hungry sofia

Jan 13

New Routine

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks under water. Not that I’ve been unusually busy, I’ve just returned to my aqua girl routines in hopes of washing away the holiday excess – drinking water like it’s my job, swimming laps like I’m being chased by a shark, and looking to add more fish to my weekly diet. Cooking fish has always made me nervous. At best, I worry that I’ll let it go too long and over cook it, at worst, that I’ll poison everyone I love in one fell swoop. I usually stick to the sushi grade varieties in the belief that if I’d just as soon eat it raw, there isn’t anything I can do to make it deadly. Still, no one likes a rut and the guys at the fish store automatically move towards the salmon before I’ve even placed my order. Sometimes I’ll change it to tuna or trout just to keep them guessing but I’m pretty sure it’s daring only to me. After a few weeks of seeing pargo (snapper) on every Cuban restaurant menu in Miami, I thought it was time switch things up again. Read more

Jan 5

4 Comments

Mousse de Turrón

I’m not devoutly superstitious so I have no problem picking and choosing which New Year’s traditions to follow. While 12 grapes at midnight are non-negotiable anywhere Spanish is spoken, for the rest of Latin America it’s pretty much an open field. I’ve written wishes for the coming months (Venezuela) then throw them in the fire so no one could steal them. Unfortunately, I forgot what I’d written before the paper had turned to ash, leaving me with unstarted resolutions. If I lived in Honduras, I’d make an “Año Viejo” doll stuffed with fireworks to set off at midnight if I didn’t find effigies and fireworks equally frightening. I’ve never thrown a bucket of water out of my window to rid myself of evil spirits (Puerto Rico), but a water pipe bursting a few years ago started off one of my favorite New Year’s nights and great year. A Peruvian friend suggested I wander around the block with a suitcase if I wanted to travel in 2011, but I’ve had enough of packing bags and getting nowhere in the last few days. Fortunately, everyone seems to be in agreement on an underwear color scheme for the occassion (red=love, green=money, yellow=luck, white=health). I don’t know if it works, but at the very least it forces you to get your priorities straight before midnight. Read more

Dec 31

2 Comments

Catching Up in December

I briefly considered skipping my catching up post for December. The new year came on to quickly after the chaos of the blizzard and it had been a relatively quiet online month before that. Still, counting out the grapes for this year’s countdown, I realized I couldn’t end the year on an incomplete. Though I normally pull together stories and links from other sites, when I unexpectedly received my wordpress report card reviewing my year online, I thought it would be a good opportunity to catch up on my own. So in lieu of the twelve grapes I’ll be throwing back at midnight to welcome in 2011, here’s a quick catch-up list of the most popular posts from each month (with a few of my favorites mixed in) of the past year. Read more

Dec 29

2 Comments

Yuca Frita con Salsa a la Huancaína

I am grounded. So completely grounded. Scheduled to return to New York just after Christmas, my flight was canceled because of the blizzard and I’m still in Miami. Desperate to get back in the sno-globe, I spent hours refreshing the Continental Airlines app to check flights and badgering Ask Alex – the virtual “expert” on their site – with questions. Only getting back canned answers and unhelpful links, she’s become my sworn enemy. Still, there are worse (and colder) places to be stranded and I don’t mind having more time with Christmas leftovers. A couple of weeks ago, I made salsa a la huancaína over yuca frita. With piles of yuca left over from Nochebuena dinner, I thought it would be a good time to post the recipe (now that I suddenly have all the time in the world). Read more

Dec 25

Merry Christmas

Hope this Christmas brings you something new to try!

Dec 22

1 Comment

Down to the Wire

This is a last minute post about last minute shopping. Pressed for time and more importantly money, it’s tempting to play it safe. Buy something you know they want, a gift certificate to a store they love, or the safest of all – not picking an item or even a store – just a pre-paid tab anywhere Master Card, Visa or American Express is accepted. All are good options and if any of them is waiting for me under a tree – thank you, I love it! But if you’ve waited but still want to find something bigger than an envelope and smaller than a bread box (or an actual bread box), I scouted out a few stores in my neighborhood that have never failed me. With little time to spare, I want to know that I can still find something thoughtful, unique, or beautiful whenever possible. Here are just a few stores where I found all three. If you can’t make it Smith Street before Christmas, they’re definitely worth a visit soon if only to use those handy gift cards. Read more

Dec 18

4 Comments

Hungry Birthday

This weekend marks Hungry Sofia’s second birthday. In that first post, I talked about wanting to eat my Christmas tree (still do) and mentioned a bûche de noël but included no recipes or pictures. Two years later and closing in 300 posts, I thought it was time for the bûche to have its closeup. With friends coming over once again before going there separate ways for the holidays, I had the perfect excuse to make my site a birthday cake. Read more

Dec 15

Favorites in 2010

While my kitchen shelves groan audibly every time they see the familiar Amazon swoosh coming at them, I don’t feel equipped to offer a best cookbooks of the year list. I couldn’t begin to cover all the great books that made my wish list this year. Rather than coming up with one more “best of” selection, I decided to write up a quick list of my favorite releases covering Latin American and Spanish cuisine instead. I thought this would be the only thing they have in common but as jotted them down, a theme emerged – classically trained chefs who are passionate about their region offering traditional recipes with modern innovations – contemporary baroque. It was a good year. Read more

Dec 9

4 Comments

Turrón de Chocolate y Almendras

There are few things I look forward to at Christmas that I couldn’t have any time of the year. Unlike childhood where they withhold the holiday to the very end, of the very last month, until you just can’t take it anymore, as an adult you can fly to snow, buy your own presents, mix your own nog. Turrón, however is one thing that, while I could technically indulge in year around, I only ever have at Christmas. A specialty item in May, it’s stacked sky high in every possible flavor by November and the challenge is to remember everyone’s favorite before they sell out and you’re left to choose from three kinds of coconut and a mashed up box of sugar-free Alicante. Read more

Dec 3

9 Comments

Tortilla de Papas y Chorizo

I love the holidays but so much joy can be exhausting. The things I normally love doing – seeing friends, decking the halls, shopping, traveling – become stressful when done for 31+ consecutive days. I miss my kitchen and get in a panic about getting home too early to sleep and too late to cook. Faced with the prospect of nighttime pop tarts (organic maybe but still) and cold bowls of cereal, I opted for tortilla de papas instead. Read more