Adventures in Mika's Kitchen
Years ago, we had a bunch of native sages growing in our front yard. Among them, was Salvia columbariae, a.k.a. “Chia Sage”. Many people don’t realize that the “chia seeds” that have become so popular in health food stores and farmer’s markets (also as Chia pets!)… are actually seeds from a sage plant native to [...]
Harusame are Japanese vermicelli noodles made from mung bean starch. These noodles can be stir-fried, served cold/room temperature as a side dish, or can be used in soups. (The noodles themselves are gluten free, which makes them a good option for those individuals with Celiac disease.**) I like to stir-fry harusame with pork and [...]
While I love to make Western-style desserts to feed my sweet tooth… every now and then I like to mix it up and make an Asian-style dessert. This is a quick and easy Asian-style rice pudding that is lactose/dairy free, and also gluten free. It makes a great dessert for people who are lactose intolerant [...]
Butternut squash risotto is a wonderful warm fall dish – it’s comforting and is a rich and satisfying meal for a cold fall or winter evening! If you have a lot of pumpkin puree leftover from Halloween… you can even substitute the butternut squash for pumpkin with no problem! In the produce section of the [...]
My husband LOVES flan. I’ve never understood why… every time I had flan in a restaurant it was lumpy and hard with a congealed cottage cheese texture – served in a bitter burnt-sugar tasting sauce. It reminded me of curdled milk… yuck! Since then, I’ve realized that is NOT how flan is supposed to be… [...]
Every Halloween, I go through the same thing. I stay up really really late the night before carving Jack o’lanterns (storing them in the empty garage refrigerator overnight)… then I put them out at dusk to greet all the neighborhood kids that come by trick or treating. After the crowds have gone, I reclaim the [...]
Have you noticed a lot of ice cream labels these days? Many of them no longer say ‘Ice Cream’… they actually say ‘Frozen Dairy Dessert’!!! What happened to ‘Ice Cream’ and why are we all eating ‘Frozen Dairy Dessert’ instead? I suspect it has something to do with the “healthy eating” movement. People have become [...]
My friend Ann Marie recently discovered that she has become intolerant to gluten… AND soy, corn, and dairy! Apparently, it is very difficult to find gluten free products and recipes that are also free of soy, corn, and dairy. I guess corn is a hidden ingredient in many food products, as is soy. Even regular [...]
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