Simpe Sauteed Greens

I’ve been getting a CSA basket each week for about 4 months now. Although I love having fresh veggies each week, and organic to boot, what I don’t love is eating the same thing week after week. Yes, I love kale and chard, but every week for 6 weeks? Hmmm, it takes a lot of creativity to work on that. It’s been a great motivator to try new things and I appreciate that. Thank goodness I can hit the farmers markets and get a few more goodies each week or I’d be lost.

This week, I decided to clean out all the greens and cook them for the week. It turned out to be a great idea and one I’ll be repeating again. As you can see in the photo, everything is green (except for the leek, and that’s technically green, right?) Once everything is done, the possibilities are endless. For the first night, we had the greens mixed with Jasmine rice. The next night, sauteed with a little more olive oil over gluten-free pasta. The next day for lunch, I just heated up the greens and ate them just like that-Yum!

Use whatever greens you like or you happen to have from a basket of greens. I tried to keep everything as similar as possible, meaning I kept the crunchy veggies in and left the squash for later since I didn’t want it to become too soft. But whatever you like, dear chef, just throw it in there. Oh, and by the way, don’t forget to peel the broccoli stem and chop that up, it tastes wonderful. In fact, it’s my daughter’s favorite part of the broccoli. I also chop the entire chard, not just the leaves. The stems have a wonderful, crunchy texture and taste divine-don’t waste them.

Simple Sauteed Greens
1 bunch Swiss chard, chopped (including stems)
1 bunch baby kale, chopped
1 large leek (white only), chopped
1 onion, diced
2 stalks of broccoli, chopped (including stem)
2 TBS chopped fresh parsley, chopped
salt/pepper
2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1. Chop veggies into bite-sized pieces.
2. Saute all veggies except parsley in 1 TBS olive oil until soft but still crisp (about 10 minutes).
3. Add parsley, salt, pepper, and lemon.
4. Serve over rice, pasta, or just on its own.

This is a great way to serve greens without much fuss. It’s quick, but it’s also fresh and clean tasting. Use a little lemon zest if you want more lemon flavor.

Enjoy!

5-Minute Lunch

This took all of five minutes to make, and it’s so yummy I can’t stop eating it -but I will ‘cuz I want to save some for later.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and cooking for yourself today is probably not high on your priority what with cooking for 20 tomorrow? I’m not cooking for everyone for the first time in 15 years and instead we’re taking veggies to my niece’s place for dinner. Yes, there’s a big turkey on the table (and a ham) but we’re bringing a Quorn roast for ourselves and there are plenty of veggies.

But for today, it’s veggie time. We picked up our CSA bag and it was full of golden beets and rainbow chard-Yipee-my favorites. Every Wednesday is like Christmas as we open the bag and see what’s inside. I never keep the cilantro (I know, but I don’t like it) and I always keep the beets. So for lunch today, after splitting the goods with my BFF, I had 5 stalks of rainbow chard left and I went to town. Count it-five minutes.

5-minute Rainbow Chard Lunch
4-5 stalks of rainbow chard, cleaned and chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts (toasted)
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 tsp chopped garlic
Olive oil
1 Tbs Romano cheese (optional)

1. Add chard to a large saute pan with olive oil (about a Tbs) and cook down. It will cook down to about half it’s size, just like spinach.
2. While the chard is cooking, throw the pine nuts in the oven at about 350 for about 2 minutes or until they get slightly brown. (You can use a toaster oven or put them under the broiler on low, just watch closely since they burn quickly.)
3. Add garlic to chard and stir.
4. Add pine nuts, raisins and a pinch of salt to chard. Let cook for another minute.

Voila! it’s done. I like to add a pinch of Romano cheese (grated) on top for a bite-but that’s optional. The pine nuts give his a great texture and flavor and the raisins add just a bit of sweetness. My favorite part is the crunchiness of the chard, it’s so refreshing and comforting. Dive in dear chef and have fun. Tomorrow you stuff yourself but today you can eat light and comforting.

Enjoy!

Veggie Feast

I decided to use a few fresh, organic veggies and do it up right. I love the strong, earthy bite of kale and have never really cooked with it before. And my new-favorite veggie these days is chard, with it’s beautiful color and kick of flavor. I used to use escarole more often, but I like chard’s distinct flavor and texture. Either one would work in place of the other, in my opinion. Enough garlic and everything tastes great.

I’ve made two dishes today and put them in the fridge (after sneeking a bunch for myself). I’ll save them for dinner/lunches in the next few days. One dish is a variation on the last post I did using a red chard this time and white bean. The other is something of a variation on a dish I saw at Whole Foods that had steamed kale and soy sauce, sesame oil, etc., except theirs is not GF and therefore I can’t have it. So I just made my own version.

Both are simply delicious. Make enough to save and snack on later, I can’t stop picking at them when I open the fridge. Somebody stop me…

Red Chard with White Beans
1 bunch of red chard, cleaned and chopped
1.5 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 can white cannelini beans, rinsed
1/2 cup marinara sauce
salt/pepper

Simple dish…
1. Place chard in a hot saute pan with the oil over medium heat. Toss in the pan until it’s wilted
2. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix, simmer 10 minutes and voila. Next!

The flavors are even better the next day since they have time to infuse. The stems are still crisp, just the way I like them. I think I’ll make some GF rolls to eat with them. Yum…

Steamed Kale with Golden Raisins
1 bunch kale, cleaned and chopped
1/4 C golden raisins
salt/pepper

sauce:
2 TBS GF tamari sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 dash cayenne
1 tsp chopped parsely
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp agave nectar

1. Steam kale leaves in a saute pan with a 2 TBS water on the bottom. Cover until wilted but still crisp (water should be about gone).
2. While kale is steaming, mix sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Taste and tweak it to your liking, add more soy, more sesame, etc. until you have it just right.
3. Pour sauce, salt, pepper and raisins into pan, toss and turn off heat and let it sit for a few moments for the flavors to marry.

I like to server this one cold. Let it cool in the fridge before serving. The bite of the kale with the sweetness of the raisins is so satisfying.

Feel free, dear chef, to experiment with adding almonds, different greens, different beans, etc. These are so flavorful they would make a great side dish, or stand alone on their own.

Enjoy!

Simple, Rustic dish

This is probably more of a winter dish, but since I wasn’t feeling well I wanted something comforting and soothing. Warm, hearty dishes do that for me. This was inspired by my good friend Maegen, a wonderful chef and friend who gave me the wonderful smoked paprika on my last trip out to California.

Rainbow Chard with Garbanzos

1 bunch of Rainbow Chard, chopped (stems and leaves)
1 large clove of garlic to two smaller ones, chopped
1 can garbanzos, rinsed
1 TBS grapeseed oil
1/2 cup veggie broth
1/2 C golden raisins
About 1/4 C shredded Romano (optional)
1 tiny pinch of smoked paprika (a little goes a long way)

1. Heat large saute pan with oil. Add galic and cook for a minute.
2. Add chopped chard and saute for a few moments, giving the chard time to wilt.
3. Add beans, salt, pepper, raisins and broth.
4. Saute till everything is warmed through and chard is cooked through.
5. Add paprika and cook for just one more minute.

Serve with shredded Romano. The smoked paprika gives it a warm, smoky taste. Just what I needed to warm my tummy. If you don’t have smoked paprika, which I never did before, this is still delicious on it’s own without it. I tried it before adding the paprika and it was wonderful.

Enjoy!