January 12, 2008
Mystery Veggies 2
You guys are the best! Thanks so much for all of you who cleared away the cobwebs of my ignorance about bok choi. We didn't actually get to make it this time around - by the time I got the post up, it had already wilted. But next time! Anyway, now that I've revealed exactly how little I know, I'm feeling pretty shameless about revealing more of my uninformed self. To wit: what are these? What can I do with them?
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11 comments:
To the left - Rainbow Chard (Swiss Chard). To the right - Mustard greens!
Many people like to steam these chard or sautee with sesame oil. To be honest I don't eat these too often. When I eat chard though, I usually whip up a green smoothie - chard, mango, banana, water. But chard is a very strong tasting green.
Mustard greens also have an unusual taste - you can put both chard and the mustard greens into soup as a healthy addition, I think!
Okay, actually the one on the right MIGHT be kale. Is it hard and coarse feeling? Or soft? If soft, it would be mustard greens.
For kale, I make a delicious green smoothie with kale, mango, banana, kiwi (and sometimes avocado) plus water, of course. Kale is SO good for you, so it's a great way to get your greens in and have it absorb really well so you can get the most out of the nutrients.
Bright Lights Swiss Chard on the left. A newer variety of Swiss Chard which has only been available about 5-10 years. My grandpa used to grow mainly Swiss Chard in his garden and when I'm able to garden I *always* have Swiss Chard in it. If your produce person picked the chard recently, it will be delicate and delicious - if you like spinach and beet greens, you will LOVE chard. I personally have only ever had strong tasting chard when it had been sitting in the fridge and was old and wilted. I usually steam mine. The ribs take longer to soften, so I strip the leaves from the ribs, put the ribs on the bottom of the steamer, then stuff the leaves on top. Lucky you, I have been craving Swiss Chard and was unable to start my garden this year. I'm delurking - have visited your blog for a couple of weeks now. RawMilkStar
Oooh, thanks for the help! Smoothies sounds good... as does the braising/steaming. But maybe I'll wait till next time because indeed that chard has been wilting in the fridge for a couple of days now.
I do have a vague memory that you could shock leafy greens back from wilting by putting them in cold water. Is that a figment of my imagination?
Looks like swiss chard and kale. Gotta love the dark leafy greens! I like to throw them into my juicer with an array of fruits and veggies to pump up the nutritional value!
putting them in a cup of water in the fridge is definitely worth a try! it works if you just put the cut ends in - like flowers. they wilt because of dehydration and if it's only been a few days, they should perk up again. this also works for green onions, celery, etc. refrigerators are notoriously dry. good luck! mmm leafy dark green things are the best.
people are leaving out the most important detail about swiss chard...after steaming it and dressing it with butter (yum!)...the person at the head of the table yells da da da dum de dum...swiiiiiiiss and then everyone else yells CHARD!!! it is important to do this at random intervals throughout the meal to ensure that the chard gets eaten.
Swiss chard. Yum. Cut off the stems and cut them into pieces a couple of inches long. Chop up a clove of garlic. Heat a little olive oil in a pan. Throw in the stems and saute for a few minutes, then throw in the garlic. When the garlic begins to smell divine, toss in the chard leaves and saute briefly. Grind on some black pepper and a bit of sea salt, toss, serve and enjoy.
I use Swiss Chard in this recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_35085,00.html
Just cut off the leaves and throw out the red stalk. This recipe works really well even if the chard is wilted.
I've been enjoying your blog a lot. You do wonderful work with stencils. I was inspired to make a couple from pictures of my children. Thank you for such a great idea.
robiewankenobie, that's the funniest thing! we're definitely going to have to incorporate that into daily meals. i'm hoping with more than just swiss chard. "maaaaashed!" - "potatoes!"
The kale is good cooked too. I usually pull the leaves off the stems (discard these) and tear them into pieces. Saute a small onion in a couple of Tbs of olive oil until golden, then add the kale and toss it about with tongs so that it gets coated with the oil. Then add a cup and a half of stock or salted water, and bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until the leaves are tender - say 10 minutes or so. Then stir in a minced garlic clove and boil uncovered until the stock evaporates. Mmmmm... it's really good.
I grow both of these greens in my garden - they are both easy to grow (I grow the red Russian kale).
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