 Springtime comes and I get totally obsessed with adding fruit, and especially strawberries on everything. They have been on my salad every day this week, and I just can't get enough. What is your favorite thing to add to your salad?  So here's this week's meal. I was craving, needed, wanted some comfort food this week. Thankfully, it was a rainy beginning of the week, so I was able to play in the kitchen without a heat stroke. Antipasto was a great start for the meal. I took some bell peppers, onion and lots of herbs, little ocean salt, pepper and olive oil, and set them in the oven on a low temperature. I let them slowly cook in the oven, while I was making the casserole, just get the juices going, the taste to get intense, but still having some crunch to them, and the vibrant colors. Absolutely lovely with some Serrano ham slices, and Balsamic vinegar, if so wanted. This casserole is an old recipe, that is my childhood favorite. My mom used to make it a lot, and I loved it. Of course I haven't been able to capture completely the taste my mom created way back when, so I always add something different to it, and make it my own thing. I have added corn when I didn't have enough pasta, I have added tomatoes, peppers, chili, bacon, wine, yes, lots of variations over the years. This time I added four different cheeses, lots of herbs, and I have to admit, it came out great. It is a great casserole to make ahead, or serve when a big group of family and friends are gathering, or make for a potluck dinner. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Have a great weekend, till next time ~ Cheers!
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 You might have seen this picture last week, when I told you about my urban window herb garden?! It nearly got out of hands, with the beautiful sunny days, as the greens were growing so fast. I have always dreamed about growing my own vegetables, but since I live in a big city center, that's not going to happen any time soon. But this kitchen window garden has been lovely so far, and few additions have come there too, more variety to the herbs. There was a great amount of cherry tomatoes, that were ripe at the same time, and I decided to make a very simple salad with them, as the basil needed some trimming as well. I cut the tomatoes, and some of the herbs, and served them on the side of the fish.
 Here in Norway, we are getting ready for an extra long weekend, with lots of celebration. From Saturday to Monday, Norway is observing the Pentecost, Monday being a national holiday, and on Tuesday, May 17th celebration of the Norwegian constitution, also known as the National Day of Norway, is observed. This will be my 14th year to celebrate it, and I have to say, it is one of my favorite days in Norway. The joy, cheer, and national pride are so high, that even the weather in the past hasn't been able to dim it. The day often starts with a big breakfast, friends and family gather together, early in the day, to enjoy the meal, getting a good start on the day.
 What are the tastes, that makes you think of summer? Even just the scent of it makes you smile, and think of hot summer days. For me, one of them is cauliflower. Soup made from it, was part of my childhood summers. I wanted to make a cauliflower soup without potatoes and cream. I know, that is what everyone puts in them, but I wanted a little lighter version, so I went to my friend parsnip. Very simple, I took one head of cauliflower, one parsnip, one leek, and cut them into a pot - remember, the smaller the cuts, the faster it will cook - and filled with fresh water until just covered. Added salt, and let them boil until done. It didn't take long at all, maybe ten, fifteen minutes, for the cuts I had in the pot. Then I took the stick mixer, and pyré the veggies into the salted water. I added about half a cup of milk, adjusted the salt, and it was ready to be served. I had some bacon for the top, and some greens. Simple, beautiful, and so delicious! The amount I had, serves about four, I had a smaller size cauliflower head.
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