Recipe for Four-Cheese Pasta with Cauliflower

Not my original recipe, but a tasty one.

Four-Cheese Pasta with Cauliflower
1 1/4 cups skim milk
2 tablespoons light cream cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Dash of cayenne pepper (optional)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 cups cooked whole-wheat spiral pasta
2 cups chopped cauliflower (about 1/2 a medium head), steamed

In a medium saucepan, combine milk, cream cheese, flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne, if desired. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until mixture comes to a slow boil, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove pan from heat; stir in remaining cheeses and mustard until cheese melts. In a bowl, toss pasta with cauliflower; pour cheese mixture over top; stir. Divide pasta evenly among 7 bowls; serve immediately.

Split Pea Soup

A nice bean soup is great just about any time of year. Though when served in winter next to a nice fire, it is like a small dream.
I like to make different kinds of bean soups, but one of my favorite is a simple split pea soup with a small amount of pasta mixed in.

Ingredients:
One packet of split peas - about 250grams (more if you are making for a group of people)
1/3 onion - finely diced
one clove of fresh garlic - minced
1/4 cup of mushrooms - finely diced
around 15 spaghetti sprigs, broken into two.

First, soak a packet of dried split peas in a pot of water the night before. The amount of water depends on how much you are planning to make, but basically, one part peas to three parts water (example: one cup peas, three cups water). Up to two hours before you would like to eat, mix the peas and bring pot to a boil. You may need to add water as you boil.
In a skillet, grill onions and garlic until onions are almost brown, then add mushrooms and grill for one more minute. Once peas are soft, add onions, garlic and mushrooms into pot with peas and mix. Then add spaghetti and mix. Turn off the heat and let sit for up to 15 minutes or until the spaghetti is fairly soft.

Spanish Omelette

Here is a very tasty breakfast or lunch, depending on what ingredients you put into it. It's very easy and fun to make, and it's fun to see the amazed looks on people's faces when you bring it out to the dining room in a skillet.







Basic Ingredients:

1/2 cup Olive Oil
2 large potatoes, sliced
1 whole onion, diced
1 cup sausages, cooked and sliced
8 medium-sized eggs
2 t. Salt
1 t. Pepper

Heat olive oil in a frying skillet over medium heat. Then add potatoes and onion. Fry until slightly softened and browned. Add salt and pepper, mix and add sausages. Allow to continue to fry.
Add just a pinch of salt and pepper to eggs and mix well. Then add to skillet. Mix once and allow to simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes.
Heat a new skillet to medium heat. When heated, cover first skillet with new skillet and flip quickly. Put new skillet on low heat and let simmer for about 5 minutes.
When done, put the omelette into a separate plate and let sit for about five minutes. Makes 8 servings.

(Mix and match other ingredients like broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, cooked salmon, and whatever you like)

Swedish Fika

This is an example of a Swedish Fika. We had this for the opening celebration of the New Tokara Office on January 15th. It's a bit different than Japanese tea time in that there are no savory items like sukemono. Mostly fika is coffee and sweets, though other drinks like tea and juices can be mixed in as well.

Some time after its introduction in Sweden it became prohibited to drink coffee. The fine if caught while drinking coffee was so criticized that after a few years the ban was lifted.

"Seven Kinds of Cookies" refers to a term and a tradition since the late 1800s. It refers to how many different flavors of cookies a host should offer. The most famous cookie is probably the Gingerbread cookie. It has been baked since 1444 at a monastery in Vadstena. Children also take fika breaks. They often dip the gingerbread cookie into milk or berry juice.

The traditional cup of Swedish coffee is stronger than the traditional cup of American coffee. A normal Swedish coffee cup measures 1 � dl or less then one cup of fresh cold water for one tablespoon plus a dash of grounded beans to serve boiled (kokkaffe) or brewed (bryggkaffe) coffee.

There are times, however, when less than a regular cup is served. Very small coffee cups called mocka cups are sometimes used at dinner parties. The mocha sugar cubes are smaller than regular sugar cubes. Coffee Kask also calls for less boiled or brewed coffee and is diluted with liquor.

BOXTY (Irish Potato Pancakes)

This isn't my original recipe. It was sent to me by a friend after I went on and on about the Salmon Boxty I had at Gallagher's in Dublin. A boxty is more like a crepe than a pancake in that you can stuff it with almost anything both savory or sweet.
I had it stuffed with salmon and mushrooms in a cream sauce.

1 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. mashed potatoes
1 c. finely grated raw potato
2 eggs
1/3 c. milk
1 tbsp. butter

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. When well mixed, blend in cooked mashed potatoes. Squeeze the finely grated raw potatoes in a tea towel to remove excess moisture. Add it to the bowl along with 2 eggs, well beaten, and just enough milk to make a thick batter.
In a skillet, melt butter. Drop batter by tablespoons into pan. Press down to flatten. Cook pancakes 4 minutes on each side or until golden. Serve hot.