feast of the Holy Family: intentional loving is a lot of work

“Brothers and sisters:

Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,

heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,

bearing with one another and forgiving one another, 

if one has a grievance against another; 

as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.

And over all these put on love, 

that is, the bond of perfection.

And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, 

the peace into which you were also called in one body.

And be thankful.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, 

as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, 

singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs 

with gratitude in your hearts to God.

And whatever you do, in word or in deed, 

do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, 

giving thanks to God the Father through him. “

~Colossians 3: 12-17

It’s been a jam-packed week.

Our complete, whole family gathered for 3 nights/4 days… that’s three little people and 12 adults—with some able to join us before Christmas Eve, and others staying longer. 

I confess that nothing delights my heart more than filling up a pew at church—and having a rowdy, full table for Nochebuena dinner (our traditional Cuban feast of pork, black beans, plátanos, yucca)!

2013 marked our first Christmas ever with everyone gathered under one roof, including the 1-year-old Twinkies, my parents, my brother, and all three married couples.

But besides Nochebuena and Christmas Day, our family also celebrated together two birthdays, my Dad’s 84^th and my daughter-in-law Mary’s 30^th, both on December 26^th—AND our 32nd wedding anniversary the day after that.

That’s a lot of goodness and merriment packed into a very short amount of time.

But please, don’t idolize our Week of Wonderful. With that many people and that much going on, the Texas-sized serving of goodness also includes side-dishes of: mess and chaos; arguing; hurt feelings; mis-understandings; anxiety; unending piles of dirty dishes; lack of sleep; bickering… You get the idea.

As our insightful Deacon reminded us in today’s homily, being family requires a lot of deliberate, mindful work—including massive doses of forgiveness, gentleness, understanding, appreciation, respect, compassion, patience. Just Go back and read St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians that I quoted above!

Intentional loving is a lot of work.

It is no great surprise that I’ve spent the last 24 hours catching up on rest and sleep!

After all, tomorrow is Elenita’s third birthday. And we are still on a holding pattern waiting for our 4^th grandchild to be born… any day now.

I am truly, deeply blessed. Happy feast of the Holy Family indeed.

Christmas 2013

a summer recipe treat: Cuban rum cake!

As I've noted before, along with music, tradition, and the Catholic faith--food is a major part of Cuban (and all Hispanic) culture.

Today's recipe comes courtesy of my cousin Marina Páez, a fabulous cook! 

What makes this rum cake uniquely Cuban, you ask? Choosing Bacardi rum, of course--whose beginning as a company dates back to the 1860s in Cuba!

Rum Cake

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1 181/2 oz. pkg. yellow cake mix*

1 31/4 oz pkg Jell-O* Vanilla Instant Pudding and Pie Filing

4 eggs

1/2 cup cold water

1/2 cup Wesson oil

1/2 cup of Bacardi dark rum (80 proof)

*If using yellow cake mix with pudding  already in the mix, omit instant pudding, use 3 eggs instead of 4, 1/3 cup oil instead of 1/2.

Glaze:

1/4 lb butter

1/4 cup water

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup Bacardi dark rum (80 proof)

Preheat oven to 325 degree F. Grease and flour 10" tube or 12-cup Bundt* pan. Sprinkle nuts over bottom of pan. Mix all cake ingredients together. Pour batter over nuts. Bake 1 hour. 

Cool. Invert on serving plate. Prick top. Spoon and brush glaze evenly over top and sides.  Allow cake to absorb glaze. Repeat till glaze is used up.

Glaze: melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in rum. 

An optional idea is to decorate with a border of sugar frosting or whipped cream. But honestly, there's no need. 

Plátanos Maduros Recipe

Since my Arroz con Gandules recipe went over so well, this time I’m sharing one of my favorite Cuban side dishes—one I will fight you over, to the last platanito!

Sweet fried plantains, or plátanos maduros, are a staple of Cuban cooking, but also popular in other Latin American countries. I have learned that in Honduras they are often served with sour cream, and in Venezuela, sprinkled with cinnamon.

But in Cuban cooking plátanos maduros are served “as is.” They go well as a side dish to pork or with black beans and rice. But it can also be served on its own as an appetizer.

As you can see, there’s no great mystery to the process. The critical thing is to pick the right color plantains—with dark yellow and black skin!

Plátanos Maduros Recipe

Ingredients:

Two ripe plantains with black skin

Canola or corn oil

Optional: fresh lime

Heat enough oil in a frying pan over medium heat so that the oil is about ¼ an inch deep. As the oil heats, cut the ends off of each plantain, and make a slice along the length of the skin.  Unlike peeling a banana one section at a time, you should be able to easily remove the peel in one piece.

Slice the plantain into diagonal pieces anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. When a drop of water sizzles in the oil, add the plantain slices and fry until the bottom is golden brown. Be sure to cook each slice until both sides are golden and the edges of each slice slightly dark and caramelized.

Remove the fried plantains, and place on paper towels to soak up excess oil.  The slices should be slightly soft. Serve hot!

For a slight variation, squeeze some fresh limejuice before serving.