Linda’s Carrot Cake

My friend Linda is one of the most organized and practical people I know.  She is also fun and smart, a great friend, mother and wife who splits her time between family life and as an active member of the Board of Directors of Fundación Pro-Ayuda de Puerto Rico. A few months ago while we…

Cupcakes

Cupcakes are one of my weaknesses.  There are few things in life I can unashamedly say; “I simply can’t resist to having one… or two!” . For most of the other temptations in my life, I’m pretty much in control and can keep my cool. However, there are weak points in my human imperfection that, like…

Delicadas de Limón (Lemon Squares)

Lemon Squares, sometimes called in Puerto Rico Delicadas de Limón, are definitely a popular sweet-tangy treat.  I like to make them as tokens of appreciation, for a family gathering or as a get well present.  The recipe I share with you in this post has been the result of years of testing and trying different…

Arroz con Gandules

The Holidays are here and in Puerto Rico this means having a weekly overdose of Arroz con Gandules, pasteles (ground plantain patties filled with stewed pork or chicken), lechón (bbq whole pork), Tembleque (coconut custard) and Coquito (Puertorrican eggnog spiced with rum) in every celebration.  Here, we make any excuse to have a party, so…

Sweet Potato Casserole

Thanksgiving Day is coming up and for me this year it means a plethora of family reunions since my youngest brother Manolo will be getting married during that weekend.  I’m grateful everyday for my immediate and extended family and circle of friends.  I love family reunions, even though it might include some drama, odd “caricature-like”…

Titi Magüi’s Bread Pudding

Titi Magüi was my “tia-abuela”, my grandma’s sister.  She never had children of her own, but she was always a constant in our lives, like a third grandmother.  As a little girl, she would babysit me so that my parents could go to the movies (I was an only child for 7 years).  Also, I…

Three Bean Salad

Beans are a great source of protein, complex carbohydrates (the good carbs that give energy to brain and muscles) and dietary fiber.  Also, beans have the “good fat” your body needs and a low glycemic index, meaning they have the ability to give you energy over a sustained period of time by slowly releasing its…

Almond Mantecaditos

As a young girl my grandmother Ita would make Mantecaditos for me every time she came to visit from Ponce, the southern part of the island.  I learned to make her recipe, a variation of  Carmen Aboy Valdejully’s cookbook Cocina Criolla.  Ita would alter the recipe and substitute vanilla for the almond extract and place…

Birthday Cake with Meringue Frosting

On Monday, it was my son’s 8th birthday so I made this delicious cake for him and our family to celebrate! This is a traditional vanilla birthday cake with meringue frosting.  My father calls it “drunken cake”  because I make the cake syrup with Amaretto di Sarono or Licor 43. To make the frosting, which…

Gouda Cheese Balls

This week I am making an early posting because on wednesday we are going away on vacation to Colorado for New Year’s Celebration.  The kids are very excited and looking forward to making snow angels and of course, skiing.  It’s a good change for us form the constant heat in Puerto Rico (although I am…