My new favorite past time living in SE Portland is to bike to the Hollywood Market on Saturday mornings and shop for fresh, local produce. I've discovered that my shopping habits remain the same even when I shop at the Farmer's Market. I love returning to the same vendors, getting the same amazing fresh, organic ingredients, but do my best to creatively come up with a new way to use that ingredient. I think my favorite vendor of the summer has been Peak Forest Fruit. They sell a variety of wild mushrooms, which I always find myself buying, even if I have no idea what I am going to do with them. The little fungi are just so tempting! They also have the best cherries I've ever had! Needless to say, I've become a loyal customer.
One vegetable at the market that keeps calling my name is the colored chard. It's like vegetable eye-candy. Seriously...it must be a crime to have a vegetable look this good. I'm a sucker for color...and it comes in rainbows. I have to admit I've never tasted, bought, or cooked chard. Every time I go to the Farmer's Market I walk by this lusciously seductive vegetable.... it calls my name.... yet I just cant find the courage to buy it. I'm intimidated. I don't know how to cook this stuff...and it's probably not going to look as good as it does displayed in all it's glory at the market when I cook it. New goal.....Purchase alluring green vegetable and attempt to make it appetizing and potentially delicious.
In honor of Farmer's Markets and the approach of summer's end, I decided to make one of my favorite late summer meals this evening....Roasted Tomato Soup. The secret to this amazing soup is using a variety of tomatoes. I like the big beefsteak, mixed with a few early girls, romas, heirloom, and the long skinny kind (I cant remember their name, it starts with an "m"...you'll figure it out when you go to the market). It's delightful with a grilled mozzarella and pesto sandwich. :) Happy Eating!
Get the recipe at Making it Spicy.
-Erica Stillar
One vegetable at the market that keeps calling my name is the colored chard. It's like vegetable eye-candy. Seriously...it must be a crime to have a vegetable look this good. I'm a sucker for color...and it comes in rainbows. I have to admit I've never tasted, bought, or cooked chard. Every time I go to the Farmer's Market I walk by this lusciously seductive vegetable.... it calls my name.... yet I just cant find the courage to buy it. I'm intimidated. I don't know how to cook this stuff...and it's probably not going to look as good as it does displayed in all it's glory at the market when I cook it. New goal.....Purchase alluring green vegetable and attempt to make it appetizing and potentially delicious.
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| Colorful Swiss Chard |
Get the recipe at Making it Spicy.
-Erica Stillar
Erica- I am so excited about this blog, as I love all things food. But I must say I think I am totally missing out! The Portland Farmer's Market I frequent has yet to display any beautifully colored chard like this. If I happen to spot some I suspect that I will hear my name called as well. :)
ReplyDeleteI do however, love the leafy dark green chard that I usually find with red stems. Now I haven't experimented much with my chard preparations but I love sauteing it (after running a knife along the stems to remove only the leaves) with garlic and shallots in a nice olive oil and seasoning with salt and freshly ground pepper. From there I like adding it to pasta with or without other ingredients or toping toasted artisan bread with the combination. In my experience it is one of the fastest cooking greens and needs not a lot of time but beware if you're using it as a main ingredient since it does cook down a LOT. So for something such as the pasta I mentioned, I would recommend at least 1 bundle if you're cooking a meal for two (2 bundles if you're a big fan). I'm sure there are much more extravagant things you can do with it but I've yet to explore them.
I hope you try it and let us know what you think!
~Nicole Butler
Thanks for these great tips and suggestions Nicole! I'll be sure to get some and try cooking it in the next couple weeks. :)
ReplyDelete-Erica
Oh my, don't be scared of chard. It's SOOO easy to cook. I buy 2 bunches. Wash it good, it grows in sandy soil. Trim the leaves from the stems (reserve chopped stems if you want, but I just toss em) Saute some olive oil and sliced garlic (I use 2 big cloves) until the garlic turns translucent. Then add the chopped chard leaves. Cook on med heat with a lid on the saute pan until it begins to wilt. Turn the heat up to high, and add 1/4 cup water. Then cook with lid off until water is gone and chard is fully wilted. Season w/ fresh cracked salt and pepper and a tiny dash of red wine vinegar. I sometimes omit the red wine vinegar, and just go salt/pepper. That is my very favorite way to cook it. It's so yummy, we eat a ton of it all summer long cuz it's so good for you. I also put it in soup...Giada's ministrone. YUM!
ReplyDeleteI made Chard yesterday just like you explained Sus....it was wonderful! Can't wait to make it again. :)
ReplyDelete