Swiss Chard!

My mom loved chard. I always thought she was nuts.

Do you think, perhaps, it's a "taste" one acquires as one ages? Well, I might have liked it if I'd ever tried it. Yes, this was one of those childhood things: "I don't like it, I don't like it, you can't make me - NO!"

Was I ever dumb.
My CSA share this week had this lovely bunch of chard in it. I knew it was coming, and determined that I'd find some recipe to try and make myself taste it...I read that it was important to cut out the stems, chop them, and boil them in lightly salted water before adding them to the cooking (I didn't quite get them completely softened up, after all, so they could have boiled a bit longer)

Then I chopped up the scallions that came in the share, poured olive oil into the pan, added chopped garlic (okay, that wasn't local, sorry!), and added the chopped stems:
(my only regret is that the color leaches out into the water - that gorgeous fushia in the first photo? Didn't last. :(

Then I added the chopped chard leaves...and stirred in the hot oil, turning everything over and over in the pan, mixing everything:
(I lightly salted and peppered, too)

Finally, I spooned a serving into a bowl.
At first, I ate it that way, and it was good, but somewhere along, I decide a touch of red wine vinegar might be nice.

Wow. Just perfection. With some freshly brewed iced tea? A perfect meal...all by itself, but I added a bit of bread from our local On the Rise baker on the market. I can pick some up at the Co-op when I pick up my CSA share, which saves trying to get downtown!

And I topped off with these:
Hmm...I must be into fushia and green - even my latest yarn purchase was the same colors!

And you know what? Mom always knew best.