Lemon Layer cake with lemon curd buttercream, Mama ía blog

December 24, 2018

Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Curd Buttercream and Ginger cookies, a Christmassy Birthday Cake

Natacha Sanz Caballero Desserts and Sweets celebration, Christmas, cumpleaños, fiesta, Navidad, tarta, tarta de limón

Another birthday, yay! I’ve learned to embrace them, feeling blessed to be counting one more (thank you, Byron!). Because what’s better than adding one more year of experience to your biography? Spending one more year with your loved ones? Live life fully no matter what your age? So happy birthday to me, and to everyone who can count one more. To celebrate it, a super special cake: lemon layer cake with lemon curd buttercream and ginger cookies.

Lemon layer cake with lemon curd buttercream, Mama ia blog

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November 20, 2018

Roast Turkey with Sherry Gravy, Happy Thanksgiving!

Natacha Sanz Caballero Meat and Poultry celebration, Christmas, Navidad, pavo asado, poultry, salsa al Jerez, Thanksgiving

We are talking turkey today. I know, not a very typical Spanish dish. But like many others I have been cooking for years, this one had to be on the blog, because even though we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Spain, we do celebrate Christmas. And I have been eating turkey for Christmas since middle school. Seriously!

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Roasted carrots and fennel, Mama ía blog

November 19, 2018

Roasted Carrots and Fennel with Dijon Dressing, More for Thanksgiving

Natacha Sanz Caballero Vegetables hinojo, Thanksgiving, vegetarian, verduras al horno, zanahorias

This post could be a continuation of my last one, as I am still trying out recipes for side dishes for Thanksgiving. So I will not expand too much, as you can refer to my last post to find out a bit more about how our family spends Thanksgiving.

With this recipe, I think I got another winner! This one, in fact, (more…)

Garlicky sautéed cauliflower, Mama ía blog

November 11, 2018

Garlicky Sautéed Cauliflower, Considering Thanksgiving

Natacha Sanz Caballero Vegetables coliflor, glycemic index, heatlhy carbs, Thanksgiving, vegetarian

I call the recipe I’m sharing today coliflor fritita con ajos, by its Spanish name, and would translate it as garlicky sautéed cauliflower. It feels like such a Spanish dish that it almost feels wrong to translate it.

Thanksgiving, also known as turkey day, is fast approaching. This year it is even more special than before, because my two college sons will be home. We haven’t been together as a family since August! They will be home for only a few days, I know, but at this stage of our family life, it will be great, and we’ll take what we can get.

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October 26, 2018

Flan Caramel, A Classic

Natacha Sanz Caballero Desserts and Sweets custard, Franke Park bike trails, mountain biking, postre tradicional, Spanish cuisine

Flan, or flan caramel, is one of those desserts I, and everyone my age, grew up with. Actually, it could be the dessert we grew up with. Every mom, every household, would make it, with just slight variations in the recipe. And not only at home, but every restaurant menu would have it, together with peach or pineapple “en almíbar”, in syrup, and different flavors of ice cream, most often chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. When I say this, I don’t mean that flan is an “old” dessert, made long ago, and that has been replaced by others in the 21st-century. Not at all! In fact, flan is a classic that never goes out of style, and shares restaurant menus with many other newer, fancy desserts.

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October 10, 2018

Braised Oxtail, Rabo de Toro, Cows and Cattle

Natacha Sanz Caballero Meat and Poultry beef oxtail, braises, cocotte, ganado, guisado de ternera, Spanish cuisine, Staub, stews, toros, vacuno, wine sauce

A few months ago, I posted a recipe for oxtail, a traditional Spanish dish (you can click here to check it out). However, back then I couldn’t find oxtail, but I was set on to making the dish, so I settled with short ribs, and the result was really delicious, a good substitution for sure. But last week, at my regular supermarket, I found them!

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Blackberry lavender ice cream, Mama ía blog

September 25, 2018

Blackberry Lavender Ice Cream, Saying Farewell to Summer

Natacha Sanz Caballero Desserts and Sweets Brihuega, campos de lavanda, comunidad valenciana, helado de lavanda, helado de moras, ice cream bar, lavanda, lavender fields in Spain, Onteniente, polos mora, summer, Valencia, verano

Lavender fields in Brihuega, Spain

I am drawn to lavender. If I have to choose between scents, that will be the one I choose, whether it be hand soap or dish soap, laundry detergent or air freshener, lavender is my scent. I don’t know why, I think it is its freshness, but it could be its color, too (you just have to have a look at my closet!). But most of all, (more…)

September 12, 2018

Leche Merengada Granita —Granizado de Leche Merengada

Natacha Sanz Caballero Desserts and Sweets, Drinks Alcocebre, Alcossebre, granizado, helado, ice cream, leche merengada, summer

It has been raining for a few days, the temperatures have dropped, and I feel under the weather, so what better time to post a recipe for ice cream than now, ha ha! When I was preparing this recipe for the blog, a few days ago, the temperatures were in the 90’s Fahrenheit, 30’s Celsius. The landscape workers that were trimming our bushes and pulling out all my lavender (sniff) had to leave early because the heat was unbearable. I was happily making my husband’s favorite ice cream, in granita form, leche merengada (loosely translated to whipped cinnamon milk granita), and we still managed to enjoy it during those high temperatures.

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August 27, 2018

Carrot Cake, for Two Special Celebrations

Natacha Sanz Caballero Desserts and Sweets birthday, carrot cake, celebration, cream cheese frosting, tarta, tarta de zanahoria

It has been a while. I purposely intended to take a little break, enjoy the events that were happening in my life at a leisurely pace, then come back with new recipes. But the break kept getting longer, and longer, and even though I kept up with Instagram posts, the blog, and the recipes, (more…)

June 14, 2018

Tarta de Santiago, and El Camino

Natacha Sanz Caballero Desserts and Sweets, Events & Travel almond cake, Camino de Santiago, gluten free, pilgrimage, Santiago de Compostela, tarta de almendras, Way of Saint James

The origin of tarta de Santiago, or rather, why the famous Spanish almond tart is named after the apostle Saint James, patron saint of Spain, is unknown. But for centuries, the cake has been adorned with the cross of the knights of Saint James in confectioners sugar, and visitors to the city of Santiago de Compostela, where the apostle is believed to be buried, buy it as a souvenir of their visit to the pilgrims’ city, or arrival through the Camino de Santiago, the Way of Saint James.

Monte do Gozo, where pilgrims get the first view of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

Cross of the Knight of Saint James, Mama ía blog

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