greens
Spicy Sweet Swiss Chard
01/26/10
Inspired experimentation brings the best results! I love making and having greens on hand. They make an easy warm meal which I especially love for breakfast. They give my body energy and power for the day ahead. However, I get tired of eating them the same way....
I started with a red onion coarsely chopped and five or six cloves garlic smashed and loosely chopped. Sauted in a little olive oil. Added celery seeds and tumeric and continue to saute until the onions began to clear. I had a small jalapeno from the garden that I minced and added, as well as about 1/3 cup of golden raisens. Leave the jalapeno out of you have a low heat tolerance.
I had two bunches of swiss chard that I chopped and added to my pot along with a 1/2 cup of vegetable broth. Placed the lid on my pot for about two minutes. Took off and stirred the greens in with the onions. Replaced lid and cooked about two miutes more.
I had a heirloom tomato the size of two large tomatoes which I loosely chopped and added to the pan. I also added a generous teaspoon of curry masala spice mix at this time and mixed it all in.
I cooked the greens just long enough to heat up the tomatoes and mesh the flavors.
This can be served with rice or buckwheat, or eat it alone. The onions and raisens add a sweetness which compliment the spices and the jalapeno heat. I don't have a picture of this plated because......well, I was hungry. Forgive me for the lack of presentation for I know not what I do!
Ingredient List:
1 red onion
5-6 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon tumeric
1/3 cup golden raisens
1 jalapeno
2 bunches swiss shard
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1-2 large tomatoes
1 rounded teaspoon curry masala
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
I started with a red onion coarsely chopped and five or six cloves garlic smashed and loosely chopped. Sauted in a little olive oil. Added celery seeds and tumeric and continue to saute until the onions began to clear. I had a small jalapeno from the garden that I minced and added, as well as about 1/3 cup of golden raisens. Leave the jalapeno out of you have a low heat tolerance.
I had two bunches of swiss chard that I chopped and added to my pot along with a 1/2 cup of vegetable broth. Placed the lid on my pot for about two minutes. Took off and stirred the greens in with the onions. Replaced lid and cooked about two miutes more.
I had a heirloom tomato the size of two large tomatoes which I loosely chopped and added to the pan. I also added a generous teaspoon of curry masala spice mix at this time and mixed it all in.
I cooked the greens just long enough to heat up the tomatoes and mesh the flavors.
This can be served with rice or buckwheat, or eat it alone. The onions and raisens add a sweetness which compliment the spices and the jalapeno heat. I don't have a picture of this plated because......well, I was hungry. Forgive me for the lack of presentation for I know not what I do!
Ingredient List:
1 red onion
5-6 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon tumeric
1/3 cup golden raisens
1 jalapeno
2 bunches swiss shard
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1-2 large tomatoes
1 rounded teaspoon curry masala
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
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Good Fortune Food
12/29/09
I do not normally follow a lot of ritualized traditions. However, I seem to make exceptions when it comes to food. Taste and smell are very closely connected with our memories. Having good food connected with good memories is a sentimentality that I enjoy.
A few years back, my mother started to cook corned beef and cabbage New Years Day. She claimed it was good luck. So I did some research and learned that there are many foods eaten around the globe that are suppose to bring good fortune over the new year. So why not layer our good luck with a multicultural feast between the last and the first day of each year. That way we cover all bases....just in case.
Greens are a popular good luck food in many cultures. The leaves represent paper money, in part due to their color but also due to their texture. Collards are probably the most popular but any greens will do. Cabbage falls into this same category with the representation being paper money. It is believed that the more greens one eats the greater their fortune that year. Sorry, honey, I know you're cringing right now, but maybe you can make it up in lentils......
Legumes of all varieties represent money in the form of coin. The most mentioned in New Year's lore are black eyed peas and lentils. I love both, how lucky for me!
Pigs or pork is popular around the globe. It represents progress because pigs always root forward. Avoid things that move backwards like lobster. Chickens scratch backwards and should be avoided as well.
Pomegranates are eaten in Turkey and other Mediterranean countries and represent abundance and fertility. Hhmmmm....guess I'll be adding that to my plate.
In many asian countries, eating long noodles without breaking them represents having a long life so add some udon to your soup, or add it as a side this New Years.
Many places in North America, Asia and Europe eat fish for the New Year. Fish swim forward therefore represent progress as in the pigs. They also swim in schools representing abundance.
In Spain and other spanish speaking countries, 12 grapes are eaten at the stroke of midnight, one for each month of the year and for each stroke of the clock. In 1909, this practice was initiated to help alleviate a grape surplus in the Alicante region of Spain. They celebrate the coming of a sweet year.
So what will we eat in our house? We will start off with a lentil and black eyed pea dip. I will make salmon with greens for New Year's Eve and sprinkle them with pomegranate. We will have 12 grapes at midnight with our champaign. On New Years Day, lunch will consist of corned beef and cabbage with a salad made from black eyed peas. So what am I missing? Ah the noodles....maybe a simple miso soup with noodles to end our day with some quiet reflection of what to do with all our good fortune to come in 2010.
Cheers! Wishing you and yours a healthy and prosperous 2010.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
A few years back, my mother started to cook corned beef and cabbage New Years Day. She claimed it was good luck. So I did some research and learned that there are many foods eaten around the globe that are suppose to bring good fortune over the new year. So why not layer our good luck with a multicultural feast between the last and the first day of each year. That way we cover all bases....just in case.
Greens are a popular good luck food in many cultures. The leaves represent paper money, in part due to their color but also due to their texture. Collards are probably the most popular but any greens will do. Cabbage falls into this same category with the representation being paper money. It is believed that the more greens one eats the greater their fortune that year. Sorry, honey, I know you're cringing right now, but maybe you can make it up in lentils......
Legumes of all varieties represent money in the form of coin. The most mentioned in New Year's lore are black eyed peas and lentils. I love both, how lucky for me!
Pigs or pork is popular around the globe. It represents progress because pigs always root forward. Avoid things that move backwards like lobster. Chickens scratch backwards and should be avoided as well.
Pomegranates are eaten in Turkey and other Mediterranean countries and represent abundance and fertility. Hhmmmm....guess I'll be adding that to my plate.
In many asian countries, eating long noodles without breaking them represents having a long life so add some udon to your soup, or add it as a side this New Years.
Many places in North America, Asia and Europe eat fish for the New Year. Fish swim forward therefore represent progress as in the pigs. They also swim in schools representing abundance.
In Spain and other spanish speaking countries, 12 grapes are eaten at the stroke of midnight, one for each month of the year and for each stroke of the clock. In 1909, this practice was initiated to help alleviate a grape surplus in the Alicante region of Spain. They celebrate the coming of a sweet year.
So what will we eat in our house? We will start off with a lentil and black eyed pea dip. I will make salmon with greens for New Year's Eve and sprinkle them with pomegranate. We will have 12 grapes at midnight with our champaign. On New Years Day, lunch will consist of corned beef and cabbage with a salad made from black eyed peas. So what am I missing? Ah the noodles....maybe a simple miso soup with noodles to end our day with some quiet reflection of what to do with all our good fortune to come in 2010.
Cheers! Wishing you and yours a healthy and prosperous 2010.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.