Hello Chard, Nice to Meet You

We got our first organic produce box yesterday from New Roots Organics in hopes that it will force us to eat fruits and veggies. It has always been hard for us to eat one veggie during the day, so you can imagine our excitement and curiosity. One of the "blessings" or curses of celiac disease is that I have to, by default, learn to eat produce I would have never touched in my previous life. You know you're a grown up when you look at a funny vegetable and think "Hmm how can I prepare this to enjoy it as much as I should considering it's nutritional value?" Carrot sticks are sooo 5th grade. I pulled out the long stalks of green leafs with deep red veins and stems. Ok, not too scary. I washed it and took a bite - bitter, thick, almost rubbery. I think to myself, "people all over the world love this stuff, so can I."

A co-worker gave me the idea of cooking chard with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, cranberries, caramelized onions, and garlic. Didn't sound too hard. So I did just that. I started by browning some onions and garlic chunks with the oil, salt, and pepper. The kitchen filled with the rich scent I couldn't wait to eat. When it was sufficiently cooked, I took a deep breath, and tossed in the pieces of chard. It simmered and shrank within moments. I threw in a splash more olive oil, and immediately regretted it.

Dinner time - our plates were organized into piles of chicken (not cooked any special way worth mentioning besides mildly chewy), roasted potatoes that probably also had too much olive oil but remained delicious, and the beautiful chard mixture. Green and red colors, luscious onions...the first bite was gratifying. A bite along with the chicken solved it's bland meatiness. The last few bites of chard made it painfully obvious how much olive oil I used. Lesson learned: limit the oil! Chard will return to our plates and bellies.