TastyDesign

Meme: 10 things you never knew about me...

Thank you Ilva for tagging me for this MeMe!

Well, I won't make you wait any longer,...here they are:

1. Two years ago, when The CookingDiva blog was born, all the recipes and stories were posted in Spanish. Then I decided to write in English too, and created the "TastyDesign" blog (the one you are visiting right now). Time passed and I noticed that most of my visitors where from English speaking countries..., so since then I write recipes in English and post them at the CookingDiva blog.
2. I am "obsessive convulsive baker/cooker."  I can  go on  and on for days (just  taking  short breaks).  There was this time when I  cooked continuously for  72 hours, then I learned that it is possible to cook in my sleep!
3. I prepared my first soup at the age of five. I bugged my mom until she let me do it. I put a little chair in front of the stove, and with her next to me I prepared a delectable fish soup that had everything I could find in the kitchen at the time! Then, my mom helped me to serve it and we (my mom, my dad and little-Mely) had an unforgettable lunch. I was so excited!  I was so proud of my parents because they managed to eat the soup :)
4. My first fruitcake: After insisting for so many years,...my mom let me prepare my first fruitcake at the age of 7-8 yo, I am not so sure about the exact age. Since I was a big girl then, with lots of cooking experience (LOL!) she let me do it by myself. She helped me measure all the ingredients and we went through the recipe a couple of times before she went shopping. I was supposed to have the cake batter ready to bake when she returned home. To make the long story short, I can tell you that I had the great idea of tasting the "port wine". Wow,...what a body, what a flavor!!! It was my first time savoring such a thing. Hmmm...., delicious! That is the last memory I have...When my mom came back home I was on my back, on the floor, with my eyes wide open....horrified because the house was spinning! No cake, no nothing. Thanks to that experience I hated alcohol for many many many years :)
5. I am the oldest of my parent's three children. My sister Paola was born 5 years after me and she has now a beautiful daughter: Paola Alexandra. I adore that little girl. My mom says that she looks exactly like me when I was that age! My brother Juan Manuel was born 8 years after me and he is a computer genius, and the dog sitter that takes care of Silky-Lu and Anibal when I travel.
6. My mother language is actually Portuguese. I lived in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil when I was really young and then went back to Sao Paulo to go to college.
7. I have been writing poems in Spanish mostly since I was a teenager. They are all impregnated with tears of love and passion. I have loved too much I guess :)
8. I believe that one of the sexiest things in life is "bread dough". Maybe that's why I bake so much :)
9. I rarely watch TV, and when I do so...it is the perfect setting to take a nap.
10. I love to eat flowers, specially roses, and for that purpose I grow them organically. I also make flower essences from tropical flowers (like the Bach flower essences), for stress relief.

Now I am inviting the following bloggers to continue this meme:

• Kelly from the Make Me Cook blog
• Kelly from the MsABCMom blog
• Sao Mai from the Cocinalia blog
• Tania from the CandiedQuince blog
• Cannella from the Zuccheriera blog

Tags: chef, Panama, cookingdiva, meme, food blogs

The "Seven" MeMe

Thank you Tania, Ms. Candied Quince, for tagging me to do this  fun meme!

7 Things to Do Before I Die:

1. Read all (or most) of the books in my library. I've got thousands.
2. Grow lots of fig trees.
3. Travel to the places I have not traveled yet, and learn about their culture and cuisine.
4. Learn more languages.
5. Make people understand that there is no need to live life with fear-based beliefs and assumptions that undermine love and bring the unnecessary drama to our lives.
6. Meet my blogging friends in person.
7. Make my own cheese from raw, organic milk from happy caws.

7 Things I Cannot Do (or things I do NOT enjoy doing):

1. Go diving. I used to, but not any more.
2. Read maps. I really prefer the nifty GPS devices.
3. Read manuals for most electronic devices.  I do not have time for that :)
4. Not grow roses.
5. Not cook.
6. Not peeking at every kitchen.
7. Ignore beauty, everywhere.

7 Things that Attracted Me to Blogging:

1. Meet people with the same interests, and love for cooking.
2. Show the world that I care, sharing.
3. Motivate people.
4. Write more and better. Inspiration.
5. Put  my country, Panama, in the food blogs map.
6. Document my travels and cooking adventures.
7. Learn about other cultures and culinary traditions.

7 Things I Say Most Often:

1. “No MAS Silky, go!!!”
2. “Go to bed Silky, it's too early!”
3. “Let's go shopping!”
4. “I think I need a new chef coat!”
5. “You need a bath Hannibal!”
6. “What a beautiful day!”
7. "It's hot!"

7 Books I Love:

1. The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown
2. Angel & Demons, by Dan Brown
3. A Cook's Tour, by Anthony Bourdain
4. The Universe in a Single Atom, by Dalai Lama
5. The Book of Secrets, by Deepak Chopra
6. The Four Agreements, The Voice of Knowledge, & The Mastery of Love, by Don Miguel Ruiz
7. Fingerprints of the Gods, by Graham Hancock

7 Movies I Watch Over and Over:

1. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective ~  Jim Carrey
2. Chocolat ~ Johnny Depp,  Juliette Binoche
3. Goodfellas ~ Robert De Niro
4. Like Water for Chocolate (Como Agua para Chocolate)
5. Charlie's Angels
6. There's Something About Mary ~ Cameron Díaz
7. Pretty Woman ~ Julia Roberts
   

7 Bloggers I’m Tagging:

1. Nerissa at Deetsa's Diningroom
2. Lera at Myriad Tastes
3. Anthony at Anthony's Bachelor Cooking
4. Michelle at The Accidental Scientist
5. SaoMai at Cocinalia
6. Vickie at The Moveable Feast
7. Cannella at La Zuccheriera

Tags: chef, Panama, cookingdiva, meme, food blogs

Meme: My Cookbooks!

Hace rato he estado queriendo presentarles a Ustedes -parte- de mi coleccion de libros de cocina. Bueno, finalmente...he sacado unos minutos para hacerlo :) Yo los quiero a todos. Todos han sido parte importante de mi vida de Chef. Unos mas vistosos o coloridos que otros...pero, en fin, ellos forman parte de mi querida coleccion.

Aqui pueden encontrar MAS: CookingDiva