Teleidoscope

Sun, Jul 27, 2008

Chard

Posted at 5:48 pm MDT to Technology

Man, that immunization really knocked me out. I've been a slug for the past few days, and after 4 days I still have a noticeable bump where the injection happened, though at least it has gotten smaller and less itchy.

I worked farmer's market yesterday. Rowan was in San Diego for the big comic convention, so it was just Nanette who did the picking and the two of us setting up. I went over to Nanette's for a little while afterward, and stopped at my local Whole Foods (that used to be Wild Oats) on the way home, and I was exhausted when I got home.

I brought home some zucchini (which I need to do something with tomorrow) and chard. I made the chard for dinner today.

My traditional use for chard is in a frittata, but it is kind of hard to make a frittata without eggs, so I experimented a bit.

I stripped the stems out of the chard, chopped them, and started them sauteing in a little olive oil while I chopped the leaves, then added the leaves to the skillet and put on the lid, so the leaves would partly steam in their own moisture.

While that was cooking, I chopped up some thin-sliced cooked salami and added it to the pan to render out some of its fat blend the flavors a little.

After cooking another minute or so, I grated a little hard goat cheese --'Sunlight' from Haystack Dairy -- on top. Stirred it through, and added a little more on top when I dished it up. (I got the cheese at the market last week from the Haystack Dairy folks, but the local Whole Foods carry it too, so I can get it in the off season.)

The mixture was interesting but a little strong, and the proportions were a little off. I stirred some into some cooked and cooled elbow noodles, with a little more cheese. and I think I've got the beginnings of an interesting pasta salad, once I get the proportions balanced. The mouth-feel was rich enough to satisfy some of the craving for mac and cheese that's been attacking me when I shop.

The next batch needs to be a bunch of chard, an ounce or so of chopped salami, a quarter to half a cup of grated cheese (I didn't have nearly that much this time) to about a half pound of pasta.

I'm starting to watch some of my cooking shows so I can clear them off my DVR, and I encountered the concept of a veloute, which is like a bechamel but based on stock instead of milk. I wonder if I could do a chicken veloute-based mac and cheese casserole with some goat cheese. Maybe when the weather gets cooler.

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