chocolate
Chocolate chips, butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla.Five simple ingredients. But. . . mix them together in the proper proportions and they become. . . Chocolatón!- an impossibly rich chocolate mousse. It's important that you pronounce it using a Spanish accent with an especially heavy emphasis on that last syllable. (Don't ask why. Just go with it. ...
A dinner to DIE for. . .
Meet my vampirish children:Dwayne Denartery and Anita Lotta Tai-Pei. ;-) (aka: Jonathan and Lucy as their murder mystery characters) Jonathan turned twelve a few days ago. And poor guy, he always gets the short end of the celebration stick around here, since his birthday is five days after Christmas. It's not that we don't ...
The Knives.
My mom makes these famously Cuban authoritarian pronouncements.When she says something, it is with an air of authority that will not tolerate any argument.Of course, the way she says it immediately makes me question its validity, but since I was raised in a superstitious Cuban home, there is a small residue of what-if-it's-really-true? somewhere in ...
A Wonderful Christmastime
One week til Christmas and this right here is the very best part of it all for me: The preparations. The houseful of busy Christmas preparations. The crossing stuff off lists. The anticipation of the happy and surprised looks. Christmas music playing and busy people in the house.The girls call out for us to look at a ...
This magic moment (or Wow. I really love my Christmas tree.)
We put our Christmas tree up over the weekend and I am completely enamored.Seriously. As Amy posted a few days ago, my kids all have small trees they put up in their bedrooms with their own ornaments (yes, artificial - I'm really over that whole vacuuming-pine-needles-for-months thing =D). I'm not being a cool mom or anything by letting them ...
Counting the days . . . or making the days count?
Today's advent activity:Churros, Hot Chocolate and The Grinch. I cannot even tell you how cool this whole calendar thing has been. There's already so much anticipation! They've already established rules: 1) They open each box together. 2) No peeking ahead. 3) They immediately tell Amy and Adam what the activity will be and ask them to join ...
