My parents owned one of the first Cuban restaurants in New York City. There, or at home, our traditional foods were prepared with the finest ingredients and lots of love. It's been fun for me to keep the traditonal meals updated with a better appreciation of healthy cooking. Shopping at local farmer's markets, it's easy to have fresh, organic, local fruits and vegetables and also interesting to discover new flavors and textures. Cooking for my family is truly a delight. The best part is when we sit around the dinner table and the grandchildren ask for seconds! Anything that I don't have to chase! Christmas for me has always entailed the traditional "lechon, arroz, frijoles, y yuca". Yuca, a root similar to potatoes, is not available everywhere so I've substituted a myriad items over the years... the "lechon" (roasted whole suckling pig) is best cooked in a "caja china" a wooden pit that can handle a whole piglet, however, I don't have the room to store one when I'm not using it. My dream is that sometime I'll be able to "borrow" one just for the holidays!