• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Recipes
  • Cooking Classes & Tips
  • Kitchen Essentials
  • Subscribe
  • About

Just Maika Cooking

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Global Recipes
  • Cooking Classes & Tips
  • Kitchen Essentials
  • About JMC

subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Global Recipes
  • Cooking Classes & Tips
  • Kitchen Essentials
  • About JMC

×
Home

Cook's Notebook

Home
animated chef maika writing in a notebook.

Cook's Notebook

Welcome to the Cooking Tips and Ingredient Information section of my blog! Here, you'll find a treasure trove of tips, techniques, and detailed information on how to prep, cook, and store a wide variety of ingredients. Whether you're looking to perfect your culinary skills or simply want to learn more about the foods you love, this is the place for you.

animated chef maika excited about receiving mail in her mailbox.

This is a live blog, so be sure to check back often-I'm constantly updating it with the latest insights and tips that complement the recipes and content across the site. To stay up to date and never miss out on new information, I encourage you to subscribe. Plus, if there's a specific topic you're curious about, feel free to reach out and request an article-this space is all about helping you in your culinary journey!

Table of Contents

Jump to:
  • Ingredients
  • Equipment
  • Recently Updated
  • Where to Next?

Ingredients

Discover essential tips and techniques for working with specific ingredient families in the ingredients section of my blog, designed to elevate your cooking and deepen your culinary knowledge.

  • bowl of sliced chicken breast, marinating in seasonings and sliced lemons in a mixing bowl.
    How to Marinate Chicken: Tips, Quick Methods & Flavorful Shortcuts
  • pan seared butterflied chicken in oil in an all-clad frying pan
    Cooking Tips for Searing Chicken
  • cutting chicken breast into large chunks on a cutting mat for raw poultry.
    How to Cut Chicken: Large Chunks vs Small Dice
  • freshly picked scotch bonnet peppers held in hand.
    Meet the Scotch Bonnet Pepper: Caribbean Heat with a Fruity Twist
  • Fresh ingredients for chicken corn chowder dumplings: corn, peppers, onions, garlic, and herbs.
    10 Grocery Shortcuts for Quicker Prep
  • a butterflied chicken that has been divided into two with one half cut into thirds for small chicken cutlets
    How to Prep Chicken Cutlets for Quick, Delicious Meals
  • Hot Haitian Seasoning Blend in a colorful bowl.
    10 Proven Spice‑Storage Hacks (Stop Wasting Flavor)
  • half thawed frozen chicken sliced on a cutting board for perfect slices.
    How to Slice Chicken Perfectly Every Time
See more Ingredients →

Equipment

Explore the equipment section of my blog to discover the best tools for your kitchen, learn how to use them effectively, and uncover creative ways to maximize their efficiency in your cooking.

  • two grilled lemongrass chicken breast with grill marks on one and another about to be flipped with a kitchenaid silicone spatula in a grill pan.
    Best Pans for Searing Chicken (and How Each One Behaves)
  • Your Kitchen Assistants: Appliances That Do the Work for You showing meatballs in the air fryer.
    Your Kitchen Assistants: Appliances That Do the Work for You
  • Sautéed spinach in wok complements Caribbean beef noodle soup preparation for a flavorful meal.
    The Best Kitchen Tools for Stir-Frying at Home (What I Actually Use)
  • Leftovers in airtight glass containers with plastic clip-on lids.
    Smart Storage and Kitchen Safety Tools I Can't Live Without
  • mixing dressing using a whisk and bowl.
    Kitchen Measuring & Mixing Tools That Make Cooking Easier
  • santoku knife on a blue plastic cutting mat marked for fish with two fish filets on it.
    Prep Smarter: Knives, Boards & Cutting Tools I Use Every Week
  • air fried meatballs in the air fryer basket evenly spread out 3 by 3
    Best Small Kitchen Appliances That Are Actually Worth the Space
  • the lodge enameled coated dutch oven in blue.
    My Favorite Everyday Cookware | Durable Pans & Pots I Actually Use
See more Equipment →

Recently Updated

These are live articles that will be periodically updated with new information.

  • pan seared butterflied chicken in oil in an all-clad frying pan
    Cooking Tips for Searing Chicken
  • red jalapeno held in hand.
    Scoville Scale and Chili Peppers
  • freshly picked scotch bonnet peppers held in hand.
    Meet the Scotch Bonnet Pepper: Caribbean Heat with a Fruity Twist
  • bowl of sliced chicken breast, marinating in seasonings and sliced lemons in a mixing bowl.
    How to Marinate Chicken: Tips, Quick Methods & Flavorful Shortcuts
See more cooks-notebook →

Where to Next?

  • About
  • Easy Air Fryer S'mores Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cooking Classes
  • Acceptable Use Policy
chef maika profile picture.
Haitian and United Sates of American Flags.

Chef Maika Frederic

Chef and Educator

Haitian-American chef and educator Maika Frederic blends bold flavors with approachable recipes. With a background in both professional kitchens, classrooms, and children therapy as a trained chef, former teacher and technician she brings a thoughtful, inclusive touch to every dish. Through her platform, Just Maika Cooking, she shares diverse meals and practical tips to empower home cooks of all ages and levels.

  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Amazon
  • Facebook
  • Mail
  • Etsy
  • Pinterest
  • X
  • Threads
  • LinkedIn

Primary Sidebar

Welcome!

Chef Maika's profile photo in a chef coat and hand band with arms crossed smiling.

I’m Maika, a professionally trained chef, recipe developer, and culinary educator. For over a decade, I worked at major hotels, including the PGA National Resort, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Conrad Hilton, and W Hotel. As a lifelong passionate cook, my blog explores a world of flavors and experiments with recipes to create restaurant-quality dinners that will excite the food enthusiast's taste buds. Learn More →

Dietary Needs

Sliced Peach Piri Piri Chicken with Fonio Kale Salad on a plate.

Pollotarian

Caesar Salad with soft-boiled Egg, roasted campari Tomatoes and Chili-Infused Croutons garnished with freshly grated parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper in a wide rim bowl.

Vegetarian

Gluten-Free

Dairy-Free

Grilled Zhug Ras el Hanout Lamb Chops and Tomato, cucumber, onion Salad served with a lemon-oregano dressing served with a grilled lemon.

Grain-Free

grilled marinated tofu on top of a warm roasted vegetable couscous salad on spicy basil romesco sauce in a wide rim bowl topped with micro greens.

Egg-Free

top view of the the Easy Spicy Crispy Chicken Tacos with Cholula Sour Cream sprinkled with fresh chopped cilantr on a flat white round plate with shallow straight sides.

Nut-Free

top view and close up the Lemon Calabrian Chili Chicken Orzo Soup in a wide rim bowl .

Mediterranean

Footer

↑ back to top

Legal Stuff

  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Disclaimer
  • Acceptable Use Policy

Helpful Links

  • About
  • Recipes
  • Learn Culinary
  • Subscribe
  • Meetup

Affiliates

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Other Links

  • Press Release

Copyright © 2025 Just Maika Cooking®, a Growth Culinary LLC Company. All Rights Reserved.

Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}