Granddaughter celebrates her Mima’s Cuban cooking with beloved new book

We’re all doing a lot more cooking these days and nothing beats sitting down to a hearty meal of Cuban comfort food.

For years, Miami native Marilyn Marrero has feasted on and gathered her 84-year-old maternal grandmother’s beloved recipes.

In December, she published “Just Like Mima’s: The Heart Behind The Cuban Recipes We All Love” to share them with everyone near and far.

The book recounts eight decades of her grandmother’s journey through life’s joys and hardships, along with a collection of 50 Cuban recipes from her kitchen.

“From hopeful memories of a difficult childhood in Cuba, to remarkable strength when faced with the unknown, and the beautiful connection she has with each of her descendants, Cruz María Herrera (Mima) has a story worth sharing,” Marrero said.

“The oldest of 10 children, born in the rural province of Holguín, Cuba, she dreamed of a better life for herself and her family. Despite the lack of stable education, healthcare and nutrition in her community, her boldness and work ethic provided opportunities to experience the capital city of Havana where she eventually met her husband.”

Mima’s husband was a political prisoner under Fidel Castro’s regime, which left her on her own with three young daughters and a son on the way. Her husband was released after eight years and they ultimately immigrated with their four children to Miami during the Mariel Boatlift of 1980.

“Forty years later, that family of six has grown to more than 40. I wanted to celebrate the impact her love, courage, faith, and wisdom have left on all of us, and to preserve those memories for our future generations,” Marrero said.

Included are classics like Pan con Bistec (Steak Sandwich), Arroz con Pollo (Chicken and Yellow Rice) and Croquetas (Croquettes).

There are also a few fun additions that Mima has perfected like Torrejas con Almíbar (French Toast with Homemade Syrup), Boniato Frito (White Sweet Potato Fries) and Mermelada de Mango (Mango Jam).

Granddaughter Marrero was born and raised in Miami and was the first Cuban-American in her family, born just one year after the Mariel Boatlift. She graduated from Florida International University with a bachelor’s in communication and is married to her high school sweetheart, Jonathan. They live in Cary, N.C., with their twin daughters.

She said she has been greatly influenced by her Mima.

“I would say there is no greater compliment than to hear that our hearts are courageous, that our homes are welcoming, or that the aroma of something we’ve cooked is mouthwatering, just like Mima’s.”

Visit justlikemimas.com for more.

Teens play marathon tennis for charity

For two nationally ranked young tennis players, the pandemic wasn’t going to stop them from raising funds for their charity, Smash Cancer.

Isabella Leano, a Carrollton alumna from Coral Gables and varsity tennis player and freshman at La Salle University, and Anais Leichtling, a Carrollton senior from Miami Beach, recently organized their second annual Smash Cancer Tennis-a-Thon. They are both 18.

They played six hours of consecutive play, halved this year by COVID-19 from 12 hours last year, to benefit cancer research at Stand Up To Cancer.

For the 2019 and 2020 events, they arranged to play alongside other junior players, club pros and even former touring tennis professionals.

“I believe that our ability to host Smash Cancer was quite remarkable and goes to show how such an event unites individuals over a common cause/goal even among the chaos of a global pandemic. We were able to still host our annual tennis-a-thon this past November while still following COVID-19 restrictions and maintaining social distancing,” Isabella said.

“Given these circumstances, we were still able to raise over $2,200 toward cancer research and spread awareness through our social media platform! I am truly proud of how we adapted to these contemporary conditions and overcome obstacles to support our benefactor ‘Stand Up to Cancer.’ We hope to see more success in the future.”

The duo hope Smash Cancer “serves as an opportunity to honor victims and support survivors in their journey to a well-balanced, healthy, and fulfilling life.”

Isabella and Anais created their fundraiser in 2019 when they were back-to-back Class 1A District and Regional #1 Doubles and Team Champions and Class 1A Team State Semi-Finalists. They have raised $6,250 of their $10,000 goal.

You can help too by donating at https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/smash-cancer-tennis-a-thon, @SmashCancer_2020 and www.standuptocancer.org.

If you have news for this column, write to ChristinaMMayo@gmail.com