hungry sofia

Jan 25

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 19

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Huevos con Nopales y Cilantro

I’ve always been a little afraid of cactus plants. Though inclined to like any vegetation that looks like an alien life form, the very idea of a cactus sends tiny invisible splinters to my fingers. In reality, it’s the cactus that should fear me, since I managed to kill one in college with the reasoning that if it could just survive in the dessert, it would flourish with regular watering. It did not. Read more

Jan 13

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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.

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

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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 29

Waiting It Out

Waiting out the rest of the year, the last week of December feels something like the end of a great night. The pressures of bringing together family and friends are over and you have a few extra days before the New Year to make plans, go to stores or avoid them, see friends, see movies, or just drift a little. After hosting my first complete Noche Buena this year, I was ready to drift. There was little food left but tons of chocolate – in the drawers, in the cabinets, on my mind. I decided to do something. Read more

Dec 25

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It’s a Wonderful Life

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

Dec 24

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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 with 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 13

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Turning Three

I almost didn’t make a cake to celebrate Hungry Sofia’s third birthday, but then at times it felt like I might not make make it here period. There have been a million distractions pulling me away from the kitchen the last couple of months. Inspiration is not hard to find if your writing a food blog – we all have to eat and I’m always coming across a new shop, book or market – but actually getting to the kitchen and working something out is harder, much less writing about it. I’ll get it just right in my mind then draw a complete blank when I’m actually sitting down and ready to do something about it. Sometimes I feel like a three year old, getting so over simulated she tires herself out at her own party and ends up face down, party hat askew, face covered in fosting. Read more