Swiss Chard Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Rice

from Whole Foods Market

A week ago I posted an awesome recipe for Baked Chard Stems with Butter and Parmesan. So you might be wondering what to do now with all the chard leaves. Let's end the suspense. The following recipe was a great success last night.

12 chard leaves

1 1/2 tablespoons of butter

1/2 tablespoon of olive oil

1/2 onion chopped

1 clove garlic minced

2/3 cup rice, prepared and cooled

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/3 cup dried cranberries

4 1/2 ounces soft goat cheese

Pepper to taste

1. In a saucepan large enough to submerge chard without folding, bring 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt to boil. Blanch chard leaves, one at a time for about 20 to 30 seconds, just to soften. Drain in a single layer on a paper towel-covered cookie sheet. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 400. Grease a baking pan with 1/2 tablespoon of butter. Set aside.

3. Heat 1/2 tablespoon of butter and 1/2 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender. Transfer to a large bowl with cooked and cooled rice and toss gently to combine.

4. Add pine nuts, cranberries and goat cheese to rice mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

5. To assemble, cut off thickest part of chard stem with a "V" shape about one inch up from bottom of leaf. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of filling near stem. Fold bottom sides of leaf in and roll to enclose the filling. Place open edge down in prepared baking pan. Repeat with remaining leaves and filling.

6. Drizzle remaining 1/2 tablespoon of oil over stuffed chard. Cover loosely with foil. Bake 15 minutes.

I prepared the rice mixture earlier in the day and then blanched, stuffed, and baked the chard leaves last night. I immensely enjoyed this dish with a red cabbage and apple slaw. Yay chard!

Teriyaki-Glazed Baby Bok Choy

2 tablespoons roasted peanut oil

4 baby bok choy, halved lengthwise through the bulb end

3 medium garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh gingerroot

2 medium scallions, sliced thin

4 tablespoons teriyaki sauce

1. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of peanut oil on high, briefly in a large skillet.

2. Place the bok choy, cut side down, in the skillet in a single layer. Saute until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Turn the bok choy pieces and continue cooking for 1 minute. Transfer the bok choy to a plate.

3. Heat the remaining 1/2 tablespoon peanut oil in the empty skillet. Add the garlic, ginger, and scallions and stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the teriyaki sauce and simmer just until thickened, about 30 seconds.

4. Return the bok choy, cut side down, to the skillet and cook for 15 seconds. Turn and cook another 15 seconds. Serve immediately.

I made a stirfry of tofu, shitake mushrooms, and green onions to accompany my bok choy. Mmmmm....

Vegetable Harvest Calendar/Southern California

http://www.seasonalchef.com/cropchart1.htm

Here is a great resource to check when certain vegetables are in season, here in Southern California. Thanks Audrey!

Baked Chard Stems with Butter and Parmesan

1 pound chard stems (about 12 stems), any bruised parts trimmed

Salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring large pot of water to a boil. Lightly grease an 8-inch-square baking dish.

2. Wash chard thoroughly in cold water. Dry.

3. Add chard stems and salt to boiling water. Cook until stems are almost tender, about 8 minutes. Drain.

4. Lay chard stems in prepared baking dish in a single layer, cutting them as necessary to make them fit. Dot with a little of the butter and sprinkle with some of the cheese. Repeat process three or four more times, alternating the direction in which you place stems for each layer, until all chard, butter, and cheese have been used.

5. Bake until chard is very tender and the top of casserole is lightly browned, about 25 minutes. Serve immediately.

Holy Smokes!!

This was amazing!

Thank you Nora.

Strawberry Festival and Strawberry Pie

http://www.strawberry-fest.org/

I drove an hour or so north today to check out the 2010 California Strawberry Festival in Oxnard. I had a great time and would recommend anyone go next year. There were a ton of people there. Parking was easy and lines moved fast. There was a Ferris Wheel, face painting, a jazz band, and strawberries, strawberries, and more strawberries.

I concentrated on eating pretty much the whole time I was there. I built my own strawberry shortcake and enjoyed the best strawberry smoothie I've ever had. I walked out stuffed and with a case of strawberries in tow.

Tonight...Strawberry Pie.

1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked

1 quart fresh strawberries

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons constarch

3/4 cup water

whipped cream

1. Halve 3/4 of the strawberries and arrange in baked pastry shell.

2. Mash remaining berries and combine with sugar, cornstarch, and water in a saucepan. Put sauce pan to a medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Leave it at boiling for 2-3 minutes.

3. Let it cool for a couple minutes and then pour in the pie crust. Leave in the fridge overnight to set.

I couldn't wait overnight for it to set. :)

Mmmmm.....

Stalking the Vegetannual

Transporting a single calorie of a perishable fresh fruit from California to New York takes about 87 calories worth of fuel. That's as efficient as driving from Philadelphia to Annapolis, and back, in order to walk three miles on a treadmill in a Maryland gym.

By choosing locally-grown foods, you are supporting your neighborhood with your grocery money. It then gets recycled into your own school system and local businesses. The green land surrounding your town stays green, and farmers who live nearby get to grow more food next year, for you. Oh, and it tastes better!

Vegetable Hash

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, diced

1 small sweet potato or yam, diced

2 links vegetarian sausage

1/2 pound mushrooms

2 small carrots, chopped

1 cup chopped kale

1 shallot, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 pinch salt

1 pinch ground black pepper

1 red bell pepper, diced

1. Place oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Melt butter and mix in potatoes,

yam, veggie sausage, mushrooms, carrots, kale, shallot, and garlic. Season with salt and

pepper. Cook 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender.

2. Mix bell pepper into skillet. Continue cooking 5 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!

First, Eat Your Greens

It has been widely reported that we should all be eating 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. It has also been determined that most Americans only eat 3 servings daily. So, why not just take a multivitamin to get our necessary daily dose?

It is important to note that even though both vitamin pills and vegetables provide essential nutrients, it is not in the same combinations. Our bodies aren't adapted to absorb big loads of nutrients all at once. Instead we need tiny quantities of them in specific combinations, and exactly as they occur in plants is ideal. For example, spinach is a good source of both vitamin C and iron. As it happens, vitamin C boosts iron absorption, allowing the body to take in more of it then if the mineral were introduced alone. Without these specific combinations present, multivitamins are a clunky substitute for the countless subtle combination of phytochemicals and enzymes that whole foods contain. Vitamins are better absorbed and better retained when they are a part of a person's daily diet of fruits and vegetables.

In short, multivitamins should supplement, but never replace, fruits & vegetables. Here are some ideas to help you eat enough fruit and vegetables each day.

1. Start with the first meal of the day. Good choices include half a grapefruit, an apple, orange juice, or a handful of berries on your cereal.

2. Get extra energy from fruit or vegetable snacks. The carbohydrates in fruit and vegetables are great sources of energy and if you combine them with a serving of protein (a piece of cheese, a cup of yogurt, or some peanut butter), you get staying power too.

3. Double up on fruit and veggie servings.

4. Use fruit and vegetables as ingredients. Some ideas to add veggies in recipes include zucchini bread, applesauce instead of oil in your baked goods, and chopped up veggies in chili.

5. Try a new fruit, vegetable, or recipe each week. Our bodies like variety. So set a goal to try something different each week. You may find a new favorite. One good way to get variety is to eat the fruit and veggies that are in season in your area.

Kale with Caramelized Onions and Balsamic Vinegar

1 1/2 Pounds kale

Salt

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Medium onions, halved and sliced thin

1/2 Teaspoon sugar

2 Teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot.

2. Wash the kale and strip off the leafy green portion from both sides of the tough central vein. Discard the veins and rip the leafy portions in small pieces. Add the kale and 1 teaspoon of salt to the water. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the kale is tender, about 8 minutes. Drain well.

3. Heat the oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the sugar and continue cooking until the onions are a right brown color, about 10 minutes.

4. Add the kale and cook, tossing well, until heated through and evenly flavored with the onions, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and a generous amount of pepper. Adjust the seasonings and serve immediately.

This dish was a great compliment to my meal. Be sure to drain the kale well after cooking. Blotting the kale with a paper towel made the dish much better for me the second time I made it.

Silverlake & Los Feliz Farmers Markets

This weekend I biked to the Silverlake Farmer's Market on Saturday to purchase some baby lettuce and kale. Then today I walked to the Los Feliz Farmer's Market for some more asparagus and pita bread. Recipes to follow.

Oh and I checked with several farmers and was informed that heirlooms won't be available until summer. I can't wait!

Silverlake Farmer's Market

Saturday 8-1

North side of Sunset between Edgecliff and Griffith Park

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/04/food/la-fow-marketwatch29-2010feb04

Los Feliz Farmer's Market

Sunday 9-2

Vermont Post Office Parking Lot

http://www.losfeliztoday.com/community/what-do-motherinlaws-tongue-antioxidant-coffee-charmed-scones-vegan-entrees-the-gastrobus-chemical-free-bread-and-exotic-california-grown-flowers-all-have-in-common/