VTV: Freestyle!!

I truly thought I had missed the VTV event this week, and I felt disappointed. A work project consumed my life for awhile, and when I surfaced, I believed the deadline had passed. When I looked at the site, I was amazed to find that the deadline had been extended! That was a good thing.

For the freestyle event this time, I asked my daughter to name one of her favorite vegetable dishes . Aside from green beans, she said it had to be my swiss chard. When I had made a quick trip to the Farmers Market last Saturday to pick up a pint of strawberries, I also bought a bunch of swiss chard, hoping I could fix it in time for the deadline. Well, I guess I did. This chard is gorgeous – so fresh and colorful.

Now, I really don’t have a recipe for this. I fix it simply. I take one small onion, half it, then slice it, and saute it lightly. When the onion is soft, I started throwing in handfuls of chard that I’ve washed and chopped. More accurately, I’ve done a large chiffonade. As the chard wilts, I sprinkle on some salt, pepper, and a few pinches of nutmeg. Then I toss in a handful of raisins, any color. It’s one of the few dishes I like raisins in. Next I put in some liquid, about ¼ to 1/3 of a cup, just so the veggies don’t stick to the pan. The liquid could be water, broth, wine – whatever I have handy or want to use up. Then, on goes the lid and the mixture simmers for up to 10 minutes, or until it’s the way I want it. How precise is that! Not mushy, not raw, but sort of in between. I go by appearance and by taste. That’s all there is to it. Kale works, too, but we really like the chard.

I’m really looking forward to seeing all the entries for this freestyle event. Check it out soon at the VTV site. Thanks to Nina (Love, Sweet, Love) and Jen (Beantown Baker) for hosting.