I'm just back from a week in Southern California with my husband's family, eating Mexican and Cuban food. Wish we had more (and better examples) of these cuisines here!

I'm trying to get recipes to share from California sources, but meanwhile, I got an e-mail from Katherine Doctorello, who had asked for a lemon mochi recipe. She had enjoyed the dish at a gathering at AIG, where she works. I didn't have it. Later, she obtained it from her colleague's wife, Roselle Taguchi, and now she's sharing it with us.

I made this recipe the other night, and it was delicious and enough for a potluck. Unlike some butter-mochi recipes I've tried, which tended to puff up on the perimeter and collapse in the middle, and to have a gooey texture, this one rose evenly, browned beautifully and had a more cakey texture. I'm sold on this recipe.

It calls for instant lemon pudding, but I couldn't find any, so I bought instant vanilla pudding and used 3 teaspoons lemon extract instead of 2. Also, Roselle said, you can use one (14.5-ounce) can coconut milk (regular or lite) and add milk to make 3 cups. I used nonfat milk to cut the fat and calories. If you've got coconuts, make fresh coconut milk; you could even use fresh-grated coconut. The result would be less sweet.

LEMON PUDDING MOCHI