Adventures in Mika's Kitchen
What is “La Paloma“? This is a Mexican cocktail – commonly prepared by mixing tequila with grapefruit flavored soda. In other versions, the grapefruit soda can be replaced with fresh grapefruit juice, fresh lime juice, and topped with sparkling soda water. According to many sources, the first published recipe for La Paloma was in a [...]
At our favorite local Mexican restaurant, they have a wonderful margarita on the menu called the “Millionaire Margarita“. How is this different from a regular margarita? Well, most “basic margaritas” will have some combination of tequila, orange flavored liqueur (like triple sec/Cointreau), lime juice or sour mix, and sometimes a sweetener. The “Millionaire Margarita”, on [...]
Here’s my quick and easy Nacho Cheese Sauce dip recipe. It’s made with simple ingredients that you probably already have at home… butter, flour, milk, and cheese… spiced up with a jalapeño pepper. (If you prefer less spicy, you can omit the jalapeño or substitute the jalapeño with 2 T. diced mild green chiles or your favorite salsa.) [...]
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 [...]
Ahh, November! Around here… whenever this time of year comes around, it means crisp fall weather, Santa Ana winds… and cold/flu season! :( Last week, I came down with a terrible cold. I was so incredibly miserable, and I found myself craving the Mexican chicken soup that we usually get at a local hole-in-the wall [...]
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… [...]
Picture it: 6:30pm on a Thursday night, and I had a bunch of Anaheim chilies that I needed to use before they went bad, a package of wonton skins, and a pound of ground pork. Originally, I was thinking of making a Mexican inspired meat loaf… but standing there at the kitchen counter, it just didn’t sound [...]
I love tamales. I remember my first taste of a tamale was in the 5th grade, when a classmate shared her lunch with me. Since then, I’ve always looked forward to eating tamales around Christmas time when all the local Mexican restaurants have them available for bulk purchase. Frozen tamales from the supermarket just don’t [...]
So how can I live in San Diego (or Southern California for that matter) without learning how to make fresh corn tortillas? They are so EASY to make, and the taste of freshly made tortillas is to die for… perfect for soft tacos! (I’ve been making grilled shrimp tacos using lime-coconut marmalade as a marinade, [...]
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