Eat real food.

We weren’t able to get a CSA this year — none were close enough that we felt comfortable committing to biking the distance each week — we did manage to get a garden planted. And that garden is producing Swiss Chard. (Or just Chard. I don’t know if it’s swiss or not.)

I didn’t know anything about chard until this. I mean, I’d heard of it, but I used to eat food that came in boxes, and Chard does not come in boxes. But now I have it growing out of the ground in my yard, and apparently it’s food, so what to do?

Well, I asked around, and a friend who is also just learning told me she learned how to make it from her friend. She described the method I’m about to tell you, and said they’d done it and sampled several different flavorings, like picante sauce, garlic, and lemon. I thought it would be good with the mushrooms we’d bought earlier, and I was right. It turned out great!

Of course, you could use a different kind of mushroom as well. I would have liked to have more mushroom in it… so maybe a less expensive one!

Swiss Chard with Morel Mushrooms

We picked a lot of Chard. When you cook down the leaves, they don’t take up much space, so you need a big handful for each person. After washing the leaves, we pulled the leafy part off the stems. Then chopped the stems into little slices that looked a little like celery slices.

We sauteed the chard stems in butter in the iron skillet — that’s what the black is. I was nervous about the flavor (it’s pretty bitter when it’s raw!) so I kept tasting the sauteed stems. When they started to become clear, I added a bit of salt (not much) and tasted, and suddenly it was yummy. I knew then that it would go nicely with the murshrooms.

Then we started chopping the mushrooms. I guess morels are usually sliced in half lengthwise, but I wanted the flavor to blend with the chard, so I sliced them in rings.

And here’s the finished product. It was a little bitter, but it was subtle. It was also very savory, and quite delicious. I’m looking forward to making more.

Oh, Yay! The Farmers’ Market is open, and there’s food! Real, honest-to-goodness local, seasonal food!

I tried to be responsible; buying Basil is just silly. There will be tons growing in my own garden before long. But I couldn’t resist. It’s the call of the pesto, don’tcha know? And boy, was it yummy!

The first picture shows chicken grilling with a bit of green onion (not too green, but springtime onion). The second is when I added a bunch of chopped spinach. And the third is everything all ready to go on a bed of lettuce.

The Pesto Dressing

• A big wad of Basil. Maybe enough to fill a 2-cup pyrex, if you stuff it lightly inside.
• A couple of tablespoons of Parmesan
• A couple of tablespoons of nuts. (I actually used some ground almonds I had left over from making a curry.)
• Oil or dressing. I used the olive-oil mayonnaise I sort-of-accidentally made a while back. Perfect!
• A little salt, depending on the dressing.

Stuff the basil leaves in your mini-chopper and whirr. I filled it once, processed, then stuffed the rest in. It doesn’t make much, once you grind up the leaves.

If the nuts aren’t chopped yet, add them next, and grind a bit more. Less grinding=more crunch, more grinding=more smooth. Then add Parmesan and oil or creamy stuff.

The finished product

Put a bed of spring lettuce on a place, and serve up the chicken and spinach on top of it, still warm. Then pour (or glop) the pesto on top.

Of course, I forgot to take a picture of the dish, because I was too busy eating that wonderful plate of springtime. Heavenly!

It’s easy to neglect our garden in the cold rains of winter. But I managed to get myself there, and I’m glad I did. I found some lovely leeks and parsley growing. A bit of broccoli, too, but that’s another story. It’s the leeks and parsley that made my morning, with a luscious omelette. (more…)