Swiss Chard

My Happy Swiss Chard Bed

This is not so much a recipe as an Ode to Swiss Chard and its abundance.  Last year I planted four rows of Swiss Chard and was buried in it.  This year I planted two rows and am still overwhelmed by it's ability to thrive.  Next year Swiss Chard has an iffy future when it comes to my garden.  Perhaps it's the vegetable scraps that I bury in my garden that turn to compost and nourish my crops.  Whatever.

At any rate, if any of you are also suffering from veggie overload, I have a few quick recipe ideas about how to dispose of your surplus.

One of the good things to know if you're dealing with crops such as Swiss Chard and other green leafy vegetables is that they wilt when lightly steamed.  That means that you can get rid of a very large amount simply by searing it in a hot pan with just a little bit of oil.  The water left on the leaves from washing the greens provides the necessary moisture to create the steam.  Then, for your more finicky eaters, just slather on a tablespoon of butter.

No takers on that?  Steamed greens can also be added as a lasagna layer or chopped fine and added to the top of a pizza and camouflaged by a light sprinkle of cheese.  Chopped and steamed greens also blend well in casseroles, especially those made with rice or pasta. 

Still in need of ideas?  Large, shiny greens can also be added to floral bouquets.  Can you hear the desperation in my voice?   You should see my flower bed's lettuce border!

Dad

Last Friday, on June 17th, Dad died at 6:40 AM.  He was 96 years old.  I was called on Thursday at midnight by the nurse on duty at the nursing home and told that Dad would probably not make it through the night.  After sitting with him for two hours I went home to get some sleep.  I returned at 6:15 in the morning, greeted by the nurse, and told that she was happy I made it back in time. 

Dad's passing was a gentle event.  It left me with a great feeling of peace.  I believe the nurse knew, through experience, what a gift it is to be with loved one's at the time of their death.  The biggest problem for me is that I've been going to the nursing home every morning for over four years and feeding dad his breakfast.  I feel as if I'd been fired from a job and now need to readjust my mornings.

The celebration of dad's life was a happy and slightly raucous occasion.   People described dad as one of the kindest and most humorous people they had to privileged of knowing.  My brother, Dan, read a list of dad's sayings, including his critique to golfers - "The trouble with your swing is that you were standing too close to the ball after you hit it."

Thanks, dad, for all the great words of wisdom.

"I was waiting for such a long time, she said.  I thought you forgot.  It's hard to forget, I said, when there is such an empty space when you are gone."  Brian Andreas - Story People.

Four Little Words

One of my new favorite books is a small publication entitled "Four Word Self Help, Simple Wisdom for Complex Lives" by Patti Digh.  I wrote about attending a presentation by Digh back in April.  In this book of hers, Digh (pronounced to rhyme with sigh) distills wisdom for life into four well-chosen words, suggesting that the complexity of life may well lie in simple actions. 

In the section on generosity some of the four word statements include, "Show up for someone" and "Be kinder than necessary."  Under community Digh advises readers to "Create your own tribe," "Let other people in," and "Give up toxic people." 

The four words that caused me many moments of reflection came from an incident in Digh's life when she was relating to a friend all the things on her to-do list that were eating up her time.  Her friend asked her what in her life gives her the greatest joy.  He listened as she explained her passion for writing and then asked, "Patti, what would it take for you to clear your calendar so you could do more writing?"  Digh concludes by musing that sometimes out "stop-doing" list needs to be bigger than our "to-do" list.   Summed up in four words - "Leave some things undone."

I hope you have a chance to pick up some of Digh's books, all of which are filled with thoughts about being alive in this world and seeking a life of quality.  She also challenges readers to write their own phrases of four word self help.  Try it for yourself.  You can do it!

Ode To A Watermelon

This is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a real recipe, unless you count the fact that you have to cut something up and put it in a bowl as meal preparation.  I have been known to stretch lesser incidents into facts of great merit.  What this really happens to be is a bunch of facts about the goodness of watermelon and an attempt to get out of cooking for a whole day.  Doesn't that sound like a worthy endeavor?

This all came about because one of my dear friends, Molly, told me that every now and then she takes one day in the summer and eats nothing but watermelon for the whole day.  Sometimes she might repeat this kind of a day depending on the weather and the availability of sweet melons.  She said that this makes her feel really good because there is so much water in a watermelon (hence the name) that her kidneys get a good flushing.  I believe it makes her feel really good because she doesn't have to cook for a whole day.

Anyway, the temperature has spiked up into the 90's and our local grocer has sweet, seedless melons on sale for $3.50 each.  But not wanting to rush into anything that might be detrimental to my health, I Googled "watermelon" to find the nutritional lowdown.  Of course, there was not complete agreement on all of the facts, as one site said that a cup of watermelon contains 2 grams of fat and all the other sites say 0 grams of fat, but on one thing they all agreed - watermelon is really good for you, but don't tell the kids.

First of all, watermelon is packed with some of the most important antioxidants in nature and is also a source of the potent carotenoid antioxidant, lycopene.  Yes, that's the same antioxidant that's found in tomatoes, but I'd much rather sit down to a bowl of watermelon chunks.  Maybe that's just me.  This means that watermelon helps fight inflammation that contributes to conditions like asthma, atherosclerosis, diabetes, colon cancer, and arthritis.  When paired with green tea, watermelon  may greatly reduce a man's risk of developing prostate cancer.  One article suggests brewing up some green tea, chilling it, and whirling it around with some watermelon chunks and a splash of lime juice in a blender.

Well, the list goes on and on talking about macular degeneration, erectile dysfunction and insulin sensitivity, but that was not the information I was seeking.  The questions of the day were, how can I pick out a good watermelon and will eating a whole watermelon make me fat? 

To choose a good watermelon, according to one expert, look for a melon that is heavy for its size with a relatively smooth rind.  Also, look for  an area that has a distinctly different color from the rest of the melon - a yellowish or creamy tone.  This is the place where the melon rested on the ground and probably means that the melon was allowed to ripen on the vine.  Melons without this marking may be negatively affected in taste, texture and juiciness.

As far as the impact on my girlish figure, it seems that watermelon is about 92% water. which explains the kidney flushing properties.  Calorie wise, a whole watermelon is only about 1000 calories.  But the best part is the impact that a day of watermelon has on my attitude.  Just imagine a day of eating whenever you feel like simply by dishing up a bowl full of watermelon chunks.  I highly recommend cutting up an entire melon early in the day so the prep work is finished once and for all.

My own regime was to begin the day with my usual smoothie, have a large, lovely salad for lunch, and spend the second half of the day munching on melon.  A great day, indeed, with very little time spent in the kitchen.



 

Quilt Design I

We're about to embark on an ongoing project.  The idea is to draw and color quilt squares and then hang them directly on a wall or attached to ribbon in order to make a quilt wall hanging.  For this project we're going to use some of the designs that I learned in a mini-course that I took this spring.  The designs are easy to create and result in some awesome patterns.

This first design is done by laying out a square of dots that are equidistant apart.  On the samples shown the dots are 1.5 inches apart. A smaller distance would work but I wouldn't get much

Dots and Beginning "S" Lines

larger than that.

After the dot pattern is set begin by making the letter "s" from one dot to the dot directly below.  When all the dots are connected in one direction, turn the paper 90 degrees and repeat, creating "s" sided squares.  Don't worry if all of your "s" lines are not exactly alike.  It will still look great.

Finished Square

When your designs is finished you can color in the squares in any number of patterns.  The materials used in the examples are card stock and a black sharpie.

We'll be showing more simple designs in the next week or so and also our final quilt.  What a fun and easy way to quilt!