Welcome to my kitchen!

My name is Raquel Calviño Carbone. Everybody calls me Rachel though. I was born in Havana Cuba in 1950. I have been married to my Italian/American born husband, Sal since August 1977. One of my passions is cooking, the other is organic vegetable gardening. Those two passions go hand in hand, don’t you think? I learned to cook original Cuban food from my lovely mother, Mima [Meeema], since I was a little girl. My parents, Mima and Pipo, and I left Cuba in 1962 and moved to Connecticut. The best Cuban dinners and desserts filled our home with a delightful aroma! I met my husband Sal and learned Italian Cooking from his beautiful Sicilian mother, Rose and his loving Auntie Tina. I would laugh when I saw them cooking together and they would argue with each other that she put too much breadcrumbs in the meatballs! Those meatballs were always delicious no matter how much or how little breadcrumbs in them! I still cook Sal’s favorite dishes that I learned from them, like the Fried Meatballs {his favorite} at least once a week. And their Broccoli Soup…to die for! We have raised two sons, Michael and Andrew loving their Cuban/Italian heritage along with the foods from our countries. There are nights that we might have Fried Meatballs, Croquetas De Carne and Arroz con Pollo at the same meal! What I hope to accomplish in this blog is to share those wonderful recipes with you. They are too good to keep a secret! Que le aproveche and Mangia! { If you have any recipes that you would like to see and I don’t have here, please let me know.}