Posts by Marta:

Cuban Ingenuity or Resolviendo

February 25th, 2011



Cubans may be the original Life Hackers. So, today in a celebration of cultura we offer up examples of Cuban Ingenuity, the old-style and current.  We come from a people who have kept 60-year-old cars running with gum and random parts. People who have built floating cars to carry them over the Florida Straights. Something is broken? Fix it! Come up with a “Cuban Solution.”

By Marta: My dad was an engineer. A Cuban engineer. Which made him brilliant and innovative with just a touch of Mad Scientist to him.

When we first arrived in this country, someone had given us an old, very used five foot tall refrigerator. We were grateful to have it, since we arrived here with nothing.

But sadly, it was old, and a bit fragile. It had one of those metal handles that you pull down in order to open. Having six kids in the family constantly pulling on that old handle was a bit too much for the old fridge to handle, (pun intended) and so it soon broke off.

My dad, the Cuban Engineer to the rescue!

He found the largest screwdriver he could find. Then he attached some bolts to the bottom to attach it where the old handle had been and voila! New refrigerator handle! We have no photos of this amazing thing. We barely have photos of ourselves during this time, but that’s not important right now.

Check out the sketch I’ve drawn from my very vivid memory of the thing. I always found it in turns amazing and hideous.

Damn Cubans!



DIY iPad holder, made from a clothes hanger.

By Carrie: On my first visit to Havana, my aunt and her friends hired a car to take us all to the beach. It was a huge green wagon from the 1940s. I sat behind the driver, and every time he honked at someone, he didn’t hit the steering wheel, he pulled on a chord that ran the length of the car ceiling’s left side – right above my head. Sparks flew each and every time. Right over my head. Did you get that? I thought we were going to explode.

That guy and his horn was one of many examples of “inventando” that I saw during my visits to Cuba. And, as someone who had Cuban grandfathers, grandmothers, uncles and everything else, I was no stranger to this ingenuity, this making due.

I inherited a little bit of it.

A few months ago I received an iPad from a client and quickly went out and bought a cover and a wireless keyboard. Not cheap, but necessary And then I realized I needed a stand. I priced them in local stores and online. $40 for a stand? No way.

The gene that tells me to “arreglatelas,” sent me to YouTube. Because, well, the people who upload DIY stuff over there are as genius and insane as la gente I love.

And witness my food processor. A couple of years ago, at Thanksgiving, when I was mixing up my famous pumpkin flan, the liquids started flying out at me, via a small crack in the container. The quick fix — duct tape — worked so well, I haven’t bothered to replace the thing.



Duct tape saves the flan.

And, my flan is extra good — served with a dose of Cuban ingenuity!

Here are some great Cuban ingenuity links from around the Web.

• Learn more and see photos about the Floating Cubans, or Truck-o-Nauts.
• Read this story about what Cuban girls used as hair bands, and more “inventando.”
• Also on Cuban designer and artist Ernesto Oroza’s YouTube page look at videos listed as Desobediencia Tecnologica.

Check out this great video starring  Oroza talking about the strange, interesting, smart things the people of Cuba have “invented” to survive.

Now, what are some of your examples of Cuban or Latino inventando? I know you have stories.

3 Comments "

Key to Successful Decluttering: Surrender

February 1st, 2011

At the end of last year (was that really only 6 weeks ago?) I had some physical problems that I had been ignoring. Yes, ignoring. Don’t lecture me. I know.

You know where this is going don’t you?

The more I ignored, the worse things got until January 1st arrived and all I could think of was making an appointment with my doctor to maybe get some help.

So, there’s good news and bad news: My bloodwork and “numbers” are all where they should be, but there is something that will require a minor surgery in order to clear it up. Something I never would have known if the pain hadn’t gotten so bad that I finally surrendered and gave it the attention it deserved.

I’ll just have to endure some temporary discomfort in order to get to where I want to be.

My recent health concerns have become a metaphor for my life lately.

I’ve ignored the growing piles of papers and books on every flat surface in the house. I have open shelves in my kitchen and they became a catch-all for every bowl and pan and small appliance I’ve ever owned. I couldn’t see the top of my desk. In our bedroom,  I had to wade through piles of towels that were clean and folded, but I had been too lazy to walk the 12 feet to the over-flowing linen closet. On our coffee table sat every video we’ve watched in the last month.

The pain and discomfort of living this chaotic lifestyle made me stop dead in my tracks. Who am I? How did I get to this point? Again I found myself raising the white flag of surrender. I give up!

And so the past month I have made it a point (between doctor visits) to remove the visible clutter from my home and life. The tops of desks and tables and kitchen cabinets. Not that I was ignoring the jumbled drawers and cupboards. But I needed a few victories before I could tackle the bigger, deeper stuff.

I would walk around the park in the morning and come home with a fresh attitude and clean off a shelf in the afternoon. I didn’t have the physical or mental energy to do much more.

And then a funny thing happened.

I started to lighten up. My mood improved. My body started dropping pounds. I started sleeping better. As I gave my body fresh air and sunshine, I also made breathing room in my home.

I’m not at 100%. I am still facing surgery. My house is not at 100% either. But we’re moving in the right direction.

There are still closets that need decluttering. But I’m starting from a better place. And because I completely missed January 1st, I’m stating my intention today, February 1st.

I’m committed to making lots of space for many wonderful things in 2011.

I know it’s a little late, but that’s my new mantra: Tarde pero seguro.

9 Comments "

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

December 31st, 2010

My non-Hispanic friends dress up and go to parties on New Year’s Eve.

They make lovely adult conversation and a few minutes before midnight they turn the TV on and watch the ball drop in Times Square in New York. They yell “Happy New Year!” in unison and air kiss each other.

It’s all very sweet and civilized.

We Cubans turn up the Crazy Dial and take New Year’s Superstitions Traditions to another level.

Our friend, Christina F. Gomez-Pina of the inspiring La Cocina de Christina (who also happens to be Cuban, but that’s not important right now) was gracious enough to collect some of these Midnight Must-do’s for us to share.

1. Read Walter Mercado’s predictions in El Nuevo Herald and do what he says for your sign.  Color, flower, scent, etc.  Just do it.
2. Eat 12 grapes, one for each month of the year.
3. Drink a glass of champagne (or cidra) as you toast the new year.
4. Throw a cazuela of water out the front door – bye bye old year.
5. Grab the following items and head out the front door:
6. a) Suitcase: Get your suitcase and walk around the block – for travel in the new year. b) An egg: Throw an egg over your right shoulder in an intersection – for good luck.
7. Bells: Ring the bell as you walk around the block to ring in the new year.
8. Have someone give you 3 garbanzo beans to keep in your wallet all year – for more money in the new year.
9. I (Marta) have heard that you should wear different color underwear – yellow for fortune, red for love.
10. Mop the house and save the dirty water to throw out at midnight. (Throwing out any bad juju with it – see item #4.)

Here are some more suggestions from our readers:

No matter what you do when the clock strikes twelve, we hope you will be busy celebrating and ringing in 2011 with those you love best.

But maybe you really should consider the red underwear….por si las moscas.

Happy New Year!

5 Comments "

Looking Back at 2010 – A Quiz

December 28th, 2010

I am already looking towards the new year and all the hope and promise a  Happy, Shiny New Year brings. But before I start making resolutions, I think it’s important to look back and evaluate this past year. Here are a few thoughtful questions that I’ve answered. I invite you to get a little introspective and do the same.

1. How is your life different today compared to a year ago? How is it the same? Different: My youngest are teenagers and are not home as much as they used to be. I’m feeling a little empty-nestish, and I have much more time to myself. The same: I still spend way too much time online.

2. What do you wish would have been different this past year? I felt like I spent a lot of time reacting to situations thrown in my direction. I wish I had been more personally pro-active.

3. How did 2010 live up to your expectations? I had hoped to travel in 2010 and I did a lot of that.

4. If you could go back in time to January of 2010 and live this year over again, would you? Yes. I went through many changes and many emotions, not all were positive. But I would still embrace the experiences.

5. What are your top favorite memories from the past year?

• I helped put together my daughter’s production of Fiddler on the Roof and I got to design costumes and paint sets and backdrops of my own design. It was quite stretching and a very affirming way of using my talents.
• We spent a glorious week on vacation at the beach. It was pretty much perfection all around.
• Getting to bake in the Betty Crocker Kitchens was a big highlight for me.

6. What is on your “wish list” for the coming year? I am looking forward to doing some home improvements this year as well as some personal improvements. I hope to be doing much more writing and experimenting with new versions of old recipes. I know just enough film editing to be dangerous, I plan to learn to edit more professionally – to that end, I’m taking an editing class. I have neglected my garden because I’ve had such an outward focus, so I plan to spend much more time digging in the dirt.

And of course, I have high hopes that there will be a lot more dulce de leche in the coming year.

Now it’s your turn: Answer all or just a few of the questions. Just copy and paste into the comment section with your own answers. Don’t be shy. We want to know.

Let’s get the Tiki Tiki started!

3 Comments "

Feliz Navidad from Us To You

December 24th, 2010

Carrie is in Miami preparing to celebrate a fabulous Nochebuena with her family. I am in Mission Viejo preparing to host dozens of noisy Cubans for our traditional Cuban Nochebuena feast.

We both want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas y Feliz Navidad y Un Prospero Año Nuevo. Thanks so much for sharing the Tiki Tiki with us this year.

You are our most precious gift.

Feliz Navidad!

2 Comments "

My First Great Love

December 21st, 2010

Christmas, 1964.  My family was living in Miami and still struggling to assimilate to life in the states. My two oldest sisters had moved to California to get married and it was the first Christmas my nuclear family would be separated.

My parents didn’t have much to provide us with Christmas presents and we knew it. We could count on a new board game and maybe some books or a new baby doll. We still celebrated our Nochebuena with the roasted pig. But I remember, even as an 8 year old, that I should not have too many expectations for gifts.

The Package arrived on Christmas Eve.

My two married sisters who were living in California had sent us a giant box full of treasures. They were both working and had no children and so they spent their money on gifts for US.

One of my gifts was Skipper, Barbie’s Little Sister and I thought she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Long mahogany hair and Japan flats. (They said Japan on the bottom and so they are still called that by collectors, but that’s not important right now.)

Back then, you would get ONE doll and she would have a multitude of beautiful outfits and accessories. And Skipper had the most wonderful things! A bowl of tiny yarn and a mini princess telephone. Real tin baking pans and perfectly carved wooden croquet mallets. She even had her own Barbie.

It was love at first sight.

I obviously kept her all these years, along with her accessories. I had her carefully stashed in a box with tissue. And her little outfits I kept in ziplock bags. And no, I never let my own daughters play with her. She was just too precious to me and I never thought they would understand or enjoy her like I did. And so she lived in the box and occasionally I would bring her out and just look at her and smile.

Christmas, 2004. Forty years after I first received Skipper as a Christmas present, my husband surprised me by having her beautifully framed in a large shadow box with all of her outfits. It was a wonderfully thoughtful gift. Almost as good as getting her the first time.

She sits now at the top of the stairs and I get to enjoy her every single day. It’s a wonderful reminder of my happy childhood and I confess that there are times I still think it would be fun to dress her up for a day of baking, or skating or ballet class. Or tuck her into her pj’s after a hard day of playing pretend.

I still love her.

For me, Skipper was The Best Christmas Present Ever. Twice.

2 Comments "

Even Our Gift Tags Speak Spanglish! – Free Download

December 15th, 2010

I get so inspired at this time of the year. Seriously. I want to make everything myself.

My current reality is that I can’t do it all (so much for the Bionic Woman fantasy. *sigh*), but I can do a lot.

Today I created some Gift Tags you can print on sticker paper and cut out the images and tag your packages. The simplicity of it makes me smile.

So, from Me to You, here are some FREE Spanglish Gift Tags to Download. They’re in English and Spanish, because many of us, like these tags, are bilingual and we don’t just say Merry Christmas! We also say, Feliz Navidad!

We give both Gifts and Regalos. Not only For You, but also Para Ti. Enjoy!

Click on this link to download your FREE Gift Tags pdf MMD Spanish English Gift Tags.pdf

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For You: Feliz Navidad, Merry Christmas and Dulce de Leche

December 13th, 2010

Giving Dulce de Leche and Crema de Vie

I’ve been busy cooking up Christmas gifts in my kitchen. Cookies? No. I like to give gifts with a little more flair (and lots of leche condensada).

I usually make Creme de Vie, which is a Cuban egg nog. (Best receta cubana de Crema de Vie recipe here. Oh si!).

Or Dulce de Leche (Of course! Easy Dulce de Leche in a Crock Pot recipe here).

The cool thing about making either or both of those is that they’re both very easy to make and I just add a bit of creative packaging to add to the Wow(!) Factor.

And because it’s Christmas and I’m a giver, here are some free downloads of my own personal designs so you can amaze your friends and family.

Dulce de Leche and Crema de Vie are perfect gifts for the party hostess, a neighbor, the nice lady from church, the babysitter, the friend who has it all, the foodie — you name it. Everyone loves homemade dulce de leche and crema de vie. These labels make the gift extra personal.

1. Crema de Vie ~ Feliz Navidad! Labels in Red. MMDCrema de Vie Labels RED

2. Crema de Vie ~ Feliz Navidad! Labels in Green. MMD Crema de vie labels GREEN

3. Creme de Vie ~ Merry Christmas! Labels in Red. MMD Creme de Vie MERRY Labels RED

4. Creme de Vie ~ Merry Christmas! Labels in Green. MMD Creme de Vie MERRY Labels GREEN

5. Creme de Vie ~ Merry Christmas! Tags. MMD Creme de Vie Tags RED.pdf

6. Dulce de Leche Label in Red. MMD Dulce de Leche Labels RED

7. Dulce de Leche Label in Green. MMD Dulce de Leche Labels GREEN

I found these cute little jars at Pier I Imports. And I created the labels about 2 inches round and printed them on photo paper. I used my Fiskars 2 inch punch and stuck the new “sticker” I had just created onto the top of the Dulce de Leche jar. You can also most certainly trim them out with scissors. Aren’t they adorable? Just wait for those inevitable “oohs and aahs.” Plus the gift inside is SWEET!

There it is. I’ve given you all I have to give for today. I do have a few more tricks up my sleeves. I’m designing my own Christmas gift tags. Yes, of course I’ll share. (I’m cool that way.)

Dulce de Leche and Crema de Vie are perfect gifts for the party hostess, a neighbor, the nice lady from church, the babysitter, the friend who has it all, the foodie — you name it. Everyone loves homemade dulce de leche and crema de vie.

Merry Christmas and Feliz Navidad! Go create something! If you decide to use my labels, please take photos and share on our Tiki Tiki Facebook page.

And, careful with the crema de vie!

Besos,

Marta

19 Comments "

We say “Merry Christmas” – A Giveaway

December 5th, 2010

One of my favorite things about the holidays is the exchange of greetings. Yes, I’m the one who loves to get Christmas cards and letters detailing my friends’ lives over the past year.

It’s that social-Cuban-connector part of me that always smiles when I see the return address on an envelope with the name of an old friend.

For my part, I’ve been sending out photo greetings for the past 30+ years. (Yes, I’m that old.) It’s become an important part of our Christmas tradition.

I like to think that people are happy to see our smiling faces and are maybe curious to see what my family (of which I’m extremely proud!) looks like.

So, here, for your viewing pleasure are the Darby Family Christmas Photo Greetings from the past few years.

In 2007, we had attended a family wedding and I thought we’d get a great shot of the six of us together all dressed up. My favorite ended up being the one where Eric grabbed the camera and extended his arm. Go figure!

[Creative Note: The photo frame and wreath "sticker" are from Designer Digitals - I apologize for not remembering the name of the kit. The typeface I used for our names is appropriately called "Santa's Sleigh."]

In 2008, we had had a Toga Party for my son, Adam’s birthday and I was particularly fond of how this photo captured us in all our uber-geek glory.

Again, I created the design myself with the help of Designer Digitals.

Last year, we had our photo taken by the photographer from the Orange County Register who was photographing our family for my Coming to America story. I used Shutterfly to design the card. All I had to do was upload to their site and follow directions. I received the card just a few days later with envelopes all shiny and ready to mail.

This past year, Adam has moved to Northern California and was only in town for a few days. Our next door neighbor happens to be a professional photographer and I was delighted that he was willing to work with me when I insisted we haul one of our red leather chairs out into the street. (I had a vision. Details here.)

For this one I just added a strip of digital paper to the top and wrote Merry Christmas in Scriptina and our names in Helvetica. I printed them two to a page on photo paper using my color printer. They needed to be trimmed, but I was quite pleased with how they turned out.

Now it’s your turn. We’d like to invite you to share your holiday greetings with us. Please send us a copy of your photo cards (vintage or current day) to info at TikiTiki blog dot com. If you give us permission, we’d love to publish them for all the world to see.

GIVEAWAY! If you’re looking for a great place to get your holiday cards done, the generous folks at Snapfish.com have offered a $50 gift certificate to one lucky Tiki Tiki reader. Actually, they have a wide variety of photo gifts, like books and mugs, as well as greeting cards and various photo print sizes to choose from.

In order to enter the drawing for the $50 gift certificate to Snapfish, please answer one or all of the following questions:

• Do you send out photo greetings?
• Do you typically send out photos of just the kids or of the entire family?
• Do you ever dress up in crazy ways?
• Don’t we look fabulous in our red leather chair in the middle of the street? (Actually, this is a trick question. You don’t really get any extra points for answering, I just want to make sure you’re paying attention, but that’s not important right now.)

Leave your answers in the comment section of this post. Just to sweeten the pot, if you leave a comment AND send us your card (via email) it will count as an extra entry. We’ll choose the gift certificate winner on Thursday, December 10, 2010 at 11 am Pacific Time.

We just learned that our blog friend, Dariela has quite a few great designs at Snapfish. Take a look:

In the meantime, send us your photo greetings!

Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad!

19 Comments "

Comelata of the Seas

November 30th, 2010

I often say that I lead a charmed life. In fact, I think I’ve said it enough that now there’s something out there in the universe which makes it so.

The week before Thanksgiving, Eric and I were privileged to participate in the inaugural sailing of the largest cruise ship in the world, Royal Caribbean International’s Allure of the Seas.

We never really envisioned ourselves as cruisers. Cruising vacations seemed to be the domain of older, moneyed travelers. In fact, it sounded kind of dull. What is there to do on a ship for days?

Once we experienced the Allure of the Seas, we experienced a conversion. We are definitely planning our next vacation on the high seas.

What did we do? well….we ate. A lot.

There’s so much I can tell you about the ship and all its fabulous features, but I want to focus on the Phenomenal Eating Experience.

There were twenty-six (26!) different food venues aboard the Allure of the Seas. And miles and miles of kitchens galleys. They make everything from scratch. All the bread. All the pastries. I was delighted to get a tour of the place where all of the culinary amazingness happens.

Cruising, I learned, is no longer just a main-dining-room-early-or-late-seating kind of thing. Besides the Dining Room there are 8 other specialty restaurants on the ship. Yes. Restaurants, people. Totally genius.

We sampled (and photographed) just about every meal. (We also managed to find a Cuban sandwich in one of the cafés, but that’s not important right now.) Our favorite restaurant by far was Giovanni’s Table. Yes, Italian. I know. Who AM I?

I think what I loved most about this is that the meal is served in courses – family style. Lots of dishes brought to the table at once and everyone gets to taste everything. It’s exactly the way I would do it if I was in charge. Just to add to the awesomeness, out of the 3,000 passengers aboard the Allure of the Seas, we happened to be dining with a table full of Cubans. (See? Charmed.)

But the dish that completely won my heart? Bomboloni. An Italian doughnut.

I’m definitely planning on making these for the holidays. Besides, it’s just fun to say. Come on. Say it with me. “Bomboloni.” You smiled just now, didn’t you?

Prego! (That means “you’re welcome” in Italian.) ;-)

The following recipe is from the Carte du Jour Cookbook – the best recipes from the Restaurants of Royal Caribbean International.

Bomboloni alla Toscana (Tuscan Doughnuts with Warm Chocolate Sauce)

BOMBOLONI:

• 1 Tbsp. dry yeast
• 2 Tbsp. lukewarm water
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup granualted sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter – cubed
• Vegetable oil for frying

CUSTARD:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 vanilla bean, split
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted

GARNISH:

• 1/2 cup chocolate sauce, purchased

1. Place yeast and water into a small bowl and mix until yeast has dissolved.
2. Place flour, eggs, sugar and salt in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat at medium speed for 10 seconds. Add yeast mixture and milk and beat for 3 minutes at medium-high speed or until dough holds together. Add cubed butter and beat for another 5 minutes or until dough no longer sticks to the side of the mixing bowl.
3. Remove dough from mixing bowl, spread over a lightly floured baking sheet and flatten until it is about 3/4 inch thick. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
4. Meanwhile, for custard, combine milk and vanilla bean in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil.
5. In a glass or stainless steel bow., whisk together egg yolks and sugar for 5 minutes or until mixture has thickened, add flour and mix well. Discard vanilla pod and incorporate hot milk into egg mixture a little at a time, whisking constantly,
6. Transfer mixture back into the saucepan and slowly cook over low heat for about 10 minutes or until mixture pulls from the sides of the saucepan. Do not boil. Stir often. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
7. To finish bomboloni, transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and cut into circles using a 1 1/2 inch round cookie cutter.
8. Place disks on a baking sheet covered with greased parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to proof, at room temperature, for 2 hours.
9. Fry doughnuts, in batches, in hot oil for 5 to 7 minutes or until golden brown.
10. Using a slotted spoon, transfer doughnuts on a baking sheet lined with paper towels.
11. Fill the center of each mini doughnut with custard by using a pastry bag fitted with a medium tip, and roll into granulated sugar.
12. Served warmed bombolonis on dessert plates with a side dish of chocolate sauce. Serves 6.

[In the interest of full disclosure: Royal Caribbean paid all of my travel expenses for this cruise. The fact, that I fell in love with cruising in general and the Allure of the Seas specifically and of course, with the Bomboloni, was a wonderful surprise. Thank you, RC!]

Let the comelatas begin!

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