Wednesday, March 6, 2013
11:40 AM
I'm trying to get into this blogging thing, but I'm not very good at it yet, it's been almost 3 months since I posted anything! I have been doing all kinds of other things, and if I had the blogging mindset, I could have written about my adventures.
In December we helped our oldest son and his family move from Arizona to Atlanta area. After driving for 4 days, we celebrated the arrival to their new home at a local, delicious, Cuban restaurant--but I forgot to take pictures of it.
 |
| Walking on Hollywood beach with MaConcha |
 |
| With Tia China & cousins, including beautiful new baby! |
Later we enjoyed a wonderful visit with my family in Miami, and they prepared a Cuban feast for us. My dear Tia China made her delicious roasted pork, cousin Gladys added all the Cuban trimmings like black beans, yuca, platanos maduros, etc. My cousin MaConcha made her signature key lime pie (recipe below). The food was great, but the best part was being with my family, and meeting my newest little cousin! I wish we could be together more often!
 |
| Formal night on cruise |
Also, my husband and I went on a Caribbean cruise! During our first cruise, 28 years ago, I got very sea sick and was given medication which we then discovered I was allergic to... not much fun. I was not very eager to experience that again, however my husband has always wanted to go on another cruise and has waited patiently for me to decide to give it another try. He has a significant birthday this year, so I decided to be brave and give it another chance. I wore sea bands the whole time and did just great! I also brought along some ginger, but didn't need it. We ate lots of great Caribbean food, but again I was so enjoying the moment that I didn't even think to take food pictures.
One thing is for sure, I have been enjoying life! My parents taught me a lot about enjoying life. My father was always busy, he liked to do many things. When he was not working, he was always creating, planting gardens, fixing things, building, inventing, but he always made time to visit with family and friends, that was his greates joy!
My mother's first priority was her family, beginning with her brothers and sisters for whom she learned to cook, then her husband, children and grandchildren. She loved feeding us, sewing for us. However, near the end of her life, she confessed to me that she had a great regret. She had always wanted to perform, act, recite poetry, sing (she had a beautiful voice), but had been too afraid to do so, except in very private settings with family or very close friends.
My goal is to live life with no regrets, so I make time for the things I love: family, friends, good food, books, acting, Zumba, etc. And I try not to let fear keep me from doing what I want to do. Though sometimes it takes me a long time!
MACONCHA’S KEY LIME PIE
Key lime pie is a Floridian dessert, popular with Cubans because we use limes a great deal in our cuisine.
MaConcha is what our family calls my cousin Maria Conchita. She is an amazing and dedicated cook. There is a lime tree in her backyard, and when it's producing limes she picks them all, squeezes the juice out and freezes it in measured quantities, so she can make her wonderful key lime pie year round. Here is her recipe:
1 can sweetened condensed milk (use 2 cans for a deep dish crust)
2 eggs (wash before cracking them open, since they wont be cooked)
½ cup lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 8 oz container of whipped topping
1 graham cracker crust*
Mix the sweetened condensed milk, eggs, lime juice and vanilla till smooth
Then fold in the whipped topping.
Pour into graham cracker crust. Put in freezer till set, at least 2 hours. Take it out and let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes before serving. Five to ten minutes, depending on how warm it is where you are serving it. You want it soft but not runny. Enjoy!
* The crust in this picture looks funny, because instead of a graham cracker crust, I made a raw gluten free nut crust so I could eat it. I'll post the recipe on my other blog, in case you want it. RAW GLUTEN FREE NUT PIE CRUST
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
8:41 PM
CUBA,
LEMONADE,
LEMONS,
LIMES,
LIMONADA,
Mayor Bloomberg,
MISC,
New York Plans to Ban Sale of Big Sizes of Sugary Drinks,
NYC mayor bans large drinks,
Readers Digest,
TUINUCU
A few days ago Mayor Bloomberg of NYC proposed banning the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks. See New York Plans to Ban Sale of Big Sizes of Sugary Drinks
I’ve enjoyed observing the reaction to this. Some people agree that it is a good way to bring awareness and help in the fight against obesity. Others are laughing about the ridiculousness of it.
It reminds me of a story from my childhood in Cuba......
I have always loved to read. I devoured every book in my parents’ bookcase, that they felt was appropriate for children. Among their books was a collection of old Reader’s Digest magazines, from BC (before Castro). I read every one of those delightful magazines many times. I especially liked the jokes, funny stories, and a particularly lovely recurring feature called MI PERSONAJE MAS INOLVIDABLE (My Most Unforgettable Character) that is no longer in the magazine (or perhaps was only in the Spanish version?). I also loved the advertisements; they were so amazing to a little girl growing up in a Communist country with nothing available in stores. There were so many things advertised on those pages that I really had trouble accepting that it was not fiction. I had been brain washed in the Communist schools for several years and even though our parents tried to tell us that there was another world out there, I couldn’t conceive of private individuals or companies selling their products, or even the existence of so many items to fulfill every dream.
One day, as I perused the ads again I noticed an advertisement for a 32 oz coke. “Aha!” I said to myself, “I knew this was all fake!” I went to my father and shoved the magazine page with the preposterous advertisement in front of his face.
“I knew this wasn’t real, why would they ALLOW such a large soda to be sold, nobody can drink that much”, I challenged with all my brainwashed Communist 10 year old superiority. He patiently explained how in the US and the rest of the Free World people could buy anything they wanted to, as long as they had the money for it, even if they couldn’t drink it or it wasn’t good for them. He added that the government of the US did not issue ration cards like we had in Cuba, or tell people what they could buy.
I had a very difficult time believing him. I just couldn’t imagine being allowed to buy anything I wanted.
I still love Readers Digest, though I rarely look at the advertisements now. These days I choose not to drink soda and I avoid most sugary drinks, because I want to. However I think I will go now and make some lemonade, the way my father made it, and drink as much I want.
 |
Here are the ingredients
|
LIMONADA- Lemonade
My parents referred to both limes and lemons as limones (lemons). They distinquished them by the color, limones verdes (green) and limones amarillos (yellow). They preferred limones verdes or what we would call limes.
For this recipe I used some of each, since I just happened to have both on hand. Also, I use raw sugar like my father did. He grew sugar cane for the refinery in their small town of Tuinucú, and he considered raw sugar the "real" sugar.
About 8 limes or lemons to yield about 1 cup of juice
3 cups cold water
2 cups of cubed ice
1 cup of raw sugar*
Wash the limes and lemons, cut them in half and get all the juice out.
 |
| One way to do it |
 |
| The easier way |
Combine with water and sugar and stir until the sugar is disolved. Add lots of ice and enjoy a most refreshing drink.
* Instead of the raw sugar you can use 1/2 cup of honey. For less calories try a teaspoon of stevia and 2 Tablespoons of honey. You could even use regular sugar, as much as you want or none at all. It is totally up to you.....for now.
