Eat A Rainbow

So if you've been wondering where I've wandered off to, it's here....to what is quite possibly the most wonderful place on earth. Here, there is a rambling house, on the water, with a dock, and lots of kids, lots of fun, and lots of mosquitoes. Here we unwind, and do a lot of swimming, a lot of reading , a lot of cooking and a lot of sweeping up sand. There are outdoor showers under starry skies, grilled suppers, and fireflies flickering in the woods. And there is also a garden where we grow, among lots of lovely things, a literal rainbow.

Rainbow chard is just about as colorful as it is healthy and delicious. It's best prepared simply, like most veggies, and last night we quickly sauteed it with some garlic, lemon zest and olive oil. That's it. Summer meals should be like that, because who wants to spend hours in the hot kitchen when there is such a lovely view right out the back door?!





Sauteed Rainbow Chard

Chard is a mild green, and needs minimal cooking to become tender and delicious. With the exception of the bottom inch or so, the stem is edible.

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of rainbow chard, washed well, and sliced into bite sized pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove of garlic, grated
Zest from one lemon
Pinch of salt and pepper

Preparation:

1. Drizzle olive oil in a large skillet. Add garlic and zest and heat over medium heat until garlic begins to color.

2. Add chard to the pan and using tongs, turn it so that it wilts evenly. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until wilted slightly throughout.

3. Remove from pan, and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Season of Plenty

Summer is slipping right through my fingers and it seems that the harder I cling to it, the faster it goes. Our days have been busy with fun things, yes, but also with the daily things that go along with managing a household of 9, including 6 children, like laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, and laundry...did I mention laundry? For our last week here, my husband, who has worked most days since we have arrived (including weekends......he reads my blog so perhaps he will get the hint), has promised me that he will take this last week off so we can have a vacation week, and be tourists in our home away from home. While that remains to be seen, I do plan to make a list and try to fill my cup with as much Cape Cod as it will hold to tide me over until our next visit. I do miss it terribly when we are away.

Fortunately, our garden has weathered the literal storms and is finally producing lovely things, like our first green beans of the season, harvested last night and served simply, tossed with some olive oil, lemon zest and sea salt. There were only enough for each adult to have about 5 beans...whetting our appetite for many more to come (hopefully). In addition to that, we enjoyed fresh, homemade pizza, resurrecting our Friday tradition, with Swiss chard from the garden as well as sausage, kalamata olives and ricotta cheese.


Our bellies full, we headed out to our favorite beach, Sandy Neck, to skip stones, dance in the waves lapping on the shore (which were surprisingly large due to a recent storm) and search for beautiful, yet illusive heart-shaped rocks.



All in all it was a delightful evening here on the Cape. Here's hoping for at least a week more...

Pizza with Swiss Chard, Sausage and Olives

This pizza, thrown together from what we had in the garden and fridge, was so wonderfully satisfying. The chard crisped nicely and the sausage gave it some heft, while the sliced kalamata olives provided the right bit of briny and tangy goodness.

1 recipe pizza dough--or store bought dough (enough for one crust)

1/2 C your favorite tomato sauce pizza topping**

6-8 oz mozzarella cheese

several leaves of Swiss chard, stemmed and chopped

1/4 pound of Italian sausage, removed from casing if necessary, cooked and crumbled

10 pitted kalamata olives

8 or so T of ricotta cheese

Preheat oven to 500 degrees for one hour with pizza stone on the lowest oven rack.

Stretch dough according to directions and place on a floured square of parchment paper. Spread on pizza sauce and sprinkle on mozzarella cheese. Pile on Swiss chard, sprinkle with sausage and olives then dollop on the ricotta cheese. Slide dough on the parchment paper onto stone and bake for about 15 minutes, or until crust is golden and bubbled and cheese has melted. Remove from oven and discard parchment paper. Drizzle with olive oil, cut into wedges and serve.

**For pizza sauce, I simmer one small can of diced tomatoes with two grated cloves of garlic and a small handful of minced basil for about 15 minutes. Easy!

It's the Final Countdown!

After a whirlwind weekend, the kids resumed school for the last five days of the year--which means, of course, my last five days of freedom. I jest...sort of. But I do have an awful lot to get done this week, with end of the year celebrations looming large (I'm room mom for two--I know what you're thinking...crazy, right? YES! Never again...), and the small matter of packing the clothing we will need for the entire summer and planning our drive across the country--and back. Luckily the (heavily armed) man across the street has volunteered for security detail on our home while we are gone, which gives me great peace of mind. But there are still the animals to consider, and my potted plants, which includes two lovely tomatoes. Somehow it will all get done.

Thankfully, I have one of those husbands who is extraordinarily helpful, especially when given a list. He loves lists. I am always making fun of him when we pack to go away. Be it overnight or a week, he always makes a list that looks something like this, adjusting only quantities:

T-shirts (4)
Button downs (2)
Jeans (2)
Shorts (4)
Socks (8)
Underwear (8)

I, on the other hand, empty my drawers and closet in entirety and somehow shove the mess into an extra large suitcase. Thankfully, my wardrobe isn't that large, or we'd be in for some real problems. But guess who often leaves something behind? That's right, me....because even though I thought I brought everything....I didn't have a list. Go figure. The other travel issue he has (I say issue but it really is endearing and practical...when I'm not in a hurry to get a move on-which is, like, never...) is how he must pack the trunk perfectly before we leave. This gives me great pause because next week we will have a departure to contend with every day we are on the road. I can see him now, somewhere in Oklahoma, packing and re-packing the trunk of our car until I climb in, and drive away with the hatch wide open, abandoning him, the children and the dog (and the luggage) in the motel parking lot. I must take these next 10 days and practice meditation for peace and patience.



But in the meantime, in addition to all the travel preparations, I am cooking fresh, beautiful produce from our farmers' market and gorging on all the stone fruit I can, because once we get back to Cape Cod, it is literally like stepping months back in time. The farmers' market and farm stands will have only greens and eggs, and if I'm really lucky strawberries. Things don't start picking up until it is time to leave in early August. Sigh...maybe someday we will get to experience the full growing season.


Tonight I made grilled and marinated Indian spiced chicken, a fresh tomato salad (again with an Indian inspired dressing), Indian spiced chard (sensing a theme here?), raita, and rice. I have been grazing mindlessly today, without really paying any attention to what I was eating, and had the urge to really taste my food. What better way to do that than with the richly scented and flavored cuisine of India? With a few simple and easy-to-find ingredients at the ready in your pantry, you can have Indian food whenever you want. The only drawback, if you can call it one, is that your lips may burn a bit from the heat of the chiles, and your skin and house may bear a slight musky fragrance. But I don't mind that too much...I actually find it kind of sexy. But I digress...onto the recipes, which are adapted from Quick Indian Cooking.


Greens with Chile and Ginger
serves 2

Wash a large bunch of greens (I used Swiss Chard). Remove any large stems and cut into pieces. Heat 1 T oil in a large dutch oven over high heat. Add 2 T peeled and slivered fresh ginger root and saute until golden. Add 2 diced serrano chiles (remove seeds if desired) and chard and stir until wilted. Add 1/2 t garam masala (Indian spice found in many markets), 1/4 t sugar, 1/2 t salt and pepper. Saute 5 minutes more. Remove from heat and serve.



Fresh Tomato Salad
serves 2

Slice 2 tomatoes and place on a platter. Sprinkle with cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. Set aside. Finely chop a small handful of cilantro, mint, or basil (or a combination) and sprinkle on top of tomatoes. In a small skillet heat 1 T vegetable oil with 1/2 t whole grain mustard and 1 t whole cumin seeds. Stir until cumin becomes fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Pour oil over tomatoes and serve immediately.

Barbecued Chicken with Indian Spices
serves 4-6

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts*

Marinade:
1 T garam masala
1 t ground cumin
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1 t salt
1 t pepper
1 T lemon juice
2 T plain yogurt
3 T oil
3 cloves garlic, grated

Combine ingredients for marinade and pour over chicken at least one hour, or up to one day before cooking. Remove from marinade and grill over medium high heat, turning once for 10-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Serve with plain yogurt mixed with some grated cucumber, a squeeze of lemon juice and some chopped cilantro and mint.

*Can also be made with bone-in, skin-on chicken parts. Grill over medium-low heat for 45 minutes, turning occasionally to avoid burning.