Cuban Cooks Overcome Shortages with Ingenuity on Facebook

Cooking can be tricky¹ when you can not find the ingredients you normally use to make a meal. Many people face that very problem in Cuba, where the COVID-19 crisis² has worsened food shortages³ in the country.

But now, they can find help just a computer link away on the Facebook page "Recipes from the Heart." Cuban Yuliet Colón is one of the page creators.

Colón guides Cubans on how to use the foods available to them to make the meals they love. She can help users make a sweet treat with the eggs they happen to find, or replace the pork called for in a recipe with whatever meat is at the market. She even knows how to substitute beans in Cuban rice dishes with peanuts.

Recipes from the Heart shares information on how Cubans can cook the foods they are likely to find at the market or through a government program.

"I love Master Chef Spain, but where do I get liquid nitrogen in this country?" joked Colón. Liquid nitrogen is used to make special ice cream on the Master Chef Spain television show.

Colón is a 39-year-old mother of two. She and other cooks launched the Facebook page in June. It now has more than 12,000 members, many of them in Cuba. Cubans are just starting to use social media due to improved internet speeds.

COVID-19 stopped people from visiting Cuba, which badly damaged the economy. Former President Donald Trump⁴ also increased sanctions⁵ on the country. Now, there are food shortages. The gross⁶ domestic⁷ product decreased by 11 percent in 2020.

Long lines became normal last year. The year 2021 opened with government economic reforms that effectively raised both prices and pay, but not at the same rate.

Colón last week visited a food store and stood in line for 40 minutes. She was finally able to buy a few vegetables.

She used them to cook a food she called "Cuban-style pisto manchego." It is mostly made with vegetables. She received a lot of praise from her Facebook group.

These days, things every Cuban needs come and go without warning. One day there is toothpaste, then it disappears. Another day there is soap.

Different kinds of food appear and disappear as well.

Sometimes potato disappears, prompting Cubans to turn to yucca, another root vegetable.

Recipes from the Heart has become a home for ideas on how to cook chicken when it is the only meat in the store.

"There are a lot of shortages", said Colón in the small kitchen of her house. She is preparing her "pisto manchego." She photographs her cooking and then uploads the images.

She added a bit of fresh herbs she took from a relative's small garden.

She likes to make tasty sweet things, but explains that it is hard to find the needed eggs and milk.

The internet has led to an increase in food services including cooking and transporting meals. Cubans can share information on WhatsApp or Twitter about what stores have food or other goods.

Such social media sites are also influencing government officials to be accountable. For example, a government factory recently provided a frozen⁸ food that sometimes exploded during cooking. Many cooks protested about the problem online. So the government was forced to provide answers to the Cuban press.

Colón also uses the internet to talk to her mother, who helps pay for its cost. And, she often adds a few family stories to her recipe posts.

"The kitchen is my happy place," she said.

Words in This Story

ingredients - n. one of the things that are used to make a food,

sanctions - n. an action that is taken or an order that is given to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country, by not allowing economic aid for that country

gross domestic product – n. the amount of a country's entire earnings⁹

herb – n. a plant or a part of a plant that is used as medicine or to give flavor to food

kitchen – n. a room in which food is cooked

1 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

2 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

3 shortages   

n.不足( shortage的名词复数 )；缺少；缺少量；不足额

参考例句：

• Food shortages often occur in time of war. 在战争期间常常发生粮食短缺的情形。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• At the same time, worldwide food and fuel shortages eased. 同时，世界性粮食和石油短缺的现象终止了。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

4 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

5 sanctions   

批准( sanction的名词复数 )； 认可； 制裁； 约束力

参考例句：

• There was general acquiescence in the UN sanctions. 普遍默认了联合国的制裁。
• Trade sanctions were imposed against any country that refused to sign the agreement. 凡拒签该协议的国家均受到贸易制裁。

6 gross   

adj.全部的，粗俗的，肥胖的；vt.获得...总收入

参考例句：

• The gross weight of the box of chocolates is 500 grams.那盒巧克力的全部重量是500克。
• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。

7 domestic   

adj.家里的，国内的，本国的；n.家仆，佣人

参考例句：

• This is domestic news.这是国内新闻。
• She does the domestic affairs every day.她每天都忙家务。

8 frozen   

adj.冻结的，冰冻的

参考例句：

• He was frozen to death on a snowing night.在一个风雪的晚上，他被冻死了。
• The weather is cold and the ground is frozen.天寒地冻。

9 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。