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Oh what a weekend! I hope that you all had a great weekend (a long, holiday weekend for U.S. residents) I have been away from my computer because I cooked and baked like crazy this last week. I mentioned that I was invited to participate in a fund raiser last week. Clintonville, a Columbus suburb, has raised money for the past 7 years to have their own firework display for Independence Day. I participated last year with some empanadas and a couple of cakes and they invited me back this year! Unfortunately, something strange happened to my camera memory card and I lost all the pictures and videos I took of the event This is what I made for this year’s fund raiser:

• Mango guacamole
• Tilapia empanadas
• Pastel Azteca
• Pastel Imposible
• Neapolitan flan
• Dutch braided bread
• Pineapple and mango mini empanadas

What’s cooking has jumped from the virtual to the real world and I am happy for that. The tilapia empanadas and all the desserts were a big success. Now I sit next to the phone and wait for it to start ringing.

In another topic, I want to thank some of my foodie friends for giving this humble blog a couple of awards. First, this blog was awarded the Arte y Pico Award 4 times. Thanks a lot Nikki of Canary Girl, Elle of Elle’s New England Kitchen, Peter of Souvlaki for the Soul, Deeba of Passionate About Baking. Thanks a lot guys. This means a lot to me

My very good friend Jen of A2eatwrite awarded What’s Cooking? the Blogging with a Purpose Award created by Eric of Blogging with a Purpose. This is a really cool award. I know that at least one reader sees all my ramblings purposeful.

Ivy of Kopiaste, that Greek kitchen goddess, gave this blog the Yummy Blog Award. I am glad the recipes and pictures on this blog look yummy. You’ll have to trust me when I say that most of them are

And last, but never least, my lovely and beautiful friend Nuria of Spanish Recipes, gave me the I Love You This Much Award (is this an award?) because, well, she is just lovely like that I love you bunches and bunches back, Nuria. Your cooking and lovely stories make me want to be your neighbor in Barcelona. We’d cook non-stop, Maybe we could open a restaurant in La Barceloneta Thanks a lot my friend!

Thank you guys a lot for these awards. My heart jumps out of joy every time somebody even mentions my blog on the immense blog-o-sphere and this awards make me want to dance I am supposed to pass these awards to more bloggers, but what I am going to do is just give them to all and every one of my friends and readers, because you are the ones who have motivated me with your comments and visits to continue blogging. Every time I cook something I think of you, I am not kidding. So please accept this little token of my appreciation to you.

Lastly, my good friend Pixie of You Say Tomahto I Say Tomayto tagged me with this fun meme where you post 10 of your favorite pictures. I have a lot favorite pictures and it was hard to choose just ten. Not all the pictures I picked are food related, I am not a very good photographer, some of the pictures were taken with my old film camera and some quality was lost when I scanned them with my home scanner (I need to find the negatives and have them professionally scanned), but all these pictures mean something to me. Here I leave you with some of my favorite pics (taken by me):

Brooklyn bridge in NYC, one of my favorite places on earth.

Zocalo (Mexico City Central Square) Originally the heart of the Aztec Empire this plaza, one of the world’s largest, is still the heart of the city. This square is living history of the clash of civilizations that occurred almost 500 years ago.

Coyoacan church, Mexico City. This church is located in my favorite neighborhood in Mexico City. Coyoacan was originally a nation subjugated by the Aztec empire. When the empire fell, Hernan Cortez (the Spanish Conquistador that conquered the Aztec empire) chose Coyoacan to build his residency. He fell in love with its beautiful forests and rivers. Coyoacan is now the cultural heart of Mexico City.

Ajusco, Mexico City. This dead volcano is located in the south of the city. This volcano means a lot to me because this was the view I had from my old room at my parent’s house. Just imagine waking up every morning to this view. It was particularly exciting to see it covered in snow in a city where the temperatures are in the 70s and 80s all year long. I miss mountains

Indigenous girl. I took this picture in Mexico City’s Zocalo when I saw this girl walking with her mom. To me this picture sums up the contrasts of modern Mexican society. Mexican indigenous (and beautiful) people are rich in culture, history and food, but their precarious life conditions make them migrate to big cities (and now to the US) where they are seen as undesirable people. Despise being one of the largest economies in the world, more than a third of the population live in very poor conditions. But let’s forget about injustices and let us concentrate on the beauty of this little girl and her cultural heritage.

Yule Log. This was my very first Daring Bakers challenge. I loved making this cake and the taste was just amazing!

My favorite breakfast ever, gorditas de piloncillo.

One of my favorite ingredients. Tamarindo

Tilapia empanadas. This was one of those experiments that turned out amazing.

My third Daring Bakers Challenge. I was so proud of this chocolate and banana party cake. And I think the picture is very good.

Wow! This “short” post ended up being really LONG. I promise I will be back with more food tomorrow. There is a pork shoulder marinating in a Mayan sauce in my fridge right now. Stay tuned