hungry sofia

Dec 5

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

Nov 29

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Hungry in the Blue Mountains

Just a few hours after landing in Jamaica, we were heading to Irish Town, St. Andrew. Just 30 minutes from the center of Kingston and 3100 feet above sea level, we made our way through a winding road crowded with people coming home from school and work. Like watching a choreographed dance without music, the opposite side of the road driving gave the impression of near misses that weren’t near misses at all. Towards the end, the road was rocking in front of me like a metronome. I closed my eyes the rest of the way. Read more

Nov 22

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Landing in Jamaica

I was promised a powder-puff landing. That’s what my friend Bruce said we’d have in Jamaica – wheels down, puff, puff, touchdown. What happened instead was one of the most terrifying descents I’ve ever experienced – complete with a woman two rows back, loudly making her peace with God, and praying for deliverance. Shell shocked – I started to doubt “the powder puff” landing was really a thing until I heard a mother in the immigration line, point to her children and say, “they’ll never know, they’ll never experience a powder puff.” I may never know either. The machete landing as my sister called it – chop, chop , scream – I could safely cross off my list. Still, the end was the same – we were in Jamaica. Read more

Nov 8

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Quinotto de Champiñones

I usually dread fall-back but I’ve been looking forward to daylight savings for weeks. Normally a morning person, getting up in the pitch black, confusing the still bright streetlamps with my alarm clock, and starting every day with the say-it-aint-sos was really getting to me. For once, I was willing to trade darker afternoons for brighter mornings. Of course, playing mind games with the sun has its price. As someone with penchant for photographing their food, I’m sure I’ll be cursing the change when I’m trying to get a decent picture at 3-o’-clock in the afternoon. Read more

Nov 1

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Empanaditas de Calabaza

I only really became aware of el Dia de los Muertos a couple of years ago but then it was love at first sight – the papel picado, the calacas that would be frightening if they weren’t so eerily famliar, the food welcoming spirits home as though no time has passed. There’s an easy tension to the way it’s celebrated – a balance between the pre-Columbian and post-Discovery, the corporeal and the spiritual, the seen and unseen – that’s lovely to live in for a couple of days. In the past, I’ve made pan de muerto but this year wanted to try empanaditas de calabaza. Families may start their vigil with the ofrenda, but they see the spirits back to the cemetery. Whatever I made, I wanted it to be filled with fall spices, comforting, and most importantly, portable. 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 28

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Caldo de Costilla

I’ve started to think of Los Paisanos meat market on Smith Street as my own, personal, model UN. Ostensibly Italian, it’s largely staffed by Central and South Americans. Though helpful when I’m looking to translate a recipe, it can get touchy. Guatemala may concede but Mexico isn’t too happy when I defer to Colombia. This is what happened when I went there a couple of weeks ago with a vague idea that I wanted to try caldo de costilla – a Colombian beef rib broth flavored with potatoes, scallions and cilantro. Not surprisingly, without consensus, the results were uneven. Read more

Oct 21

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Hot Chocolate with Máchica

This post is brought to you by several false starts and a Mac meltdown. Last week, I was trying to close out of an application when my computer completely froze. Like anyone who doesn’t really understand them, my first instinct was to do a panicky hard reset. Though it turned on, it only gave me a greyed out start-up screen with the endless scrolling ellipsis doing what I’ve now learned is “beachballing”. Several hours, three calls to Apple support, two failed re-installation attempts, and a visit to the Genius bar later, I still couldn’t get off the beach. Told that I’d most likely have to wipe out my hard drive and start over, I made yet another visit to the Apple store thinking that if it came to that, at least I’d be in a safe place. 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

Sep 29

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Fainá a Caballo

My oven and I have been locked in a battle of wills – and I’m losing. It will work just fine for a couple of days, do whatever I ask of it, then for no particular reason refuse to heat up at all. Its left me with unroasted tomatoes, ungratined cheese, unbaked cakes and generally frustrated. Getting anything fixed in my apartment is an ordeal and I’ve had no fewer than three visits from the building’s supers where they stand in the kitchen, look over the oven, agree that “yes, it’s not working”, then leave. While I appreciate their sympathy, the nodding isn’t getting me any closer to 350 degrees. Read more