Jun 10
It’s technically still spring, so I spent most of yesterday cleaning out my closet. Storage is always a problem in my apartment, so I’m pretty good at throwing things away a little at a time – or so I thought. I was putting something away, looked up at a stack of t-shirts, and realized I could easily give half of them away – then one stack led to another. A few months ago, my friend sent me an article from organizational consultant, Marie Kondo. Read more
Oct 28
October was a whirlwind even before there was a Frankenstorm on the way. While we wait to wait it out, I thought it was a good time to catch-up for October. To start, I was thrilled to be part of an article written by Rachel Swarns – In the Kitchen, Holding on to Heritage Before It Slips Away – for the New York Times. I’ve also been spending a lot of time at The Latin Kitchen – building up a virtual spice rack both sweet and savory. To top it all, my sister Carmen (also my partner at La Filosofia) were included in a travel story for New York Magazine that metaphorically sent us to Norway. Read more
From the moment we returned to Mexico City, the meter was running. With only two more days, the list of things that we just had to do was growing. Taking the long way around through Condesa and along Reforma, we went back to the historic center of the city to pick up where we’d left off. Read more
Dec 22
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
Aug 16
I don’t usually let myself buy flowers. Frivolous in a million other ways, I become oddly practical when it comes to that. I’ll consider the enormous sunflowers bursting out of their buckets but head straight to the potted basil, lavender, and rosemary plants instead, preferring the kind of pretty you can eat. That’s why I get so excited when squash blossoms arrive at the markets. Since July, I’ve had them stuffed, fried, chopped and sauteed with tomatoes. Now that the summer is melting away and every day feels like Sunday night, each bag of blossoms has become that much more precious – shriveled and golden, bugs and all. Read more
Mar 25
A few months ago a friend recommended Frida’s Fiestas: Recipes and Reminiscences of Life with Frida Kahlo. Written by her step-daughter Guadalupe Rivera and Marie-Pierre Colle, it’s part cookbook and part food memoir. Organized by month, each chapter centers on the holidays and seasons as they were celebrated in the Blue House in Coyoacán. Describing a trip with Frida to the pyramids of San Juan Teotihuacán, the author writes:
After offering us the traditional refreshment of agua de chía, doña Rosa invited us to eat. She had prepared a number of Lenten dishes typically served throughout the central Mexican plain, where the gods that Frida invoked in her paintings had once upon a time resided. As it turned out, doña Rosa and don Tomas extended their hospitality to us for three more days, days in which reality was inseparable from magic. Read more
Finalist for the 2015 James Beard Foundation Award in the International Cookbook Category for The Cuban Table
hungry sofia 