Leading the Vegetable Brigade

People are often amazed at the variety of food my two kids eat. At 10 and 12, their palettes are fairly sophisticated and open to new culinary experiences. This gives me free reign in the kitchen and since I can replicate or invent some crazy savory dishes our weekly meals rarely fall into the Hamburger Helper category. Give me two hours, fresh ingredients and unlimited power and I can often create, well a mess, but also some fantastic food porn. Vegetables, however, I tend to keep simple and stick to the basics.
What do I mean by this? A few months earlier I received in my biweekly farm share something called a "sun squash" and had no idea what the @#&%#@ to do with it. So I did nothing and the poor thing died a moldy death in my fridge. It was a sad day.
But I saw friends all around me creating amazing side dishes out of exotic greens and other vegetables that had never graced a dinner table in Middle America. I knew I wanted to join their ranks, to become a leader in the vegetable brigade. I spent a misty Saturday morning wandering around the local farmer's market perusing stalls full of local, organic and heirloom versions of both the familiar and the unknown. Finally, I decided begin my foray with a fairly inexpensive and hardy Swiss Chard and a recipe requiring few ingredients and little prep.
As I stood in the kitchen I kept staring at this pile of green which looked as if it should be growing amongst the shrubbery out back, not laying there on the cutting board. Doubts still whirling in my brain, I grabbed my newly sharpened Wusthof and started roughly chopping the trimmed chard. From there it was into the pre-warmed sauté pan where the chard was tossed and turned by my deft hand and bamboo tongs.
One thing to keep in mind is that chard, though yummy, is not the most attractive vegetable, especially while it is cooking - aka "wilting into an unappetizing mass reminiscent of spinach my mother forced me to eat as a child." This got me worrying, my kids will eat it? I sure hoped so.
Luckily, after the addition of some crushed red pepper, chopped garlic and fresh squeezed lemon juice a zesty aroma filled the kitchen. The smell went far to counteract the unappealing appearance of the mushy mass in the pan to such an extent, the kids wandered out of their rooms to find out what smelled so great.
The result? A tangy, spicy pile of greeny goodness that complimented the pan seared steak and sautéed mushrooms. A1 and A2 (these are my kids Alex and Ana and my fiercest food reviewers) gave it a thumbs up. "It's not good, but great at the same time. I can't stop eating it" was the verdict. A2 felt I was heavy handed with the lemon. Out of the mouth of babes.
Definitely a make again and make often dish. And yes, your kids will eat it.





Spicy Swiss Chard with Lemon

Although 16 cups seems like a large amount of chard, it will cook down. Three simple ingredients--crushed red pepper, garlic, and fresh lemon juice--round out the flavor.

Yield: 6 servings (sejavascript:void(0)rving size: 1/2 cup)
Ingredients

* 2 teaspoons olive oil
* 16 cups trimmed Swiss chard (about 2 pounds)
* 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
* 1/8 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chard; saute 1 minute or until slightly wilted. Stir in pepper and garlic. Cover and cook 4 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Uncover and cook 3 minutes or until liquid evaporates. Stir in juice and salt.
Nutritional Information

Calories:
43 (38% from fat)
Fat:
1.8g (sat 0.3g,mono 1.2g,poly 0.2g)
Protein:
2.6g
Carbohydrate:
6g
Fiber:
2.3g
Cholesterol:
0.0mg
Iron:
2.6mg
Sodium:
345mg
Calcium:
74mg