Swiss Chard

Disclaimer:  I have no medical training. 

Top 10 reasons I'm trying to learn how to cook Swiss Chard:

1.  It tastes better than Kale.

2.  Husband says its "fine."  That's not what he says about Kale.

3.  It's cheap.

4.  1 cup of it supplies over 14% of the daily

 requirement for fiber.

5.  It's got vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, magnesium, manganese, potassium, iron, vitamin E, and dietary fiber. Swiss chard a good source of copper, calcium, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, protein, phosphorous, vitamin B1, zinc, folate, biotin, niacin and pantothenic acid.  And no, I don't know what all of those things are.  Do you?

6.  It's good for your immune system.  It's got like antioxidants and stuff.

7.  It's pretty.  Don't you think?

8.  It is fat and cholesterol free  and low calorie, unless you put bacon on it, which wouldn't be a half-bad idea, would it?

9.  I'm thinking I could grow it in the raised beds.  That could be a good thing.

10.  The second link below says you should not eat swiss chard if you are trying to gain weight.  Really?

How we are eating Swiss chard:

One of these pretty purple shallots.  Finely Chopped.

To the chopped onion, add 1/4 t. salt, 1/4 t. sugar, 1 T. Rice vinegar.  Stir to combine and set aside.


Not to confuse anyone, but this is half a bunch.  We'll use half the onion mixture tonight and the other 1/2 bunch and the other half bunch tomorrow night.

Now prepare the greens.  These things are grown in sand.  It's like cleaning leeks, so take the time to rinse them really good.

My mom didn't do this.  I don't really know how.  But I've been slicing it one way.  Then, I turn the board and slicing the other way. I think the stems are tasty and take off just the end. 

After cooking if part of the stem is still a little, well, you know, just pick the sucker out of there and down the garbage disposal. Who's going to know?

  

A good few squirts of olive oil into the pan and get it hot enough that there is a big sizzle when anything goes in - like medium hot.  Add the greens and a couple T of lemon juice.  Then medium heat.

Keep cooking as the greens and stems soften.  

And remember that you always have my permission to pick out anything that you don't want to eat before it goes to the table. 

A hand full of feta and the lid on while you finish up everything else.  And -  

Remember it's good for you.

Sources:

http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/swiss-chard.html

http://www.great-workout.com/nutrition/vegetables/swiss-chard-nutrition-facts.cfm

http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/antioxidants-your-immune-system-super-foods-optimal-health


Shared at Kelly the Kitchen Kop http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2011/04/real-food-wednesday-41311.html

And Hearth & Soul
http://amoderatelife.com/2011/04/hearth-and-soul-hop-volume-43/

And What's Cooking Wednesday
http://thekingscourt4.blogspot.com/2011/04/whats-cooking-wednesday-41311.html

And What's You Cooking Wednesday

Broccoli Casserole

I like inventing recipes.  Sometimes I do it well.  I've been making a vegetable casserole for a couple months.  It has morphed into this, which Husband declares delicious.  Okay, it isn't low calorie, but we ate the whole thing between us last time and broccoli's good for you.  Well...


Broccoli Casserole
2 T. Butter
2 T. All-purpose flour
1 t. salt
1 t. sugar
1 shallot, chopped
1 c. low fat Tillamook sour cream
3 T. milk
3 heads of broccoli
5 crimini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1/2 red pepper, roasted
1/2 c. medium cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 c. crushed ritz crackers
1 T. butter melted.

First roast your pepper.  I don't cook with pepper any other way more, because roasting it first is so good. 


Lay it in a flat metal pan and rub it liberally with olive oil and sprinkle with plenty of salt, then broil it until the skin blackens like this. 

Take it out and let it cool enough that you can handle it.  The black skin just rubs off leaving soft and delicious pepper flesh.  Throw away the black. 


Chop the pepper finely.  You end up with something like pimento but with much much more flavor.  I usually do this ahead, so it sits on my cutting board in a little pile to which I add more olive oil and salt. 

Next slice the mushrooms and put them in the same pan with more olive oil and salt.  Back into the broiler until they are sweated and soft.  Don't try to blacken them.  Just a few minutes.


While we are on this subject, I've been watch cooking shows which suggest not washing mushrooms with water!  Instead, they rub them with a clean kitchen towel.  Do you know what mushrooms grow in?  I'm just saying, I wash them well and let them dry on a towel.  I've never had any trouble doing that.  What do you do?  


Next, cook the brocolli in boiling salted water.  With a knife, cut off the central stem, then cut the florettes into bite size pieces.  Once they are cooked, drain the brocolli in a collandar and return to the pan.  

In a large skillet, make the sauce with the butter and flour, salt and sugar, sour cream and sauce.  Add the brocolli and mushrooms and roasted pepper to the sauce and toss.  Turn this mixture into a casserole dish and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

On top of the casserole, layer grated cheese and crumb mix.  Make the crumb with butter and ritz crackers.


Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is golden and the cheese is bubbly. 

Trust me, its yummy.

Together with a small piece of Tuna.  A good dinner.

This blog post was linked with Kelly the Kitchen Kop - http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2010/12/real-food-wednesday-12810.html
and
Scrap Addict for Sure - http://www.scrapaddict4sure.com/2010/12/whatcha-makin-wed-dec7-9th.html

and Culinary Bliss -

http://culinarybliss.blogspot.com/2010/12/simple-lives-thursday-21.html

Remember to eat your vegetables.

Roast Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I've been working on a recipe for Roast Garlic Mashed Potatoes.  This is not my mother's mashed potatoes, which in Paula Deen style, were so very rich with butter and cream.  They aren't perfectly creaming and smooth, either, in Martha Stewart style.  I have no problems with a few lumps in mashed potatoes.  Actually prefer it.


This started yesterday.  I roasted the garlic.  It's worth it because of the extra flavor and doesn't take that much time, but I do all my cooking after dark, so planning is necessary.  The total truth is that I don't like raw garlic in some things and sauted garlic is easy to burn. 


http://dinnerattheosbornes.blogspot.com/2010/09/roast-garlic-in-preparation-for-roast.html

Somewhere around 2 to 2 1/4 pound of yukon gold potatoes.  I'm going to say this many.

Peel them.  I use a paring knife and cut against my thumb.  What most people call a potato peeler, I use to peel carrots.  One of these days, I'll get around to another blog post about peeling.  I did lots of it at an early age.  My mother and grandmother picked and canned or froze produce all summer long.  I spent many a summer afternoon belly-up to the sink, peeling and slicing things, so let's just say I have a couple opinions about that. 

Cut each peeled potato in half, unless they are big.  Then, cut them in quarters.  Put them in a large sauce pan or small stew pot and cover with water.  I add about a good teaspoon of salt and start heating them.  At a slow steady boil, cook them until they stick easily with a fork.  

Place a big colander into the sink.  Turn on the cold water.  Carefully pour the pot, water and potatoes, into the colander.  I'm not sure why I do the cold water thing.  I'm not usually prone to old wife's tales, but it makes good sense to me that it is not good for the plumbing to pour boiling water into it.  On the other hand, maybe it's just fine.  That's just how I do it. 

Return the cooked potatoes to the same pot.  Add 1 T. butter, 2 T. olive oil and 1/2 cup  Tillamook Sour Cream.  You can substitute other good commercial sour cream if you don't live in the Pacific Northwest.  1/2 t. of salt or more if you like it.  Actually, I like a little more.   1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper. 

Mash with a potato masher.  The one on the right is just like the one my Mom had, I think.  I bought it at a garage sale.  But the one on the left is my favorite to actually use. 

Another option includes a food mill, which actually works pretty well for this type of thing.  They are functional, cheap, easy to find.  They go easily in the dishwasher.  I believe I bought this thing at the Goodwill on 78th just east of 99 highway. 

I like my masher, but I've also used my nice little Black & Decker hand mixer to mash potatoes many times.  So there is another option. 

  

Put the roasted garlic from the night before on the cutting board and give it a good chop. 

http://dinnerattheosbornes.blogspot.com/2010/09/roast-garlic-in-preparation-for-roast.html

Add it to the potatoes and mix with a big spoon.   

Actually, I've been thinking that this would be good with more garlic.  Next time, I may roast more, so don't be scared of this amount of garlic.  It is a really happy thing. 

Remember to trust me.

Italian Sauted Green Beans

Pick beans when they are small.  Big green beans aren't tender or tasty.  If you are buying them from the store or farm stand, take the time to pick out the smaller ones.  In fact, you should never feel embarrassed to pick through produce and get exactly what you want. 


Green beans are very good for you, easy to grow, and frugal.  Only the cost of a package of seeds.  More importantly, they provide a life long memory for the kids.  Talk about it: growing, picking and eating "our own" produce.  We find things under the bushes we want to look at.  Bugs, other plants, interesting things in the dirt.  It is fun and good for them.


Italian Sauted Green Beans
2 cups fresh green beans, snipped and cleaned.
2 big garlic cloves or 3 small garlic cloves, minced
1 T. olive oil
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. fresh ground pepper
1/2 t. dry oregano leaves (or 1T. fresh finely minced)
1 T. white wine, water, or broth
1 small tomato, diced.

Snip smallish green beans and break in half.  Wash thoroughly in a colandar.  Let drain.  In a large skillet, heat oil until a drop of water gives a medium sizzle.  Add beans and move them around with a spoon to coat.  Add salt, pepper, and oregano.  Increase heat to medium high and continue stirring for 5 minutes.  Add garlic and wine and tomato.  Stir to combine well.  Reduce temperature to medium, add a lid and steam for an additional 5 minutes.  

Just a few hints from someone with just a little experience. 

• The beans should be well drained before they hit the hot oil.  Just saying.  If you are in a hurry, dry them with a paper towel.  Thank me later.
• Get your hand wet under the sink then splatter a drop at the skillet to determine how hot the skillet and oil without danger to you. 
• Keep a lid close by.  If it sizzles too much, put the lid on. 
• With more experience, you'll get a medium sizzle without drama.  
• Burned garlic doesn't taste good.  Many recipes add the garlic early in the saute.  I think add it late. 
• The purpose of the wine is to give liquid to steam the vegetables softer and flavor.  If you don't like or don't want the wine, use water or broth. 
• A drop of my favorite hot sauce isn't a bad idea if you like that sort of thing. You could leave the fresh ground pepper out and add more hot sauce.

Remember to make real food.  

Buttered Carrots with Marjoram

The price of those packaged and processed vegetable dishes you can buy in the freezer section is just outrageous.  I was buying the Husband's icecream last week and saw a woman and 2 teenage kiddos loading frozen entrees and side dishes into a cart.  Ever looked at the ingredient list on some of that stuff?  Not real food. 

If I have extra money, I'd rather save up for a vacation or other luxury.  Good food is not a luxury and putting thought and care into feeding the people you love adds quality to life.  I bought carrots at Diane's Produce Market a couple days ago.  More about that later.  I like marjoram with carrots, oregano with beans, and dill with corn.  It is fun to try these combinations until you find what you like.  Of course, you can double or triple this recipe depending upon the number of people.

Buttered Carrots with Marjoram

3 carrots, cooked and drained

1 T. butter

1/8 t. marjoram

1/8 t. salt

Peal each carrot and chop off both ends.  Wash them well  Cut them into thin rounds.  Cook in water until the stick easily with a fork.  Drain them in a collandar.  Return them to the pan and add the rest of the ingredients.  Stir to combine until the butter has melted.  Serve immediately.

Remember to eat vegetables.

Stir Fried Chicken and Vegetables

I could eat Chinese food every day.  Well, what I like is probably not authentic Chinese.  I love beef and brocolli, sweet and sour chicken, orange sesame anything.  Just keep it coming.  I love the smell of it, the way the air feels, the sizzle, it makes me warm and happy.

Husband had a little upset stomach yesterday and didn't eat much lunch today.  So I wasn't really sure whether to cook.  But I started pulling out things and decided that if he didn't want any, we'd have good left overs.  And I'm glad I did.  At dinner time, he came down sniffing the air and said that he was glad I had cooked because he was hungry.  And I got my kiss on the neck, so all is good.

Stir Fried Chicken and Vegetables.

3 boneless chicken breasts, sliced into bite size pieces.

Merinade for chicken

1/4 t. minced fresh ginger

3 T. Soy sauce

1 T. white wine.

Combine merinade and chicken pieces in a shallow bowl or pie plate and set aside.  With a fork, turn the pieces of chicken over to coat every 10 mintutes.  Merinade for at least 30 minutes.  This is a good base to any chicken dish that has an
Asian feel.  Lots of flavor.  This advice about Asian food comes for the daughter of a couple of Oklahoma farmers, so take it for what it's worth.

Stir Fry Sauce

1/2 c. beef broth

1 1/2 t. hoisen sauce

1/4 t. sugar

1 t. corn starch. 

1 t. sweet chili sauce

This is my standard stir fry sauce.  Combine ingredients and set aside.

Any one who has a really good basic stir fry sauce, please e-mail it to me, but this is a pretty good one.

4 small carrots peeled and cut into match sticks

8 oz pkg snap peas

3/4 lb crimini mushrooms cleaned and quartered

7.25 oz pkg of good Asian style noodles.

Now in a large skillet, heat 1 T. canola oil. Add the chicken a piece at a time with tongs, then carefully add the marinade.  Cook on medium temp turning the chicken pieces to cook on all sides.  As the chicken gets mostly cooked, add the vegetables and continue cooking. 

When vegetables are mostly cooked, add the stir fry sauce and noodles.  My currently favorite noodles are soft and come in the refrigerated section of the store. 

If you are using a dry noodle you may need to cook them separately.  See the package.  If your noodles come with a seasoning packet, throw it away.  Don't cook with powder.  It isn't food.

My stir fry sauce will thicken only after it comes to a boil.  So bring everything back to a boil, stiring gently to combine.  When the sauce is thickened.  Serve.

Remember to create little comforts for those around you.  

Twice Baked Potatoes

I'm really in to local food these days.  Winter is the hardest time.  And yes, I need to go back to canning when farm direct food is available again.  But for now, I'm buying at locally owned produce markets.  There are two in my area.  I like two things about them.  First, they aren't a chain grocery store. In one case, the owner is there most of the time.  And two, they sell only produce.  Not sure why I like that but I do.  Free market system at it's best, I guess. 

It was on one of these trips that a 10 lb sack of russet potatoes jumped in my cart.  I can't actualy tell you what I was thinking.  Russets are not a long lasting potatoes.  They start to sprout fairly quickly. I want Yukon gold or purple skinned potatoes for roasting.  Russets are best for baking, which is the beginning of the Twice Baked Potato story.   

And what food story do I tell that doesn't start with my Mother?  So anyway, my mother made a wonderful and delicious twice baked potatoe.  Three kinds of cheese (Jack, Cheddar, and Cottage Cheese) plus sour cream and butter.  How could it have been bad?  When I was a young adult, I made a version which had bacon.  I can't find either of these recipes and I suppose it is for the best. 

I'm looking for vegetable dishes that Husband the Carnivore/Wolf will enjoy, so the Russets are going toward operation Twice Baked Potato.  My mission, to invent a veggie filled twice baked potato without the use of too much butter fat that Husband eats and enjoys.  When I am inventing recipes I keep a sort of diary where I record what I do.  It changes over time as I figure it out.  I have the record and can write a clear recipe that others coulf follow. 

Twice Baked Potatoes

4 small russets

2 T. olive oil

1 large head brocolli, chopped

1/2 red pepper, chopped

9 crimini or white mushrooms, chopped

1/4 c. white wine

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

1/2 t. dry oregano

1 Roma tomato, chopped (optional)

1/4 c. sour cream (low fat is okay)

1/4 c. parmesan cheese, shredded

Start by baking the potatoes in a microwave or oven until they stick easily with a knife.  Set them aside to cool a bit.  To a skillet, add the oil then the brocolli and pepper.  Cook on medium heat, stirring for a few minutes.  Add the mushrooms, wine, garlic and seasonings.  Continue cooking as the vegetables soften and the liquid reduces.

Add the tomato now, also if desired.  By the way, garlic burns easily in a skillet and I don't like burned garlic, so I tend to add it late in the game.

Now cut the potatoes as you would a baked potato and with a spoon scoop the potato out of the center leaving enough so that the skin stays intact and you create a little boat.  I break the potato up with my spoon but don't mash it.  I like the chunks.  Add the sour cream and parmesan cheese and fill the boats with the mixture.  Put them on a baking sheet and put them in a 350 degree oven until they are very hot throughout - about 20 mintues.    

Leftovers make a good lunch. Remember to eat your vegetables. 

Mushroom Soup

I didn't start out with the idea that I wanted a blog of my own. Actually, I kind of thought that blogs and bloggers were a little too into themselves. One day it occured to me that being into myself a bit more might be a good thing, but now I'm ahead of my story.


No, I started out looking for blogs I wanted to read. I didn't have much success the first days I looked. There is a lot of things out there that this middle class working kid doesn't know about and doesn't need to see.

But little by little I started finding things I liked, people who seemed like a kindred spirit, people who simply had a story to tell. And I decided (1) that I had a story of my own and (2) that it was actually all right for me to tell it. If you look at the early posts, it has changed and evolved. I consider it self-expression. It's fun. I enjoy it.  I look forward to it.

But along the way, I've found interesting people saying interesting things. I stumbled across thepioneerwoman.com, who is apparently a rock star of food bloggers and a very interesting person. My own family comes from ranching (and farming) in Oklahoma. I see my cousins and aunts and uncles in the people she talks about.

So I find myself looking at a post of hers about mushroom soup that was so lovely and felt so good that I knew I had to do it. I rushed home yesterday after a quick trip to the store for mushrooms and cream and start cooking.

Husband comes down sniffing the air, but he does that most nights. Daughter in law comes through to borrow some eggs and hurry back to their house. They both get spoons and dipped into my soup and announced it "good."

http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen-blog/2010/02/a-tasty-recipe-the-mushroom-soup/

And thanks to the other interesting people who keep me thinking in a world bigger than my own and keep me wanting to try new things.

http://moogieland.blogspot.com/
http://freshlocalandbest.blogspot.com/
http://whatjuliaate.blogspot.com/
http://foyupdate.blogspot.com/
http://www.sustainableeats.com/
http://myfabulousrecipes.blogspot.com
http://www.putsup.com/

And others.  Remember to try new things.  

Roasted potatoes

In my house, most of the things we like best are fairly simple.  But, we live in a culture where bigger is better and more is the new good.  That has gotten us into trouble as a country and a culture and a people.  A couple years ago, I committed to cooking more local food and being a good kitchen roll model to those around me.   I hope to teach the young ones around me what I believe about food and experience and life.  I've done this completely imperfectly, but I keep trying.  Eat local, eat in season.

I've been making roasted potatoes and Husband likes them.  They make a good side dish when you have the time.  They take an hour.  .

 Roasted potatoes

This is 10 2 - 3" yellow skinned potatoes, peeled and cubed, 1/2 c. olive oil, 1 t. salt, 1/8 t. pepper, and 2 to 3 garlic cloves minced. Toss it in a bowl well enough to coat the potatoes in the olive oil and distribute the rest of the ingredients throughout. Turn it onto a foil covered cookie sheet or roasting pan. It goes into a very hot, 425 degree oven.

It needs to get checked every 10 minutes or so. Turn the potatoes by geting under them with a spatula or other flat tool. Here, I'm using my bamboo stir fry tool. Just make sure that the potatoes aren't sticking, which they are likely to do because of the hight heat.

 Each time, you turn them they get a little browner.  The goal is crispy brown on the outside and cooked, yummy-soft on the inside.  Of course, I get to nibble each time I check on them.  Cooks privilege.  As I've mentioned, it's been taking about an hour.

Move them to a platter to serve as a side dish.  (If you haven't poked holes in the foil, the pan is still clean.  :) 

I made them the night Mom was here and we had Beef Bourguignon.  See December 27.  We ate the stew over the potatoes.  Check back for the Elk Hash blog.  The potato part of that dish is these potatoes. 

Remember to have fun and relax.