Late. Again.

Evidence that this Cubanita was running late for work because of her addiction:

Hello, my name is Amy . . .

HI AMY.

Here's when I knew I'd hit rock bottom . . . It was early morning.  That afternoon was when I would be going to mom's house to begin my house-sitting job.

This is what I woke up to:

AY CARAMBA!! 

QUE HORROR!!

SADNESS!!

After about an hour . . . the craving sets in . . . the shaking . . . I haven't had my morning fix.

I suck it up and tell myself, "Mom's house will definitely have some"  and that helps me survive until I arrive.

GREAT GLORY AND SPLENDOR!!  GRACIAS A DIOS!!

In the door of the fridge was gold . . . 

But upon closer inspection . . .

TALK ABOUT DEPRESSO!!

So I did what any self-respecting Cubana would do, I went to the store and got what I had been craving.

When I first cracked it open . . . and the smell came wafting up to meet me . . . HEAVEN.

AAAAHHHHHH.  HAPPY . . . until tomorrow that is . . . :-)

Como Mi Mama

My whole family is on vacation so I'm staying at Mom's house to take care of the cats.

That means the cook is not in and I can't afford to eat out every night . . .

So what did I do?

I found one of my favorite recipes here.

And I made it.  IT.  WAS.  PERFECT.

See?

And now I can eat for the rest of the week. :-)

I'm sure they are having a great time on vacation . . . but I'm having a great time cocinando como mi mama.

Big plans . . .

Inspired by my success with the Dulce de Leche and because I am LOVING the ice cream maker the kids gave us, I've decided to take on Hàagen Dazs.
My mom will be with us this weekend and she's already pumped for the challenge.

Me (in Spanish, of course):  "I want to try and make Dulce de Leche ice cream."

My Mom (also in Spanish, of course, and without missing a beat):  "I'll bring the condensed milk."

Great minds. . . =D

Feeling the love.

So, I was feeling a little blue today.

Probably just tired.  The last few weeks have been so busy for us with celebrations and I probably just need some downtime.
And you know how it is when you start feeling down and you start feeling sorry for yourself?
So there I am having my very own Pity Party and thinking (or maybe I was praying, or maybe I was whining - it's all a blur),  "Great Pity Party. Only thing missing is the cake."

And seriously, not 30 seconds later there is a knock on the door and I found this on our doorstep.

It was in this cool, foam, plastic wrapped container which looked like it was housing some sort of radioactive device.

Nope. Not radioactive.

CHOCOLATE! 
On MY doorstep!
THANK YOU, GOD!

Devil's Food Chocolate Cheesecake to be exact from Junior's in New York.
The World's Most Fabulous Cheesecake.

Delivered cold to my door.

It's not the first time I've found  sweet stuff  found on our doorstep, but usually it comes inside of little pink boxes.) 

So excited to try it!

Sorry about the Pity Party thing.
I just had a weak moment there.

Now I'm just feeling so grateful.
We truly have some amazing friends. (Thanks, Pam & Gene!)

And God has a great sense of humor. =D

Getting to the Heart of the matter...

That's pork (spiced with garlic, rum and brown sugar) on the left. And white rice on the right.
And just when you think you've got the makings of a typical Cuban dinner - bammo! you notice the big, scaly green thing taking up a third of the dinner plate.

At our house, this is cause for celebration:
"Artichokes? Yay!!"

And phone calls:
"Come quick! Mom made artichokes!"

We really enjoy the time we spend together around the dinner table. It becomes a party when there are artichokes involved.

Besides, eating an artichoke is like digging for buried treasure.
("what on earth is she blogging about?")

Here in California, we even have a yearly festival in tribute to the artichoke.
("she's gushing about ARTICHOKES!")

There really is an art to eating an artichoke.
("Good God! Is she going to tell us how to eat an artichoke? Can she be stopped???")

Just ask my boys.

They take their time and dip each leaf in the garlicky butter.

They savor each bite until they get to the part where they remove the fuzzy choke and slowly enjoy The Heart - the payoff to all their hard work. ("Oh! Hence the title of this post.")

Why am I waxing poetic about artichokes?
("Finally! She's going to tell!")

My New Electric Pressure Cooker.
("That was it? It seems so anti-climactic.")

Seven minutes to artichoke perfection. Seven minutes!
("Maybe it's time she got a life?")

I'm loving it almost as much as my camera, and that's saying a lot.

It was a gift from my wonderful friends. Thanks, Pam & Gene!

I've been using it every day since I unpacked it last week.
("She's just excited, that's all. In a weird-obsessive-foodie way.")

Next on the menu:
Arroz con Pollo!
("At least the Artichoke Post is over now. phew!")
;-)

I'm a simple "Latina"

During the summer months we spend a lot of time at the beach or at the lake or just away from home most of the day. But we also have friends over, too.  And I usually feed them. (I'm Cuban. It's in my blood. If there are hungry people in my home, I must feed them. It's the right thing to do. =D)

So I have some really simple go-to meals. I keep most of the ingredients on hand, except for the roasted chicken, which I pick up at my local grocery store on my way home from the beach. This is one of my favorites, because it just requires collecting the ingredients, slicing up a few things and ... ahem ... opening cans.

Yes, that's right. Cans.

I know. But try it first and then we can talk.
Besides, I like simple and I haven't got time to cook today.... I hear the waves calling to me. =D

Easy Tortilla Soup

-2 cans chicken broth
-2 cans diced tomatoes (I usually like the ones with onions & -peppers added)
-1 small can diced green chiles (mild)
-1 can black beans
-1 fully-cooked roasted chicken

(sometimes I will add a can of corn, if there's one in the pantry)

Garnishes:
-Tortilla strips
-Sliced avocados
-Grated jack and cheddar cheeses
-Slices of lime
-Sour cream

1) Take chicken apart (easiest to do it while it's still warm and just use your fingers) into bite-size pieces. (I don't use all the chicken. I save a lot of it for pastelitos de pollo.  Okay. I'll post that recipe later this week.)

2) Open all cans and place contents into a large pot.

3) Stir in chicken pieces and heat through.

4) Let everyone garnish their soup according to their tastes.

Ta-da! You did it!

Sit back and enjoy your tortilla soup and bask in the compliments.

Back to the can thing...

The word for "can" in Spanish is "lata."

And, after all...

I am Latina!  ;-)

(LOL. I cracked myself up just now...)

My Big, Fat Cuban Outdoor Movie Theater

Okay, so.... The Darby Backyard Movie Theater ROCKS!

I know you were curious.
(I may never come back inside again. =D)

Movies and popcorn under the stars.
The picture is crystal clear.
The sound is perfect.
The whole scene is just idyllic.

Makes me want to have a party. (actually, just about anything makes me want to have a party - I can't help it. I'm Cuban. Entertaining is in my blood.)

Tomorrow is Adam's 21st birthday. S0 tonight there will be a big, fat Cuban celebration at our house.  Adam has invited a dozen of his friends, whom I'll be feeding and entertaining.

I am serving Pan con Lechon, Mariquitas and Matervas. Pastelitos de guayaba for dessert.
And because it's a party for Adam (Class Clown in Residence), we're going to show The Court Jester.

I think it's apropos. ;-)

Brunch. Cuban style.

I made a 4th of July Brunch yesterday.  Cuban style. Or, more aptly, Cuban-American style.

Think French Toast meets Little Havana meets Orange County. =D
It's basically French toast stuffed with guava and cream cheese.
How fun is that?

It's an original recipe I decided to call "Torrejas a lo Refugiado,"

"Torrejas" are a type of fried bread.
"Refugiado" is the Spanish word for "refugee."  It is also the name given to guava and cream cheese pastry - guava representing our Cuban culture and the cream cheese representing our adopted home.  It's a uniquely Cuban American invention.  I just took it up a notch. ;-)
My recipe is posted over at Babalú today.

My (Cuban) brother-in-law insists that torrejas are a world class hangover cure. 
I'm not sure about that, but I think I might need to add the following disclaimer...

WARNING: Could be habit forming. =D

As you wish.

For my birthday last month Eric got me the most fabulous gift - a projector and a giant 10 foot screen.

I know what you're thinking: "Wow. How romantic."  (Not!)

But, seriously, I have been wanting this for YEARS.
But let me tell you why.
I want to show movies outside in my backyard. (I told you I love movies.)

So, we're working on getting the speakers hooked up and hoping to have a screening maybe this weekend.
I am so pumped about this, (coincidentally this month's Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine arrives in my mailbox and one of the articles is this whole casual party plan and it involves showing a movie OUTSIDE and I swear, she totally jacked my idea, and no, I'm not even tempted to serve Goat-cheese Nachos or Jalapeño Corn Muffins, but that's not important right now) But all of us are voting on which movie we will show for our First Feature. 

We agreed that it would have to be a classic film with universal appeal and so we wrote down choices on slips of paper.  Would you believe it was unanimous?
It is one of our all-time favorites for quoting movie lines.

Can you guess which film?  Have you got a favorite line from it?   {please share}

Q: Has it got any sports in it?
A: Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...
Q: Doesn't sound too bad. I'll try to stay awake.
 A: Oh, well, thank you very much, very nice of you. Your vote of confidence is overwhelming.

That day, she was amazed to discover that when he was saying "As you wish", what he meant was, "I love you."

It just doesn't get any better than this.
Because my dorkiness knows no bounds. =D