My Big Fat Cuban Family: A Cuban-American Blog

Amy has totally lost it.

My daughter, Amy Kikita has been working hard these past few months to lose weight. She has to date lost 30 pounds and the scale is still moving to the left every day.

I admire the courage it has taken her to face her own fears and presuppositions about what this will mean to her and her life.

Today on the Tiki Tiki, she shares her essay titled "The Fat Friend."

Please read. In fact, you should totally go hang out at the Tiki Tiki all week and enjoy this wonderful series on Body Image.

Way to go, Mimi!

Celebrating Abuela

I never knew my grandparents.

We left Cuba when I was so very young that I barely remember my grandmothers. I think my dad's parents had already passed away by the time I was born. And I have just the few mental snapshots that a five year old can retain of my mom's mother.

Here's a beautiful old photo of her, my maternal grandmother, Osmunda Perez-Puelles when she was pregnant with my Tio Fernando. (Incidentally, Tio Fernando will be turning 100 in Miami next week.)

The only abuela I have ever known is this woman in this 100 year old photograph.

My mom says that maybe that's why I have always loved old people. And it's true. I am very aware of the richness of life that most older people have to impart to us "youngsters." That attracts me tremendously.

I hope to be that wise old woman myself to my (as yet, unborn) grandchildren someday.

It's from this perspective of not really ever having had a grandmother in my life that I worked on this beautiful project for Tiki Tiki Blog.

It's a fabulous collection of stories by seven women who fondly remember their grandmothers and share their reminiscences.

Tiki Tiki readers submitted photos of their grandmothers and I am extremely proud to say that I designed this cover and created this E-book, Celebrating Abuela. (I know. Shut up. Get the sandpaper...)

Of course, I also added the photo of my mom, Luza (left-hand side of cover), because she is the Quintescential Cuban Grandmother.

Please download your free copy of this 40 page book by clicking this link: Download Celebrating Abuela with Tiki Tiki.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you from me and my big, fat, Cuban family and from my good friend, Carrie at Tiki Tiki Blog. She's completely genius when it comes to collecting and editing these wonderful stories. (My job is just to make it all look pretty, but that's not important right now.)

And to those of you who still have her with you, celebrate your abuela.

Besos! ~Marta

The Best of MBFCF in 2010

I started this tradition last year.

I reviewed my posts for the entire year (which was kind of interesting in a wow-is-that-a-train-wreck? kinda way, but that's not important right now) and picked a mix of some of my favorites.

These links are a pretty good representation of what it's like Living the Vida Loca, MBFCF-style.

If you've been a regular reader, I thank you for your time and attention and your cyber-love. You may enjoy going into my cyber-time machine and re-living this past year via the following blog posts.

If you're new to my blog, make yourself at home and enjoy this slice of my Cuban-American life in the O.C.

Besos,

Marta

1. The Writing is On the Wall - The one where I take you on a tour of the walls of my freakishly small cottage-like home.

2. A Living Legacy - The one where my mom turned 96 and had her photo taken with (almost) everyone in my big, fat, Cuban family.

3. Amy's Trip to Cuba - The one where Amy Kikita (my daughter) goes to Cuba and shares how she experienced the island and the people and how she ended up meeting Cuban dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez of Generacion Y. This link is to all the posts from her trip.

4.  How Google Works - A Very Cuban Explanation - The one where my 96 year old mom explains how the internet search engines work. She calls them Cuco and Yayo (Google and Yahoo) and becomes an instant Youtube hit among Cubans everywhere.

5. How to Turn 55 While in Miami - In which I drag out my birthday celebration for days and enjoy a wonderful party and my husband's sweet surprise.

6. How to Throw a Virtual Birthday Party - In which I surprise and amaze my daughter by having everyone she knows post a birthday greeting. (*takes bow*)

7.  Hasta La Vista, Baby! - In which my son, Adam, moves far away and leaves me sad. (*wipes away a tear*)

8. Baking With Betty - Brownieliciousness - In which I get to bake in the Betty Crocker Kitchens in Minneapolis and am overwhelmed by my own nerdiness.

9. When is a Pitbull NOT a pitbull? - In which I am introduced to Cuban rapper, Pitbull and I may or may not have called him a muñecón. Here's the video version. ;-)

10. El Palacio and me. (It was love at first sight.) - In which I visit El Palacio de Los Jugos (with my partner in Tiki Tiki blog-crime, Carrie) in Miami and document the entire comelata.

11. The Mother Ring - In which I tell about how I received a family heirloom.

12. Nochebuena. Cubans. Photobooth. (Pachanga!) - In which I manage to capture the silliness and beauty that is my big, fat, Cuban family.

It's a nice compilation, isn't it?

I'll just keep writing in 2011. I hope you come back. My blog-casa is your blog-casa. =D

Happy New Year!

My Two Favorite Dolls

As a child, I played with dolls. A lot. In fact, constantly.

I had two that were my favorites. I had a Chatty Cathy doll. The kind with the pull string in the back that made her talk. And talk. And talk.

And a Skipper doll. Barbie's little sister. She had the coolest wardrobe ever.

I loved these two beauties so much that one day, I decided in my childish imagination, I'd have two daughters and they would each look just like my two favorite dolls...

Chatty Cathy:

And Skipper:

Maybe it was a prayer, because obviously, I got my wish. ;-)

[Read all about the story of the Christmas when I first got Skipper over at the Tiki Tiki.]

El Palacio and me. (It was love at first sight.)

I've been home for a week now and I'm still processing all the wonderful things I got to do and experience in Miami. I'll be writing about the trip little by little as I sort through my stuff and check my mental rolodex to remind myself of the stories I want to tell.

This particular one, I videotaped. (I know! Shut up!)

I'm starting to get more things on film and I'm finding that I enjoy telling my stories this way. I have even stopped cringing when I hear my voice on tape. Weird, right?

My Tiki Tiki blog-partner and Cuban friend, Carrie, took me to the Palacio de los Jugos on Flagler and 57th when we were in Miami last week.

Usually, I hold out for Versailles or La Carreta, but Carrie convinced me that the best "comelatas" are to be had at the Palacio.

What I found: All Cuban food is not alike. (The thing about Cuban food, though, is that it's sooo affordable, wherever you go.)

We managed to eat our way around the building (very cheaply!). Don't judge us. We both live far from Cuban restaurants (and La Dieta empieza mañana).

But can I just say....THIS over-abundance of Cuban food on every corner is why I could never live in Miami.  (Well, and the humidity, but that's not important right now.) I have no self-control when it comes to Cuban food. And I couldn't be held responsible for my actions if I lived so close to all that deliciousness.

In my life I've never seen so much fabulous Cuban food in one spot..... except for maybe here, at my house, on Nochebuena. =D

Cuban girls "do" the Palacio: L-to-R - Amanda, Yllien (my cousin), me, & Carrie after we successfully tasted everything in the building.

Follow us, as Carrie and I explore the wonders of the Palacio de los Jugos....I miss it already. * heavy sigh*

I Parranda and I Do Laundry - Multi-tasking the Cuban Way

I'm still recovering from my The Traumatic Thwarting of My Trip Home by the POTUS.

Thank you all for your concern. I'm definitely home now and back to my real life which includes laundry and laundry and more laundry and I have some videos I have to edit - in between loads of laundry.

I'll tell you all about Blogalicious Weekend and what I did and the cool places I got to stay in and my visit to the Palacio de Los Jugos....next week.

Remember my ¡Parranda! shoes? I totally got to wear them at the Que Rica Vida sponsored ¡Parranda! Party and I wrote all about that over at the Tiki Tiki today. Click here to read that story and watch the video.

Carrie & Me at the !Parranda! Party

In my mind I am still in Parranda mode, so while I'll be doing my best to scale Mt. Washmore* I'll definitely be moving my Cuban butt self to the delicious sounds of Celia Cruz.

You can take the Cuban girl out of Miami.... ;-)

(*H/T Flylady)

The Taming of the Do - The Movie

Hi. I’m Marta and I have naturally curly hair. (“Hi, Marta.”)

I know my hair looks smooth and straight in all the photos you've ever seen of me, but that's because I go through great pains and pay big bucks to get it done.

And I realized as I was writing this that I started straightening it about a year before I started blogging. So you won't see me here on my blog with my original curly hair.

Today, I tell the story about my hair insecurities and my ongoing struggles to tame my Naturally Curly Hair over at the Tiki Tiki.

Here's my amazing hairdresser, Kate Berry, who straightened my hair a lá Brazilian Blowout. We documented all the fun and made a short film.

Please enjoy:

Marta Meets the Brazilian Blowout. (You should go get some popcorn.)

It's fabulous, no? =D

 

When is a Pitbull NOT a pitbull?

It seems that lately I've been getting invited to all kinds of  "events"- apparently bloggers are the new press. Who knew?

I was invited by a fellow Latina blogger, Ana Flores from Spanglish Baby (Thanks again, Ana!) to come to the launch of the new Victoria's Secret perfume called Bombshell. It turns out that one of Ana's close friends, the lovely Susan Stipcianos from the Dream Team Agency was spearheading this event.

So I took Amy to L.A. with me, of course. The event was held at the enormous Victoria's Secret store at The Grove and there were all these gorgeous skinny semi-famous VS supermodels that we were supposed to interview. (I'm the new press, after all...)

But I got a little distracted because of all the fun we were having (but that's not important right now).

We got the Royal V.I.P. treatment. We had makeovers done by professional makeup artists

 

...and they had us do a glamour photo shoot...

 

...and they gave us swag bags with beautiful umm....things....

...and, of course, the new perfume, Bombshell.

In the middle of the craziness, I notice a handsome young man having his photo taken with the supermodels (whom we have yet to interview.....because....Hey! Is it my turn for the photo?)

So Amy says, "Mami, that's Pitbull." He's getting his photo taken with the supermodels and then he leaves.

In slow-motion, I went Wait! (or more like W-A-A-I-I-T-T!) I'm the CUBAN BLOGGER here!

So I grabbed Amy and we head towards where Pitbull was last seen and he is now exiting the building - *sigh* We missed him. (Sad faces.)

Right at that moment, the very-on-top-of-it PR gal, Susan (that I told you about earlier, who was in charge"OMG! Come on!" And she proceeded to run down the internal alley of the mall, in her stilettos, yelling, "Wait! Pit!"

And here come Amy and Marta chasing Susan who is chasing Pitbull through the bowels of the Grove. (Talk about a surreal moment.)

When she finally caught him, she said to him, "This is the Most Important Person At This Event!" (If you look at the photo, you can tell we were far away from people and totally in the bowels of the mall.) And Pitbull was treating me like I was, well... The Most Important Person At This Event.

Of course, I spoke to him in Spanish, and I may or may not have called him a muñecon.

I think because of that awesome introduction he was very charming. (Amy was upset that he barely looked at her and paid me so much attention. I quickly reminded her of my Most Important Person Status. =D)

We chatted briefly, took our photos and he was delightful and charming and funny and when he turned to leave, he left behind a small puddle of what was formerly The Most Important Person There and Her First Born.

We regrouped beautifully and made the executive decision to skip the supermodel interviews. After all, we just had makeovers and got to meet Pitbull. (Which proves the existence of God.) Our evening was pretty complete with the added plus of the Pitbull meeting. I had my story. I came strutting back into the store and showed the photos on my camera to the swooning, skinny girls. They were staring at me with a total "WHO ARE YOU?" vibe. I loved it.

I decided it would be wisest to skip the supermodel interviews and focus my story on meeting Pitbull. Yeah, I'm shallow that way. =D

I do have a comment giveaway today, but you'll have to travel.

I want you to go over the TikiTikiBlog and follow this link to the Pitbull story post.

To be entered in the drawing for the new VS Bombshell perfume, (I promise you...you want this!) go over to the Tiki Tiki and leave a comment on that post. Instructions and deadlines are over there.

Also, be sure to watch the video I put together. Then come back and tell me your opinion of how I'm handling my mid-life crisis. Or how jealous you're feeling right now. Bring it. =D

Link Love

I've been blogging here at MBFCF for almost four years (Wow! That's like high school!) now.

I love blogging as an a creative outlet. Not only because it's my blog and I can write pretty much whatever I want, but also because I get feedback. And for the most part, that feedback is positive, which makes me happy. 

I enjoy blogging so much that I also cook (and write) over at Babalú blog as you know. My feature there is called Marta's Cuban American Kitchen. That's where most of my recipes live on the web.

I'm assuming you already know that I also co-edit a blog called Tiki Tiki with my friend, Carrie Ferguson Weir of Bilingual in the Boonies fame. 

Carrie gave me the news yesterday that Parenting.com had chosen the Tiki Tiki as one of their Must-Read Moms: Mom Blogs We Love. 

I was especially excited that they chose a blurb from one of my articles. (See actual post about my family's cleaning habits here.) They also mention my recipes.... 

And I quote: "And the recipes!? Oh. My."

I know. Shut. UP!

Our friends from Modern Mami and Spanglish Baby also made the list. Congratulations, amigas!

If you get a chance, check out the other Mom Blogs. Those women are talented! But also, get yourself over to the Tiki Tiki. Check out the contributor articles and videos. And you may want to consider sharing some of your stories there. (Sin pena!)

What exactly is the Tiki Tiki?  This video from Cuba Nostalgia explains a lot.

Look for Christina Diaz Gonzalez, author of The Red Umbrella. Also, Tony Mendoza the phenomenal Cuban artist. My friend, Val Prieto, editor of Babalú blog is represented here. And yes, you may even recognize yourself.

I feel sooo accidentally cool once more. =D

"Que es El Tiki Tiki?" - an explanation

We just got back to California from Miami yesterday. I am just starting to sort through photos and videos and memories.

My birthday celebrations extended out over the full week. (I am NOT complaining.) And I got to hang with (almost) everyone I knew or was related to at one point or another. Seriously, this trip was complete bliss.

As most of you already know, I also blog over at Babalú and at the Tiki Tiki. I was particularly pleased that I got to hang with all the folks I usually only see online.

My friend and partner in blogdom, Carrie Ferguson-Weir, is much more on the ball than I am (and much bossier, too, but that's not important right now) and has already started posting videos of all the people we chased down with our video cameras to talk about "el Tiki Tiki."

 

Do yourself a favor and head on over to the Tiki Tiki this week. You won't be sorry. I think the interviews we got were pure gold. Oh, and don't be surprised if you find yourself on camera there, too.

Here she puts me on the spot. (Yes, my face really is that round. I know. Shut up.)

How to Turn 55 While in Miami

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:

A Big, Fat, Cuban Family Birthday Party Invitation

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!

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

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?

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

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...)

*Dreamhouse sold separately*

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.

Read any good books lately?

• 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

Hey! I wrote a cookbook!

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.

Keeping it Together

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.

If  you have any questions about this project, feel free to ask in the comment section or just shoot me an email. ;-)

Life skills 101

Adam, my 23 year old son, made soup. From scratch. (I know. Shut up.)

Here's Adam in the kitchen making soup and Poseidon the Cat, supervising...

He made The Best Tomato Soup EVER.

That story and of course, the recipe are posted today on Tiki Tiki. (just follow the link above.)

It's our first day of (home)school for this school year and I am already feeling good about what I've taught them. =D

I *heart* the internets!

As if I wasn't busy enough in real life....

I'm also stretched a little thin in my cyberlife. (Is that a word? It should be.)

There's a quiz over at the Tiki Tiki I want you to take. Come on, be a sport. Grab a cup of coffee and click on over.

(Plus, it makes me look really good if there are lots of comments. Thanks! =D)