I hope you all celebrate!
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| Some CSA members enjoy their strawberries this way! |
As I shared with you earlier, this week I was determined to make something with the chard.
CSA member Polly Symons, who shared the wonderful recipes last week, also said that the NY Times recipe site was amazing. I decided to try it out with swiss chard recipes. She wasn't kidding. I just searched for swiss chard and this is what I got.
So many of these looked appealing to me.
It was early in the week and I didn't even have my share yet and I was dreaming of all the glorious hours I would spend in the kitchen making these delicious dishes from scratch that Johnie was sure to rate at 5 broccoli stalks.
That's not actually real life.
By the time Thursday evening came, the night I had planned to use the swiss chard in some way, I was pretty tired and I wasn't feeling well. Thursday is laundry day at our house and for some crazy reason I also decided to do a little cleaning. The clock inched toward dinner time and I just wanted to do take-out. Order pizza. Pick up McDonald's. Anything. Just don't make me open the refrigerator. Or chop anything. Or turn on the stove. Please.
But I sighed. And opened the refrigerator anyway and looked at what was left of my beautiful share. It is beautiful. Every week it is beautiful. I pulled the swiss chard out and stared it down. Nothing. No inspiration. I decided to eat a carrot (those things are so delicious!) and think. I pulled up the NY Times swiss chard recipe list again. I hadn't made a trip to the store to get any of the necessary ingredients of many of the recipes that looked interesting. But I had mentally starred one that just might appeal to Johnie because it also featured sausage/brats. And I had some SHF brats from the winter meat share.
I still wasn't excited about it and knew I'd need to make something to go with it. I decided to turn it into a pasta dish and add alfredo sauce. Now that I could get on board with!
I thawed some of the SHF brats and fried them up in a skillet. I used this sausage with chard and rhubarb recipe, subbing the garlic scapes for garlic and scallions and leaving out the mustard seeds. Then I made pasta with alfredo sauce as a base for it all to rest on. Johnie still only gave it two broccoli stalks (because there were "too many leaves"), but I loved it so much I didn't even care. And I can't say enough about how wonderful the garlic scapes were!
Amanda offered this advice in a previous season for what to do when you find yourself with too many greens.
I will also add my own third option: Smoothies. I first tried "green smoothies" in January when a friend who owns a health and wellness business did a 14-day smoothie challenge. If you have never put handfuls of fresh greens in a blender with the intention of making a smoothie before you may be feeling the same reluctance I felt. Raw spinach? Raw spinach in a blender and then drink it?!?!? But I was hooked after the first time.
I don't typically use recipes for smoothies anymore. I just follow these general guidelines: Some fresh or frozen fruit (berries, apples, bananas, mangos, pineapple, apple, etc), milk/yogurt or juice (soy, almond, kefir, cow, apple, grape, etc), a few handfuls of greens (kale, spinach, lettuce, etc), a heaping tablespoon or two of peanut butter (you can use any nut butter) and a tablespoon or two of flax seed. Blend it all together until smooth. You can add more liquid if it is too thick, or add honey or another sweetener if it needs more sweetness. The addition of the nut butter and flax seed help it to be even more nutritious with added protein and fiber. Sounds crazy, I know, but you should try it. And, if you make more than you can drink you can freeze the leftovers in ice cube trays and re-blend them later.
If you would like some green smoothie recipes, I did a search on the NY Times tool and came up with these.
How are you using your greens this week?
Please let me know if you have any recipes, tips or tricks! amyrosekarr@gmail.com
Have a great weekend!
* If you do digital coupons from Kroger, head on over and download one for a free doughnut.
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