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Posts from the ‘General’ Category

Jan 25

7 Comments

Llapingachos con Salsa de Maní

Since I’m heading to Miami ING half marathon in a few days, I wasn’t sure if  I’d have time to post. Snow-bound this weekend, Iwas looking for a project when I turned to Elizabeth Lambert Ortiz’s The Book of Latin American Cooking and found a great pre-run option that I could just about get in.  I’ve always had a weakness for around the world books and this one’s been a resource for awhile though I haven’t included it until now. I’ve rarely see Ecuadorian recipes so I decided to make Llapingachos. Read more

Jan 13

5 Comments

One Girl Cookies

I was excited but not surprised when I heard that Dawn and Dave of One Girl Cookies would be publishing their their first cookbook.  Walking into their Cobble Hill cafe and bakery is something like walking into a story so it was only a matter of time before it was bound between two covers.

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Jan 6

6 Comments

Rosca de Reyes

I haven’t brought myself to take down the tree just yet. It was love at first sight when I spotted it early December – shivering and cold on the corner of my block. A little plumper then the elegant, well-shaped trees on either side, I realized something about myself that morning, namely that I like a fat tree. Since I was staying home this year, I gave myself the luxury of a full-sized tree knowing I wouldn’t have to go away for the holidays and come back to find it dry and sinking on the stand. For once, I was able to use all of my ornaments big and small and it couldn’t get enough. No matter how many decorations I put on the tree, the branches just seemed to swallow them whole until we had to literally trim them down. If they made spanx for trees, I would have used them. On Christmas Eve, my favorite gift was a vintage Angel topper my sister hunted down for me so the tree was finally complete. In some countries, the night of January 5 that precedes it, also known as twelfth night or the 12th day of Christmas, is considered the end of the season when decorations should be taken down (don’t worry about looking it up – it’s 12 drummers drumming). I wanted to keep it up at least until Three Kings Day or Epiphany. Sadly, the time has come. Read more

Dec 30

3 Comments

Catching Up and Getting it Right in December

After 364 days of playing catch-up, there is still a list of things I’d like to accomplish before 2011 escapes me. Though I won’t give up until the last grape is eaten tomorrow at midnight, at this point, I may have to consider, the somewhat likely possiblity, that there’s a chance, that I might not get it all in. Maybe. If that does happen, at least I’ll have a brand new year with a whole extra day to get it right.

Not to knock 2011, but it was a difficult year for many of us. As challenging as these economic times are for individuals just getting by, it can be devastating to non-profits that depend on all of us to have just a little extra to give. With the end of the tax year fast approaching, I thought it was a good time to highlight some of the organizations whose work has inspired me in the past for those who don’t want to wait till next year to get it right, or at the very least, need one more tax deduction… Read more

Dec 25

1 Comment

It’s a Wonderful Life


Or at least it can be. Have a wonderful Christmas!

Dec 24

4 Comments

Mantecados de Ánis

Polvorones, the Spanish shortbread cookies have been my favorite for the holidays. Just flour, sugar and sometimes almonds, they’re perfect as gifts – simple but flavorful they go with everything. I was working on this spiced almond version for the Cooking Channel’s All Star Holiday Cookie Recipes  post when I started thinking of mantecados. Though they’re some times used interchangeably polvorones, mantecados should be made with lard – something I’d been avoiding despite the assurances of Michael Pollan, the Lee Bros., and legions of Cuban grandmothers. For frying it made sense, but for baked goods I associated it with heavier and denser cookies and pastries. Read more

Dec 20

Hungry at the Beach

This is my third and final post about Jamaica (at least until my next visit). I’m happily staying close to home for Christmas but with everyone else in transit, I thought it would be good time to linger in the Caribbean awhile longer and pick up where I left off… Read more

Dec 5

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Catching Up in November

If you’ve followed me the last couple of weeks than you probably understand why its taken me till December to catch up to November. Together with the Thanksgiving/Christmas onslaught and some remodeling I’ve been doing on my site, I’m starting to feel like a snow-globe post-shake, unsure of how it’s all going to settle. Now that I’ve moved my site into a new space, I look forward to decorating, so there will be more changes to come. Sadly because I miss it, I haven’t spent too much time in the kitchen recently.  Jamaica was so inspiring that I’ve taken a few posts (with one more to go) to unpack it all. After one incredible trip to the Caribbean, I was back in NYC just a day then up in the air again and on my way to the Dominican Republic – so there will be a few more travel posts to follow. Read more

Oct 31

Catching Up in October


I usually use my catching-up posts to link to things I’ve read, but this October I thought I’d focus on what I’ve seen…Now that the vampire craze has given way to zombies, I hope the mad scientist is the next ones due for his close-up. I’ve never been a fan of Hollywood horror, but I started out the month with the new Almodóvar, The Skin I Live In, and loved it. It always feels so right when his latest arrives in fall – an over-saturated season to perfectly mirrors his over-saturated films. Set somewhere between Frankenstein and Hitchcock with the voice of Concha Buika (above) piping through, if you don’t think you could live there, then you haven’t seen the house. Read more

Oct 6

Catching Up to September

I took this picture at this year’s DUMBO Arts Festivalof Gabriel Barcia-Colombo’s  For Those Who Wait installation that pretty much captures my state of mind. Given that my monthly catching up posts typically run late, I probably should have picked a different name. I rarely catch-up, but with the clocks temporarily stopped, I’ll keep trying. Read more

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