Imagining Spring in January
January 20, 2010 in Antioxidants, Blog Recipes, Cooking & Baking Hints, Diabetic Menu Item, Home and Garden, Mediterranean, Nutrition, Weight Management by Joyce Bunderson
Swiss chard is one of the spring vegetables that grows in our garden. If you’re not familiar with Swiss chard’s habits, I’ll tell you a little about it. This time of year in the mountain west, the perennial Swiss chard is sleeping; but in the spring it will awaken again. It’s so clever, you don’t have to plant it each year, unless the pesky quail eat all the new little sprouts; and then you’ll have to plant them again. And yes, snails and slugs think Swiss chard is nature’s banquet, too.
Even though George Barnard Shaw says that, “Gardening is the only unquestionably useful job.” Others know that gardening is lots of work. “Gardening requires lots of water – most of it in the form of perspiration,” says Lou Erickson. Therefore, if you’re not interested in gardening, you were born to a great day and age, when you can receive fresh produce from places where the Swiss chard is awake and robust during our wintertime; without you toiling in the hot sun.
Little note: I must admit that there is a certain joy in carrying in the flowers, fruits and vegetables that result from working in the garden. The eye candy provided by flowers and delightful flavors of homegrown fruits, vegetables and herbs is a pleasant sensation that is offered as a reward for the perspiration. Once you taste homegrown tomatoes and compare them with the ones from the grocery store, I won’t need to convince you to grow some or find a local farmer’s market.
Thinking about trying a new vegetable? Why not Swiss chard? We’re talking a vegetable among the royalty of nutritious vegetables. Antioxidant is its middle name. This dark green leafy vegetable with the red stems is full of color and nutrients.
Basic Sautéed Red Swiss Chard
Ingredients:
1 large bunch of fresh Swiss chard – any color, or mixed colors will work
1 clove minced garlic, optional
1 – 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon butter
Salt
Directions:
Wash Swiss chard. If any of the stalks are thick and tough, cut them off. If the stalks are not too big, then just cut off a quarter inch of the cut end. Cut the stems off and the large leaves in half; then chop the stems into ½ inch pieces. Stack up all the leaves and cut them into one-inch pieces.
Heat the olive oil and add the Swiss chard, and garlic, if desired; stir. Cover for about 5 minutes, allowing chard to steam a bit. Stir, and continue to sauté until desired tenderness. Add a little butter and salt to taste.
Cut the tip off the cut end of the stalks.
Cut the stalks from the leaves.
Cut the large leaves in half.
Gather the stalks and cut into half-inch pieces.
Chop all the stems.
Put the chopped stalks into a skillet.
Cut the leaves in one-inch slices.
Put cut leaves into the skillet.
Saute Swiss chard until tender.
The Swiss chard becomes an important part of a balanced meal.
tskeen said on January 20, 2010
Royalties of nutritious vegies, eh? That’s great…Royalty! Thanks for the simple suggestion. I’ve got to stock swiss chard in the pantry. BW…how durable it it? Will it keep for very long in the crisper? I’ve been getting on the beet bandwagon, chard w/similar colors will be nice. I like colorful food!
Joyce Bunderson (Dr. Grandma) said on January 21, 2010
The reason that I called Red Swiss Chard a vegetable a royalty of vegetables is that is a dark green leafy vegetable, plus it has all the red in the stems and veins. I promise not to say to many technical words but that’s clearly anthocyanins one of the numerous phytonutrients (plant nutrients) that it chock full of. I won’t even go off on it being a great source of fiber, protein, and complex carbohydrates. OK I yakked so much I may as well mention that the tiny bit of fat it has is omega 3s. Should we care so very much that it is so good for us and about all these bits of things we know or that it tastes good and is easy to cook?
Have a great day – It is really true that, “Good Health Can Be Yummy.” Joyce
Nate @ House of Annie said on January 21, 2010
I love Swiss chard. I love that it is so easy to grow in the garden. Plus it lends itself so well to so many recipes.
Since you are using homegrown ingredients, would you like to enter this post in our Grow Your Own roundup this month? Full details at
http://chezannies.blogspot.com/2010/01/rambutans-plus-grow-your-own.html
Joyce Bunderson (Dr. Grandma) said on January 21, 2010
You look really young in your picture – it’s probably, in part, because you love such a great vegetable as Swiss chard (if you are young, eating vegetables will help you stay that way). If you have recipes in which you’ve used any of your vegetables, I’ll post any that you want to share with your names on it. BTW, Is your name Nate, Annie, Chez, Lau ????? Well, whoever you are, I’m glad you shared your love of Swiss chard. I’m glad to post the ‘Imagining Spring in January’ article on your website.
Best wishes and good thoughts,
Joyce
P.S. Everything is bright white here today – nothing’s growing, but my mind is thinking about my spring garden, and what I’ll plant.