May 21, 2010

How to Turn 55 While in Miami

May 21, 2010/ Marta M. Darby

The following post has been brought to you courtesy of Kikita.

Greetings from Miami!

Yesterday was Mami's 55th birthday (it's ok, she told me I could tell you) and the celebrating started early in the morning and went late into the night. (Ok, technically I think she will be stretching her birthday out through the weekend, but that's not important right now.)

This is how I found her this morning:

Sharing a cake with her blog-friend the Modern Mami.

A couple of hours later Mami was enjoying a Dulce de Leche cupcake from InStyle Cupcakes.

After a quick stop to visit Tio Abuelo Fernando (yes, the 99 year old one I went to Cuba with in March)...

Mami had lunch with her cousin Yllien at the Gables Diner (yes, I got to go too).

Next it was time for the main event.

It was time for the big, fat, Cuban birthday party.

And we made it happen!

We had such a great group of people show up! And from all over the United States!

Lea & Vidal made it from New Jersey (and yes, we're going to pretend that the only reason they were in Miami was to say hello to Mami on her birthday).

Scott and his daughter Daryn came all the way from Georgia.

Billy trekked in from New Orleans.

Carrie showed up for some Tiki Tiki.

My cousin, Michael, made an appearance along with his lovely wife, Kimberly.

Amanda from Brandon's Puppy brought her whole brood with her and even Abe was there with his daughter Alissa.

It was so wonderful to have such a mixed group come and share such a fabulous evening. To all of you who were there, thank you. Mami was incredibly touched and feels oh-so-loved (which was the whole point).

To those of you who couldn't make it, here's what you missed (beyond delicious Cuban food and fun-tastic conversation):

Since my Dad and the rest of my siblings could not be there with us, they sent a video. Ok, it was all my Dad's idea. He worked hard on his video slide show and couldn't wait for Mami to see it. It was really quite adorable.

When I set up her computer and started playing it, she burst into tears because the song he'd chosen was the song they had danced to at their wedding.

It was a very sweet moment and a very sweet video.

I hope you enjoy it:

May 17, 2010

A Big, Fat, Cuban Family Birthday Party Invitation

May 17, 2010/ Marta M. Darby

Kikita (la hija de Marta) here and I have a happy announcement:

Mami will be turning...*ahem*... 21 on Friday, May 21st, 2010.

We will be in Miami for this momentous occasion and I've decided there is only one thing we can do. We must have a Big, Fat, Cuban Birthday party and EVERYONE is invited!
Where is the party, you ask?
Habana Vieja Restaurant

Come and enjoy some "Tiki Tiki time" with Marta as we celebrate her coming of age.
(Her actual age is "not important right now.")

Please don't feel obligated to bring gifts, the best gift is your presence.
Also, I can't buy your dinner, but I'll be happy to take a picture of you with Marta, so bring your camera! (And if you don't HAVE a camera, I'll have one and can email you the picture.)

If you have any more questions about this momentous occasion, you can email me, Kikita.
I'd be happy to give you my cell phone number so you can find us once you arrive. Just email me and ask. :-)

So, here's the re-cap:

When: Friday, May 21st, 2010
6:30pm

Where: Habana Vieja Restaurant

                    3622 Coral Way
                    Miami, FL 33145
                    (305) 448-6660

RSVP to: Kikita

For those of you who won't be able to make it, but are hoping to catch Marta at Cuba Nostalgia, we will be at the Babablú Blog booth for most of Saturday, May 22, 2010.

We can't wait to see you!

November 15, 2009

Celebrating National Guava Month (Oh, yes I am.)

November 15, 2009/ Marta M. Darby

It's a special Monday, Pre-Thanksgiving Edition of Marta's Cuban American Kitchen.

I have been trying, without much success, to declare November "National Guava Month." Sadly, no one seems to take me seriously about this, but that's not important right now.

I've taken up the cause on my own. And today I'm all over the place, both on Babalú and on the Tiki Tiki with the delicious marriage of turkey, port, and guava.

Because today, I, Marta, hereby declare November to be "National Guava Month."

In honor of National Guava Month, (<--it's got a nice ring to it, don't you think?) I'll be sharing two guava recipes in the next two weeks.

Today to kick off the Guava Celebration, I'm making a Turkey with a Port Wine Guava Glaze. (You just drooled on yourself. Admit it.)

Next week I'll be sharing a Guava Cheesecake (because of a previous request from my friend, Cigar Mike).

Happy National Guava Month! (I cannot think of one downside to this. It's going to be epic.) =D

Who's in?

October 19, 2009

How to be a good Cuban woman in order to marry well.

October 19, 2009/ Marta M. Darby

I had some company over the weekend. My mom and my oldest daughter.

And if Luza (my 95 year old mom) is here, that means I'm cooking. Or, in this case, baking.

And then, of course, there's Amy (my first-born), who is 26 years old, which, in Old-School-Cuban-Grandma-Land is code for "Old Maid" (or "solterona").

Of course, in Old-School-Cuban-Grandma-Land the fault for having a 26 year old who is still (!) unmarried rests squarely on my shoulders. (Bad mother, what?)

Apparently, I didn't teach Amy to cook well enough. Because if she could cook, Luza reasons, she would quickly be snapped up and out of the single woman's ranks just like that! *snaps fingers*

I surreptitiously roll my eyes at this point of the conversation, "Ay, Mami..." I can't even finish with an articulate response.

So I invite Amy to come and bake with me and Luza. The truth is that she (Amy) had found this fabulous recipe for Flan Cake (Flan Cake, people!) on blog-friend, Anne Marie's What's Cookin? Blog and she knew I'd totally be into it. And I totally was. I did tweak it some, but the inspiration came directly from Anne Marie. (Thanks again, Anne Maroo!)

This was Amy's Facebook status on Friday night:

Amy Kikita Hohneker is on her way to her mother's house to learn how to be a good Cuban woman in order to marry well.

All that to say this:

These forces converged on Friday night and together we - Luza, Amy and I... well, technically, Amy and I - made it. My mom sat there and made critical helpful suggestions. The final product was a gorgeous, delicious, amazing, there-are-not-enough-superlatives-in-the-world Flan Cake.

Luza sticks her nose into the flan and declares it "perfecto," and concedes that Amy now has a fighting chance at becoming marriage-able. ;-)

The recipe is posted today over at the Tiki Tiki.

By the way, Amy's a fabulous cook in her own right and she would totally make a wonderful Cuban wife. (I'm just saying...)

October 06, 2009

Dreamhouse sold separately

October 06, 2009/ Marta M. Darby

If I were a Barbie Doll, I'd have names for all the different roles I've ever played and the various phases of my life.

Right now I'd have 3 different iterations of the Marta Doll:

There would, of course, be Blogger Marta - she comes with her own tiny Mac that really boots up!

And Cuban Cook Marta - with an actual tiny copy of her cookbook. =D

Don't forget, Homeschooling Mom Marta. She has books, a calendar, a tiara and a scepter. ;-)

This one here would be Teenage Marta, High School Cheerleader - she comes complete with saddle shoes and pom-poms!

If I could travel back in time, there are so many things I would tell Teenage Marta! (I would definitely start with how adorable she looked in her little cheerleader costume, but that's not important right now.)

Today over at the Tiki Tiki, I do some Time Traveling and give my teenage self 3 pieces of advice. I'd love to hear what you would tell your teenage self. Tell me.

September 30, 2009

Read any good books lately?

September 30, 2009/ Marta M. Darby

What was the last movie or tv show you watched?
The last good deed you did?
The last friend you made?
What was the last gift you gave?

Find the answers to these questions and more on today's quiz over at the Tiki Tiki.

Click over and tell me your answers. I love getting to know you. =D

September 23, 2009

Hey! I wrote a cookbook!

September 23, 2009/ Marta M. Darby

Today on the Tiki Tiki I share my very favorite Latin cookbooks.

As I was finishing the post, Adam came in with an ingredient question from one of my own recipes. At which point I remembered that hey! I wrote a cookbook, too! Yes, with my Cuban recipes. (Shut up. I know.) ;-)

Perhaps the badge in my sidebar isn't quite as obvious as I originally thought. Hmm....

So, in case you missed it....

Hey! I wrote a Cuban cookbook! =D

It's the one that has the photos of all my family on it. And it's called My Big, Fat, Cuban Family Cookbook. (How's that for originality?)

Do you have a favorite cookbook? Tell me.

September 03, 2009

Keeping it Together

September 03, 2009/ Marta M. Darby

I do a lot of stuff.

I make things.

I go places.

I Twitter.

I cook stuff.

I shoot emails. (Eric always says this, "shoot me an email." And I think it's cute, so we don't just write emails around here. We shoot them.) ;-)

I homeschool kids.

I drive them places.

I Facebook.

I take pictures.

And I write about it all.

How do I do it all and keep it together?

The truthful answer is: by the grace of God.

But I also have this:

This is what September looks like in DarbyWorld according to my Giant Calendar (that I adore, thank you very much). It's five feet across and almost four feet tall. And it can be seen from every corner of our studio/office/classroom.

Did I mention how much I love it? It's like a changing, but constant, piece of artwork. (Kind of like me. =D)

Instructions for this beauty are posted over at the Tiki Tiki today.