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"The Usual Chard"


After a quick hike this morning, the boys and I ran into Whole Foods for a few ingredients. While I grabbed a few quince, I heard the boys arguing about bitter greens. R claimed, "Kale tastes like it should be poisonous." What!?? Whose child are you?!

D piped up, "Yeah, whose child are you? Kale is the best."

They talked about what makes food bitter and how it's a defensive strategy for plants. Then they proceeded to rank greens in terms of their bitterness: mustard greens, kale, chard, spinach, and collard greens. I didn't pay attention to the ranking. I think people surrounding them were both shocked and amused at the conversation.


In the end, they walked over and plunked two bunches of rainbow chard in the basket. "We agreed on chard, Mom," they informed me. Fine.


First, I pickled the stems. That's a recipe for another day. Second, I yelled back into their rooms. "How am I cooking the chard?"

The usual chard! they both yelled back.

"I don't know what that means."

Didn't you blog it? Can't you just look up how you normally make chard.

"No, but, clearly, I need to do that."

So, here's the usual...well, it's what I guessed. And, when they came to the table for lunch, they confirmed. Yes, that's the usual, Mom.

Ingredients serves 4 (but we're all chard monsters)
  • 2 bunches organic chard, washed and roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
  • splash of olive oil
  • splash of soy sauce
  • black sesame seeds for garnish


Procedure
Heat olive oil in a large pan. Add in the garlic and stir until just fragrant, but not browning, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the chard and cook until just wilted. Remove chard to a serving platter or onto individual plates. Drizzle with soy sauce and garnish with black sesame seeds, if using.

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