Thanksgiving with my big, fat, Cuban family is usually a very typical American feast. But because my family has so many amazing cooks, we're often trying new recipes and sometimes we like to put a spin on some old classics. Our turkeys have run the gamut from deep-fried to classically oven-baked to (my favorite) the Guavalicious ...
Cuban recipes with pictures
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, ...
“What’s for dinner?”
A few months ago when we had our kitchen painted, I had my painter-man do the top of the pantry door in chalk paint. Can I just tell you how much I love this? Sometimes we leave notes to each other, but the main function of the board is for menu planning. (And making me look über-organized when guests come over, which lately has been practically ...
About Marta
Hola! My name is Marta Maria Darby, and I am passionate about telling stories. Designer, blogger, Cuban cook, scrapbooker, photographer and mother of four, I wear many hats which may or may not include seasonal fruit (but that’s not important right now). I have been blogging for almost seven years - sharing my life, my culture, my family, and my ...
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 ...
Dear Desi… (A birthday love letter.)
A few years ago, thanks to the magic of the internets and because of a series of happy accidents, I got to meet one of my Cuban childhood crushes. In fact, you can read about My Adventures with Desi in the Blog Category that has his name, Desi Arnaz Jr. (I know I could change the category name to "My Adventures with Desi." I don't, ...
The Best of MBFCF in 2011
It's that time of year when I look back and see what has transpired in my life this past year. And it's moments like this when I realize how grateful I am that I started blogging. Here's a time capsule look back at 2011 - MBFCF style. I also did this for 2010 and 2009 and I'm so glad I did. It's quite a compilation of ...
Cuban Cold Remedy: Homemade Cuban Chicken Soup (and VapoRub on your feet?)
I'm sick. And so's Eric. *cough, sniff* We've got feverish-coughing-sneezing-and-hacking colds. *hack, sniff, achoo!* A good, old-fashioned snotty-stuffy-headed cold. And there are certain things one does when one is Cuban (or happens to live with a Cuban) and has a cold. Right now I'm trying to build up my Cuban Immunity Arsenal* (*or ...
Fifth Blogoversary Cool Stuff Winners
I have to tell you that my family has been lovely and so supportive as I've been talking non-stop about how cool it is that I've been blogging for 5 years. I read your awesome comments out loud as they would come in and the fam listened attentively. It could also be that I made a Killer Arroz con Pollo and I had a captive audience, ...
Five. (A giveaway)
I sat down at my computer on October 1st, 2006 and wrote out my very first blog post with the title, "Life on the hyphen..." You're welcome to click over and read it. I lifted that post title from a book written by my friend, Gustavo Perez-Firmat, called Life on the Hyphen: The Cuban-American Way. In that book, he brilliantly ...