My mom taught me how to cook when I was about 8 years old. She taught me how to read a recipe, measure ingredients, grease a pan, boil water - stuff like that. As I got older, the process became a little more complicated. During the summers, my sisters, Miriam and Alina, and I would take turns cooking. We rotated between table setting, ...
Cuban-American Life
I hope you enjoy my posts about my crazy and wonderful Cuban-American life.
Apio Verde
Today is my sister's birthday. Hi, Alina! Happy Birthday! She shares this day with our cousin Ricardo, who still lives in Havana. Sometimes their birthdays coincided with Mother's Day and the frenzy of celebration was mind-boggling. In this picture, Alina and Ricardo get center stage, although being older, he was quick to understand and act ...
Worth a thousand words…
I don't have a picture to post today which kind of weirds me out. And I don't have wireless access, so I'm sitting in a public lobby typing away. And they have me on a 15 minute timer - can you believe it?? This is so not my life! Ah, but it is today and for the next couple of days. Let me paint a picture. The temperature is a balmy 80-ish. ...
Salvador y Coca-Cola
This was how we celebrated birthdays back in Cuba. These are my sisters and me at different ages. (If you're really curious, just count the candles on the cakes) There was always a big, beautiful, almost-too-perfect cake from a fabulous bakery.We always got a fancy new dress (think linen, satin, ruffles). By the time I turned four (in the last ...
Why I go to the dentist – an essay.
My mom spent the weekend with us. And that means that I've been speaking in Spanish for 48 hours. Which means that I was also thinking in Spanish. Which means it was pretty taxing on my poor bilingual brain. =( I am delusional enough to think that I express myself pretty well in both languages. ;-) But sometimes I just can't find "the ...
A cautionary tale
I have stacks and stacks of pictures. From every era in my family's history. And obviously I take a ton of photos daily, too. This is an original family photo, circa 1940.Hard to believe, isn't it?I mean, considering we had to leave all of our worldly possessions behind in Cuba, especially family photos. But this little guy made the cut. I ...
Making a Memory
My kids were all born here in Southern California. My husband is also a native Californian. So the only kind of churros they've ever known have come from a cart at Disneyland. But those are Mexican-style. They are hard and crunchy with lots of brown sugar. They are tasty enough, but I am used to light and fluffy Cuban-style churros. Oh, ...
My big, fat, EXTENDED Cuban family
All cheeks and lips and missing a shoe. That's me circa early 1956.My two cranky companions are my cousins, Maria and Ileana. They are not as cranky anymore. In fact, they are downright delightful. ;-) They live in Miami.And I live in California. The reason I'm thinking about them is that I get to close the 3000 mile gap between us in about a ...
The Usual Suspects
We took my mom to Legoland today. That statement right there sounds like a joke, doesn't it? Okay, so here's proof. Of course, in my family, we always seem to travel in a pack. (herd? gaggle? flock?) Whatever. We do stuff together.A lot of stuff. Well . . . just about everything. And we think it's NORMAL.Well . . . okay. It's probably not ...
A Decorating “Fiesta”
In the late 50's in Cuba, my family always spent summers at the beach in Varadero. By family, I mean my five siblings, 14 cousins, parents, aunts, uncles, grandmother. ALL OF US.My big, fat, EXTENDED Cuban family. The parents took turns commuting to and from Havana. All of us cousins were there for the duration. With so many mouths to feed, the ...
