We were able to visit the set for the South Beach Love filming for a very short time on Monday, but not on Tuesday. Despite that, we were able to watch them filming from the street and I’ll be sharing those photos soon! As we were walking back to our car, guess who we ran into? OMG, William Levy who is playing Tony in the movie! He is so handsome and so nice. He took the time to pose with me for this photo! So exciting.
Staying Positive on Rainy Days and in Difficult Times
There are lots of upbeat quotes about how to handle when bad times hit you but this one caught my attention for some reason: When life gives you rain, play in the puddles. Or maybe it was the picture of that adorable corgi! Regardless, no matter how bleak things look now, we will hopefully be able to get through these rough times. For now, I will pray for the people of Afghanistan and the Americans trapped there. I hope God will keep them safe and help resolve this horrible crisis.
My Saint of a Grandfather and the Cuban Diaspora
My grandfather was a saint. Patient, loving, kind, and hard-working. He was always supportive of my grandmother and mother, two very determined women. Plus, he would do anything he had to do help his family. In my February 2022 release The Family She Never Met there’s a scene where the heroine is speaking to her father about how to feed her family and keep a roof over their heads. During that scene you find out that her father had lied about his age in order to get a job to help the family.
That’s just one of my family’s true stories woven into the fictional tale in The Family She Never Met. My grandfather shaved a decade off his age so he could get a job and help out our family. My granddad was already retirement age when we came here, but he instead worked at one of the maintenance services at LaGuardia Airport. One of my childhood memories is of driving with my mom or dad to pick him up at work.
This picture is from an ID card for a medical clinic in Cuba.
South Beach Love Spy and News!
I’m over the moon about South Beach Love becoming a Hallmark Channel movie. It’s one of those things you dream about as a writer. What’s even more exciting is that I’ll be heading down to watch the filming and I hope I’ll have some fun things to share with you from that visit. In the meantime, the William Levy Paraguay Fan Club has set up the South Beach Love Spy Instagram page where they’re getting all kinds of behind-the-scenes photos, etc. You can visit with them at https://www.instagram.com/southbeachlovepy/.
A Cubano for National Sandwich Month
Our traditional Christmas Eve meal is roast pork and I always make a baked ham so that we can make Cuban sandwiches with the leftovers. Cuban sandwiches are tasty grilled sandwiches that contain pork, ham, and swiss cheese. They are made on Cuban bread which is a light bread made with lard and similar to Italian bread. The main difference is that Cuban bread is wider and the crust is much lighter, making it perfect for grilling. In both South Beach Love and The Family She Never Met the characters head to Little Havana to have some Cubanos!
Ingredients
3-4 thick slices roast pork
3-4 slices baked ham
2-3 slices Swiss cheese
yellow mustard
thin-sliced dill pickles
6-8″ long piece Cuban bread (or Italian bread/hero roll)
Directions
Slice open the bread and layer it with the roast pork, ham, swiss cheese, and pickles. Spread a thin layer of yellow mustard on the top slice of the bread. Personally, I never ate mine with pickles and mustard since I’m not a pickle fan. Lately, I have been eating my Cubanos with mustard. It does add some pep to the taste!
Close the sandwich and butter the outside of the bread. If you have a panini grill or other kind of sandwich grill, use that to flatten and toast the sandwich. You should let it cook for at least 10 minutes or so to let the meats and cheese heat up.
If you don’t have a panini grill, lay the sandwiches on a greased baking sheet. Cover the sandwiches with aluminum foil and place a heavy cast iron pan on top. Press down and bake in a 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes or so.
P.S. – Did you know that both Miami and Tampa lay claim to the invention of Cuban bread? You can click here to read more about the origins of Cuban bread in Tampa.
Pay Close Attention: Hair or No Hair?
I know it’s going to be tough for you to focus on this one, but please pay close attention. Hair or no hair? It seems that on romance novel covers it’s usually models with no hair, but I kind of like a little chest hair, not full fur. How about you? Do you like this or that?
P.S. – You may think authors have some say in their romance novel covers, but unless you’re self-publishing, you can only hope the art department has listened to your suggestions for the hero and heroine.
Simple and Tasty Heirloom Tomato Salad
For me, Saturdays are meant to be easy days for relaxing and just enjoying life. Of course, when I was working, Saturday was the day for catching up on chores and getting ready for the rest of the week. But hopefully, whether you’re relaxing or running chores, this simple and tasty heirloom tomato salad is one you can enjoy!
I made this tomato salad with some Black Krim tomatoes my brother-in-law grew from seedlings I gave him! So exciting. The recipe comes from Cochon on 2nd, a fantastic restaurant in Williamsburgh, Virginia. We were lucky enough to be able to eat there recently and highly recommend it if you’re in the area.
Ingredients
2 or 3 vine ripe tomatoes
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh basil
Extra Virgin Olive oil
1/2 cup crumbled Maytag blue cheese
Directions
Thick slice the tomatoes and lay them out on a plate, slightly overlapping them.
Salt and Pepper the tomatoes to taste.
Chop the basil and sprinkle over the tomatoes. If you want to get fancy, you can do what’s known as a chiffonade. Basically, you roll the basil leaves together and then slice them to create ribbons of basil.
Drizzle the olive oil over the tomatoes.
Sprinkle the blue cheese across the tomatoes.
It’s best to let this sit for about half an hour or so. That will let the salt draw out the juices of the tomatoes and also let the cheese get to room temperature where its taste will be the best.
Serve with a nice sourdough bread so you can mop up all the tasty juices from the tomatoes and olive oil!!
Enjoy! P.S. – Can’t you just see Sara from South Beach Love making something like this at her comfort food restaurant?
