The best part of summer for me is our weekly movie nights. Yes, you read that right: WEEKLY. That means every Friday night we open our home and host an outdoor movie and - to my everlasting delight - our home is filled with friends and family who come to enjoy each week's offering. The highlight of hosting for me (#DarbyOutdoorMovies if you're ...
Portos Bakery
Porto’s Bake at Home
You probably read the title of this post a few times Porto's Bake at Home?? And you probably wondered, "Have all my Cuban pastry - since I don't live in Miami - dreams come true?" Today the answer to that would be a resounding, *"Si! Como no!" That's a big fat Cuban, *"YES, PLEASE!" {Disclosure: I have not been compensated for writing this post, ...
For the Love of Blue
Yesterday, as many of you know, was Baseball Opening Day. Can you just smell the freshly mown grass and the chatter of happy and excited fans? Can you picture the dramatic unfurling of the US shaped flag? And of course, the fireworks? And are you now celebrating the Dodgers' Opening Day (1-0) win over the Padres? And are you now so ...
My Big, Fat, Dodger Blue Cuban Family
I have amazing news! I'm proud and privileged to announce that I was invited to be on the planning committee for Cuban Heritage Day at Dodger Stadium this year! (I know. Shut up.) Seriously, if I was going to add an item to my Bucket List, this would be it. Of course, I didn't know I would have added it until they actually asked me, but ...
Here’s Wassup. (MBFCF Giveaway #2)
Back in March, I was privileged to be an eyewitness when television history was being made. The pilot for Wassup En LA? was filmed before a live audience that included me and Eric. I originally got involved with the project after seeing an online pitch for a Kickstarter to fund it, which didn't work out, but technically, it did, because the ...
A Pastelito by any other name…
There are thousands of fantastic restaurants in Southern California. And I'm sure the fair city of Glendale has a bizzillion wonderful eateries. But, if we're going to be in Glendale for any reason, we must always stop at Porto's Bakery and load up on Cuban Provisions. There's no better Cuban bakery in So Cal. Lucy, Jonathan ...
This is Wassup…
Last summer, I came across a Kickstarter Campaign for a not-yet-produced TV show called "Wassup en LA?" The theme was that a young Cuban American actor from Miami goes to Los Angeles to find fame and fortune. And his Cuban family, abuelos and all, follow and support him. I clicked on the link, read the synopsis and and fell in love. You ...
The Dark Christmas Tree
It's December the 24th and my Christmas tree is finally up. But there are no ornaments on it. My friends tease me because I don't like to decorate my home for Christmas very early in the month of December. In the Christmases of my youth, we would always wait until Christmas eve to decorate the tree. There's nothing like feeling the ...
For the love of guava…
WARNING: I've used a lot (!) of exclamation points in the following post. Such was my level of excitement... In my family of origin and in the Cuban home where I grew up, we always had a couple of items in the pantry: Cans of leche condensada (sweetened condensed milk). Bars of guava paste. I'm guessing that the way we used those two ...
