Since I am in San Francisco I get to speak Spanish often and that makes me really happy, almost as happy as finding what they call in the market “Latin Foods”.

In downtown Toronto the Spanish influence is very poor or nonexistent. You can get a variety of stuff at a small Latin American store down at Kensington Market but if you want to do some serious shopping you have to travel farther to do your groceries.

Things are changing a little bit, though. Three years ago I had trouble finding cooking wine and now you can buy it at No Frills stores. Apparently, in some distant part of the city, you can even buy Cuban cigarettes.

Here in SF you cannot find Cuban shops easily. I read that only about 11 thousand Cubans live in the Bay Area, but I am satisfied getting Mexican baked goodies and desserts, starting with flan, hojaldre pastry (flaky pastry) and other sweets directly inherited from Spain which are eaten in Cuba as well and are prepared in the same way.

Mexican cuisine is very rich, spicy and with many dishes that Cuban kitchen would not even dream of having. Our plates are a copy of Spanish recipes, with the difference that we do consume a lot of rice and beans. Mexican food is very different but there are some foods that I can relate to, for example: tamales.

Last night I bought Guava Ice Cream. I haven’t seen the fruit yet (that’s the moment I will name this place Heaven).I read the Spanish side of the container, “Helado de Guayaba”, and my eyes were wide open. 🙂 Only a few people who know me very well know how much I miss guavas, the ones that are red inside.

This past weekend a bought a huge churro from a street vendor. If I find a place that sells big merengues I am under the risk of not wanting to leave this peninsula.

My sweet tooth is writing this post. I should depart for a yoga class now.

Ciao!