Rainbow Chard Harvest

This lovely chard is the first veggie I've harvested this season. Yesterday it was 89 degrees in the deep South, so these greens will be getting bitter any day now. I'm not opposed to that, but I'd like to try them tender and sweet first. Being a slow learner with gardening (i.e. I can't be bothered with an almanac -- for now) this is the first time I've cut the greens instead of pulling out the whole plant. It'll be fun to see what happens next. I love the way these fresh stems look -- they remind me of candy. I chopped the stems and sauteed them in coconut oil and olive oil with a couple of cloves of garlic, then added the tender greens very briefly before taking them off the heat. It was delicious. I regret there is no photo of the cooked greens. In this summer season, dinnertime seems to have devolved into a feeding frenzy/circus, with various and sundry friends, schedules and agendas. I'm at the stage in life now when "letting it be" seems much more appealing than attempting to reign in this happy chaos. Long story short, by the time I pulled out my camera, the food was mostly gone.

I've seen a massaged kale salad recipe incorporating chard. Only the shredded kale is massaged with the lemon, salt and oil, and the raw chard leaves, being more tender, are shredded and added last. If my chard plants proliferate, I'm going to give it a try. A bumper crop of dino kale is next on my chopping list.

Roasted Veggies

I've had some luck recently with a couple of roasting experiments.

Basil Zucchini Wedges:  I tossed the wedges with gluten-free bread crumbs, chopped basil from the garden, salt, pepper and olive oil, then roasted them for 25 minutes at 425. The basil was so delicious roasted, and the wedge-shape of the squash allowed for more crisping surface. I've not put this into a recipe format yet because I believe I'd like these better at a higher heat for less time (more crispy, less mushy). I'll share future results.

This is Buffalo Roasted Cauliflower: I blanched the cauliflower first, then tossed it with Texas Pete hot sauce, gluten-free bread crumbs and olive oil, and roasted it at 425 for 30 minutes. This could have also benefited from a higher heat. My bottle of Texas Pete was the shaker kind, so I only liberally sprinkled the cauliflower with the sauce instead of coating it. I need to do some more testing to come up with the proper amount. This wasn't very spicy, but it was good anyway. I'll keep you posted on how this experiment evolves.