Swiss Chard and Artichoke White Pizza Recipe

Who says you can get your greens and enjoy homemade pizza at the same time?

Because I'm a patient and understanding girl, I'm going to give you and Swiss chard another chance to get together. I realize romances can take time, and that it isn't always love at first bite.

So maybe you weren't wowed by the thought of Hot Swiss Chard Artichoke Dip or Swiss Chard and Artichoke Soup. And perhaps you're simply not the Healthy Swiss Chard Tuna Salad with Kalamata Olives type—even if the crunchy chard stalks stand in beautifully for celery. My Swiss Chard Cabbage Salad with Garbanzo Beans and Cottage Cheese didn't do it for you either? That's okay.

I still have faith in you. Because this, this is pizza. And everybody loves pizza.

I won't go on and on about how wonderful Swiss chard is because I've already done that. But since it's time to start thinking about an early spring garden, I will quickly remind you once again how easy Swiss chard is to grow from seed—and remind you that it happily thrives in containers (hint hint, apartment dwellers).

It's also cold tolerant, heat tolerant, and really hard to kill. Did I mention it happens to be really good for you?

Unlucky in love? Your vegetable soul mate just might be waiting for you at the farmers' market. So go on, give Swiss chard a try.

White pizza goes green

Susan's Swiss Chard Artichoke 'White' Pizza
Makes enough topping to thickly cover one 12" to 14" pizza

On the last day of autumn, I picked several pounds of Swiss chard in my homemade greenhouse and packed it into plastic bags that I placed with ice packs in a cooler in the pantry (because there wasn't enough room in the fridge). After three weeks, what was left still looked fine. Freshly picked greens will last quite a while if kept cool and moist.

This pizza topping is basically the first half of my Hot Swiss Chard Artichoke Dip recipe. Don't have a can of artichokes handy? I think it would still be quite tasty without them. Mixing in some olives (black or kalamata) or a few chopped dried tomatoes instead would probably be very nice.

You could also make this recipe using a mix of other greens, such as mustard and collard, or even kale. I'm sure spinach would work well. Since the finished pizza froze and reheated beautifully, I'm also thinking you could make up the topping ahead of time and freeze it.

A baking/pizza stone is a great investment that allows you to make amazingly crisp pizza crusts and crusty artisan breads. I've been using the same one for 14 years. A pizza peel is a really useful thing to have. I own two—a large wood one and smaller metal one with a long handle—and use them all the time.

Pizza dough (use your favorite or try my simple recipe)
6 to 8 ounces mozzarella, thinly sliced or shredded

3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion (about 5 ounces)
4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch Swiss chard (about 12 ounces or 4 cups packed of leaves), leaves and stalks separated and both chopped into small pieces
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts (packed in water), drained and rinsed, chopped into small pieces
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese

About an hour before you're ready to bake your pizza, place a baking stone (if using) on the lowest rack in the oven and heat to 500 degrees.

Heat olive oil in a 4-quart or larger pot. Add onion and chopped Swiss chard stalks and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, 2 minutes; do not let garlic brown.

Stir Swiss chard leaves and chopped artichoke hearts into onion mixture. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, about 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce. Remove pan from heat and let chard mixture cool slightly, and then stir in Pecorino Romano. Alternatively, let the mixture cool completely, mix in cheese, and then refrigerate up to 2 days.

Shape the pizza dough on a piece of unbleached parchment paper, and set it on a pizza peel (or directly on your baking sheet/pizza pan if you aren't using a baking stone). Spread the chard mixture evenly over the dough. Top with mozzarella.

Slide the pizza (parchment and all) onto the baking stone and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the cheese is starting to brown. Slice and serve, and try not to burn your tongue on the first bite!

Want another slice?
My Favorite Easy Pizza Dough Recipe
Arugula Pesto Pizza
Three Onion and Three Cheese Pizza
Fresh Tomato and My Favorite Basil Pesto Pizza
Homemade Pita Bread Pizzas

Still hungry? You'll find links to all my sweet and savory Less Fuss, More Flavor recipes in the Farmgirl Fare Recipe Index.

© FarmgirlFare.com, the foodie farm blog where pizza delivery at the end of a long day is not an option when you live 34 miles from the nearest pizza parlor, which is why we always try to keep several different kinds of homemade pizza in the freezer.

Recipe: Simple & Healthy Swiss Chard Artichoke Soup (and Crazy Crossover Foods)

Healthy, hearty, low fat, high flavor, and packed with vegetables? Homemade soup!

I like to think of myself as an adventurous eater. I always look forward to delving into the local food scene when I'm away from home, whether it's a couple hundred miles or a couple of continents away. I've eaten everything from bowls of black rice pudding in Bali to a bag of fried okra at a gas station in Louisiana.

Maple syrup in Vermont, macadamia nut ice cream and fresh pineapple in Hawaii, lobster in Maine? Of course. Pan-fried squirrel for dinner? A local Missouri specialty that I discovered is surprisingly good. Then again, pretty much anything rolled in flour and fried (which is the standard way of preparing things around here) tastes good in my book.

I don't do much traveling now that I live on a farm with dozens of animals, but I still get out enough to know there's something weird going on with our food these days—and it has nothing to do with culture or location. Always desperate to come up with something new and exciting, marketing departments everywhere are inventing some really strange stuff.

Banana nut bread cereal? Chili cheese taco dogs? Toasted coconut cream pie latté? Philly cheese steak pizza?

I can't be the only one who finds these things, which are all real by the way, a little freaky. Pizzarito. Why? Personally I prefer my food in its natural state; I want banana bread in a loaf, chili dogs in buns, and pie with a crust in a pan where it belongs—though I'll admit that latté did sound kinda good.

No foodie is infallible, though, and one blustery day last winter I took an upside down ride on the recipe roller coaster. I had a bumper crop of Swiss chard in the greenhouse and a craving for soup in the kitchen, so I turned my popular Hot Swiss Chard Artichoke Dip into something more slurpable.

It was tasty and healthy and—dare I admit it—even a little exciting. And while I did once top a homemade pizza with the cooked onion, Swiss chard, and artichoke base of the dip mixture (update: you'll find the Swiss Chard Artichoke Pizza recipe here), I promise I'll never create a Swiss chard and artichoke flavored latté or breakfast cereal. I can't, of course, speak for those desperate marketing departments.

So what's the most bizarre crossover food you've ever come across?



Susan's Healthy Swiss Chard Artichoke Soup
Makes about 9 cups

**Click here to print this recipe**

Many of you know—because I'm constantly mentioning it—that Swiss chard is one of my favorite vegetables in the garden. One of the things I love about it is how incredibly large the leaves can grow, but when I step inside the greenhouse and feel as if I've suddenly been transported to Jurassic Park, it starts to get a little scary.

That's when it's time to whack them down and hit them with some heat, because even the most enormous leaves will shrink down to practically nothing if you cook them.

It never ceases to amaze me that a bowl of bounty nearly too big to get through the door will fit inside a teacup once you cook it. The concentrated amount of nutrients that must be contained in that teacup is mind boggling.

Swiss chard is both amazingly heat and cold tolerant, and this year I had a bumper crop growing in the greenhouse up until the last day of fall, when I harvested it all in preparation of that night's low of 2°F.

The first thing I did with my freshly picked crop was whip up a batch of this scrumptious soup. Unfortunately it's also the last thing I did with it, since I've spent the past week flat on my back with the flu. But now that I'm finally on the mend and ready to get back to cooking, a big bowl of warm and healthy goodness sounds like the perfect prescription.

Swiss chard is easy to grow from seed, and it does exceptionally well in containers, so even apartment dwellers have no excuse not to try growing some. Three or four plants will fit comfortably in a 14-inch-wide pot. You'll find detailed growing information in this post on my kitchen garden blog: How To Grow Swiss Chard From Seed and Why You Should.

As always, I urge you to seek out local and organic ingredients; they really do make a difference. Canned organic garbanzo beans (chickpeas) are a versatile pantry staple that add richness and a nutty flavor, as well as protein and fiber to this soup. I toss them into all kinds of things and buy them by the case.

I can't say enough good things about my KitchenAid hand blender; it's one of the best things I've ever bought for the kitchen.

Ingredients:

2 to 3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound yellow onions (about 2 medium), peeled and coarsely chopped
4 to 6 large cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts in water (about 8 hearts), drained and rinsed (frozen would probably work, too)
1 15-ounce can organic garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
4 cups organic chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 bunch Swiss chard (about 1 pound), leaves and stalks separated and both chopped into pieces (save a few stalks for garnish if desired)
1 to 1½ cups organic milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Optional garnishes:
Freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
Thin slices of cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
Sour cream or yogurt
Chopped chives or scallions
Swiss chard stalks

Instructions:
Heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot on medium heat, then add the onions and Swiss chard stems. Stir to coat with oil, cover, and cook until soft and starting to brown, stirring frequently, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Add another Tablespoon of olive oil or splash of water to soak up any flavorful brown bits sticking to the pot.

Make a space in the center of the pot and add the garlic, stirring so it all touches the bottom of the pot. Cook, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the artichokes, garbanzo beans, chicken stock, Worcestershire sauce, and Swiss chard leaves and stir to combine. It may seem like you're trying to fit way too much Swiss chard in the pot, but it will quickly cook down.

Cover and bring to a boil, then simmer, stirring occasionally, with the lid barely cracked for 30 to 40 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of the milk, adding up to 1/2 cup more if you prefer a thinner soup.

Purée with an immersion hand blender, or transfer in batches to a counter top blender and very carefully purée, then return to the pot.

Salt and pepper to taste and serve hot, garnished however you like. This soup tastes even better the next day, and it also freezes beautifully.

Care for some homemade bread to go with your soup?

Beyond Easy Beer Bread (my most popular recipe)

Easy Rosemary Focaccia (Italian Flatbread) with White Wine and Pecorino

Farmhouse White Classic Sandwich Bread (makes great rolls & buns too)

Savory Feta Cheese & Scallion Scones

Oatmeal Toasting Bread (makes scrumptious rolls too)

Carrot Herb Rolls (and a wonderful bread baking book for beginners)

Love cozy soup season? You might also enjoy these Farmgirl Fare recipes:

Easy Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Garbanzos and Artichokes

Fast Black Bean Soup/Chili

Hearty Lentil Soup with Smoked Sausage

Italian White Bean Soup with Tomatoes and Smoked Ham

Quick and Healthy Cream (or not) of Artichoke Soup

Roasted Garlic Lover's White Bean Soup/Stew (fat-free, gluten-free, vegan, cheap, delicious!)
Roasted Leek and Potato Soup with Arugula (or Spinach)

Roasted Onion, Potato, and Cabbage Soup

Sunburst Carrot Soup with Fresh Ginger, Orange, and Carrot Juice

Susan's Super Spinach Soup (made with fresh spinach)

What else can you do with Swiss chard?
Swiss Chard Cabbage Salad with Garbanzos & Cottage Cheese
Swiss Chard Tuna Salad with Scallions & Kalmata Olives
Hot Swiss Chard Artichoke Dip

Still hungry? You'll find links to all my sweet and savory Less Fuss, More Flavor recipes in the Farmgirl Fare Recipe Index.

© FarmgirlFare.com, the slurp happy blog where Farmgirl Susan shares recipes, stories, and photos from her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres—and one of the nicest things you can do during winter is curl up with a hunk of bread and a cozy bowl of homemade soup.

A Fresh, Lowfat Twist on Cole Slaw: Swiss Chard Cabbage Salad Recipe with Garbanzo Beans, Broccoli Stems, & Cottage Cheese

Colorful, crunchy, and good for you - pass the salad, please!

During a live chat last year with Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins, authors of the bestselling Silver Palate cookbooks (and The New Basics, one of my all time favorite cookbooks), my foodie friend Sonia asked an interesting question:

I think that we all tend to read a recipe and then make it our own by adapting it to our tastes or to what is readily available in our areas. At least, that's how I usually cook. For example, the stuffed tomatoes recipe in the Silver Palate calls for ricotta and spinach, and although ricotta is readily available here in in Hawaii, I have a goat farmer friend up the road who makes chevre, so I use that recipe, along with Malabar spinach from my garden.

I'm curious, though—when someone tells you they have changed your recipe around, does it bother you, or are you pleased that you at least gave them a starting point?

And Julee replied:

I really take it as a compliment that someone has made [one of] our recipes and chosen to make it their own. That's what cooking is all about. I have an insatiable curiosity, and so sometimes I want to make the familiar, sometimes the new!!

Since I started Farmgirl Fare three years ago, I've heard from people all around the world who have made my recipes. While I love to know that you've enjoyed them, I also love it when you tell me that one of my recipes inspired you to head into the kitchen and create something of your own.

The other day I received this note from Sarah:

I read your blog regularly, and the other day I was bored at work so I was looking back through your archives. I was intrigued by your broccoli soup with chickpeas. I didn't follow your recipe at all except for the suggestion of an addition of a can of chickpeas.

I had a 2 month old head of cauliflower in my fridge and so I put some onions, garlic, celery, and cauliflower in some broth, cooked it up, added a can of beans, pureed and voila! I did have some pesto on hand so I added a teaspoon of that to the soup and it was amazing. My cat even ate a small bowl of the stuff! Thank you for the inspiration! I don't usually follow recipes but read them compulsively and rework them.

So not only did I inspire Sarah to whip up something delicious with that languishing head of cauliflower in her fridge, but I now have a tasty sounding new recipe for cauliflower soup as well.

Fortunately my dear friend Kat feels the same way as Julee and I do, because although I doubt anyone would recognize her Fresh Veggie Salad in this recipe, it was my inspiration.

Two things about Kat's salad jumped out at me: the intriguing combination of cabbage and spinach (something I'd never thought to do), and the addition of cottage cheese, which I've been tossing into all kinds of stuff lately, like this Fiesta Cottage Cheese Veggie Dip.

With those two ideas in mind, I simply took her recipe and ran with it.

Kat's version is versatile; she's rolled it up in chicken breasts, used it in omelets, and even tossed it on a pizza. Mine might be versatile, too, though I have yet to move beyond just gobbling it out of a bowl—or straight from the dish in the fridge.


This flavorful salad is low fat, low carb, and packed with fiber—but you don't have to share that part if you don't want to.

Farmgirl Susan's Swiss Chard Cabbage Salad
Makes about 8 cups - Inspired by Kat's Fresh Veggie Salad

This is actually the second Kat-inspired salad I created. The first version was made with spinach, but since I never got around to planting any spinach this past spring, I simply made due with what I had on hand this year—and that was plenty of homegrown Swiss chard.

I also took advantage of our scallion bounty. I'll hopefully get around to sharing the spinach version, too, but since I know a lot of you are looking for new ways to use up all your gorgeous Swiss chard right now, I figured this one needed to come first.


Freshly harvested Swiss chard from the Kitchen Garden

There's a nice crunch to this salad, in part because Swiss chard—which is easy to grow from seed—gives you a bonus veggie: the stalks can be chopped up and used like celery. Choose colorful varieties of chard such as Pink Lipstick, Canary Yellow, and Orange Fantasia and you'll have some of the prettiest 'celery' around.

If you tend to throw out broccoli stalks and only use the florets (shame on you!), this is a great place to toss them instead.

This pseudo slaw—which would be perfect for picnics and potlucks—looks best right after it's been mixed up, but it tastes best after it's chilled for a couple of hours. I use a large serrated knife to thinly slice the cabbage and a big chef's knife to slice the chard, which I kind of roll up into a bundle before cutting.

As always, I urge you to seek out local and organic ingredients; they really do make a difference. Organic garbanzo beans are a staple in my farmhouse pantry and can usually be found for under two dollars a can. I often buy them by the case.

4 cups thinly sliced Swiss chard leaves
1 cup chopped Swiss chard stems
2 cups shredded green cabbage
1 cup shredded purple cabbage
1 or 2 large handfuls peeled & chopped broccoli stems
7 or 8 large chopped scallions (green onions)
1 15-ounce can organic garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
1 16-ounce carton cottage cheese (I use low fat)
1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon onion powder or granulated onion
1 teaspoon garlic powder or granulated garlic
Salt & pepper to taste

More chopped scallions for garnish

Combine Swiss chard leaves, Swiss chard stems, green and purple cabbage, scallions, and garbanzo beans in a large bowl. Add cottage cheese and mix well.

Add vinegar and stir to combine. Sprinkle with onion and garlic powders and mix well. Salt & pepper to taste, adding a little more vinegar if desired. Garnish with chopped scallions and serve.

So how do you use recipes? Do you follow them to the letter? Improvise with what you have on hand, is in season, or that you think might taste even better? Or do you simply look for inspiration and then just totally wing it? If you've written about a favorite recipe creation on your own blog, you're welcome to include a link to it in your comment.

Related posts:
How To Grow Swiss Chard from Seed & Why You Should
Recipe: Hot Swiss Chard Artichoke Dip (and other ways to use Swiss Chard)
What To Do with 125 Scallions
How To Grow Arugula — Seed to Salad Bowl in Less than a Month
How To Grow Your Own Gourmet Lettuce from Seed

Other salads & potluck/picnic fare you might enjoy:
Swiss Chard Tuna Salad with Scallions & Kalamata Olives
Sour Cream & Onion Dip (and foodie travel)
Fiesta Cottage Cheese Veggie Dip (and factory tours)
Mexican Jumping Bean Slaw & Quick Vegetarian Tacos
Colors of Summer Salad
On Loving Lettuce & Eating Salad for Breakfast
Summer in a Bowl
The Easiest Greek Salad Ever

Still hungry? You'll find links to all my sweet and savory Less Fuss, More Flavor recipes in the Farmgirl Fare Recipe Index.

© FarmgirlFare.com, the greener than green foodie farm blog where Farmgirl Susan shares stories, photos, and recipes from her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres—and we're slightly obsessed with salads (and cake).

More Fast Farm Food: Healthy Swiss Chard Tuna Salad Recipe with Scallions & Kalamata Olives

Tuna Salad Goes Green

What do you get when you have a greenhouse full of Swiss chard, a bumper crop of scallions in the garden, long days of hunger-inducing farm work, not much time to cook, and a really annoying heat wave? Three batches of this tasty tuna salad in the last ten days — and no sign of us tiring of it anytime soon.

I created this simple yet satisfying recipe last year for NPR's Kitchen Window but never shared it here, and now I know why — I was waiting until I made it even better. It seemed a little odd to apply my More, More, More motto to one of my own recipes, but in this case it worked beautifully. This new greener version is better looking, better for you, and even better tasting.

I've mentioned before that Swiss chard is one of my favorite vegetables. In fact, if I were allowed to grow only two things in my organic kitchen garden they would be tomatoes and Swiss chard. This nutrient-packed chameleon of the vegetable world comes in a variety of colors and is a superb, year-round stand-in for lettuce, spinach and celery. When the spinach is suffering from heatstroke or the lettuce is keeling over from frostbite, my hardy Swiss chard doesn't even flinch. It's also easy to grow from seed and does exceptionally well in containers. And if you grow your own Swiss chard, you'll be able to enjoy the young, tender leaves which are rarely available for sale.

Swiss chard is bursting with nutrients, including vitamins K, A, C and E, plus several B vitamins, magnesium, manganese, potassium, iron and dietary fiber. It's a good source of calcium and contains promising cancer-fighting properties. Throughout history, various parts of the plant have been used to treat everything from ulcers to dandruff.

But more importantly, it tastes delicious. Peak season in most areas is from June through October, though in milder climates you often can find interesting varieties of just-harvested bounty at farmers' markets from early spring until late fall. Look for crisp stalks with shiny, unblemished leaves.


Swiss Chard is the New (Gorgeous) Celery

One of the best things about Swiss chard is that it's actually two crops in one — the crunchy stalks can be chopped up and used in place of celery in many recipes, which is especially nice since conventionally grown celery ranks number four on the Environmental Working Group's list of most contaminated produce. Choose colorful varieties of Swiss chard such as Pink Lipstick, Canary Yellow, and Orange Fantasia and you'll have some of the prettiest 'celery' around.

Tuna salad is the kind of thing I like to keep on hand in the fridge for quick meals and easy snacks, especially during the summer months, and this twist on the old standby will tempt even the most overheated appetites. If you don't have any Swiss chard handy you could substitute another sturdy leafy green such as spinach, kale, cabbage, or even some finely chopped broccoli or kohlrabi leaves (talk about healthy) or collard greens. Lettuce wouldn't hold up, but a handful or two of arugula would add a snappy bite.

This is one of those recipes that adapts easily to whatever you have on hand, so don't be afraid to be creative. Any type of olives would work — cracked green, oil cured, even the plain old canned black ones. Chopped purple onion in place of the scallions would be very nice. Some red cabbage would be tasty, and I almost tossed a shredded carrot into the latest batch. After taking these photos I did stir in a few handfuls of drained and rinsed organic kidney beans, which added protein and fiber and made this salad even more of a meal.



Susan's Swiss Chard Tuna Salad
Serves 2 to 4

If you have a chance, mix up your tuna salad and let it sit in the refrigerator at least a few hours before serving; it'll be even tastier. You can put it on sandwiches, stuff it into pita pockets, spread it on crackers, or serve it on a bed of lettuce. You could make baby sandwiches on Carrot Herb Rolls, Italian Olive Cheek Rolls, or Savory Cheese & Scallion Scones, or use Swiss chard leaves in place of tortillas to make easy low-carb tuna wraps. I often eat it straight from the bowl with a fork. Feeding a crowd? Just double the recipe. As always, I urge you to seek out local and organic ingredients whenever you can.

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar (I like white balsamic)
1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives (about 10 olives)
2 teaspoons brine from the olives (or more balsamic vinegar)
2 6-ounce cans tuna (oil or water packed), drained
3/4 cups chopped Swiss chard stems
2 to 3 cups chopped Swiss chard leaves
1/4 cup loosely packed chopped fresh parsley, preferably Italian flat leaf
1 cup (or more) chopped scallions (green onions), white and green parts (about 10 small)
Salt & pepper to taste

Optional:
Few handfuls of canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Combine mayonnaise, dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar and olive brine in a medium bowl and mix well. Stir in olives, tuna, chopped Swiss chard stems and leaves, parsley, and scallions. Add salt and pepper to taste and more mayonnaise and/or vinegar if desired. Stir in kidney beans if using. Tuna salad will keep for three days in the refrigerator.

Related posts:
How To Grow Swiss Chard from Seed & Why You Should
Recipe: Hot Swiss Chard Artichoke Dip (and lots of other ways to use Swiss Chard)
Grow Arugula — Seed to Salad Bowl in Less than a Month
How To Grow Your Own Gourmet Lettuce from Seed
What To Do With 125 Scallions

To go with your tuna salad:
Four Hour Parisian Daily Baguettes
Beyond Easy Beer Bread
Oatmeal Toasting Bread
Savory Cheese & Scallion Scones
Carrot Herb Rolls (and a bargain bread book for beginners)
Italian Olive Cheek Rolls
How To Make Your Own Pita Bread & Pita Chips

Other Farmgirl Fare recipes you might enjoy:
Sour Cream & Onion Dip (and foodie travel)
Fiesta Cottage Cheese Veggie Dip (and factory tours)
Mexican Jumping Bean Slaw & Quick Vegetarian Tacos
Colors of Summer Salad
Summer in a Bowl
The Easiest Greek Salad Ever

Still hungry?
You'll find links to all my sweet & savory Less Fuss, More Flavor recipes in the sidebar of the Farmgirl Fare homepage under Previous Posts: Food Stuff W/ Recipes. Enjoy!

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares recipes, stories, & photos from her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres — and we feast on homegrown Swiss chard almost year round.

Wednesday Farm Photo: Spring Garden Greens

Arugula & Baby Swiss Chard In The Homemade Greenhouse

It's spring salad season - and it's not too late to plant! Did you know you can go from seed to salad bowl in less than a month no matter where you live? Just check out these links on my kitchen garden blog:
Sublime Salads For Those Short On Time, Space, & Sunlight
Growing Your Own Gourmet Lettuce Is Easier Than You Think
How To Grow Your Own Swiss Chard From Seed & Why You Should

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where one of us loves lettuce a lot more than normal people (and even eats it for breakfast) - yet somehow never got around to planting any this spring (and is blaming it on lambing season). Thank goodness for Swiss chard and arugula!

Hot Swiss Chard Artichoke Dip Recipe

This New Twist On An Old Favorite Is Perfect For Parties

Do you love hot spinach and artichoke dip? My version of this popular appetizer is cooked on the stovetop instead of in the oven and uses chopped fresh Swiss chard leaves and stalks in place of frozen spinach. It's also packed with plenty of onion and garlic for extra flavor. The easy recipe, along with lots of other ideas for what to do with Swiss chard, is over on my kitchen garden blog--just click here.

You didn't know I have a kitchen garden blog? You can learn why this Farmgirl Fare offshoot isn't just for gardeners here.

The best Swiss chard you'll ever eat is of course that which you grow yourself, and fortunately this versatile vegetable is extremely easy to cultivate. It's both heat and cold tolerant and even thrives in containers. My kitchen garden post, How To Grow Your Own Swiss Chard & Why You Should, offers detailed growing tips and--thanks to all my fellow Swiss chard lovers--the comments section is full of all sorts of delicious ways to enjoy my number one leafy green. Do you have a favorite Swiss chard recipe you'd like to share?

© 2007 FarmgirlFare.com

Farm Photo 9/27/07: Made For Each Other?

A Perfect Match

When I first saw this butterfly I thought its wings were partly transparent and that I was seeing the color of the squash blossom beneath them. Considering there are probably at least a million colors in the world, it seems incredible that this butterfly has the exact same coloring as this flower. Or does it? All I know is that from now on, this winged beauty will be referred to in my garden as the Squash Blossom Butterfly.

Speaking of squash, have you frozen some grated zucchini yet so you can make Carrot, Raisin, & Zucchini bran muffins once I finally get around to sharing the recipe? It's a scrumptious new variation of my popular bran muffin recipe, and calls for one packed cup (weighing 8 ounces) of grated zucchini for a dozen muffins. I hope to have it up in the next couple of weeks. (The Tomato Basil Sourdough Bread recipe is coming first.)

More into salads than squash? Over In My Kitchen Garden, I've just written all about how easy it is to grow Swiss chard, one of my very favorite vegetables, from seed. No garden? No problem. Swiss chard does exceptionally well in containers, which means even apartment dwellers have no excuse not to try sprinkling a few seeds somewhere.

Next up In My Kitchen Garden will be two of my favorite Swiss chard recipes. In the meantime, I hope you'll add your favorite way to enjoy Swiss chard in a comment on the how to grow it post--whether you actually grow your own or not. The suggestions so far all sound so delicious that I've been out in the garden urging all my 1-inch high seedlings to grow "Faster! Faster! Faster!"

Want to see more?
You'll find plenty of pollinator pics here, and lots more flower photos here.

© 2007 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares stories & photos of her crazy country life on 240 remote acres.

Swiss Chard & A Little Self Promotion

Swiss Chard Is The New Celery

The year I turned 30, I had two friends who turned 60, and I took full advantage of the situation.

"Save me some trouble," I said, "and tell me the most valuable thing you've learned in the last 30 years."

The first one offered up a piece of advice I've tried to abide by ever since. He said, "Be happy, not resentful or envious, when good things happen to other people."

But it was seven words of wisdom from the second friend that truly changed my life: "Always plant Swiss chard in the garden."

Many of you know about my longtime love affair with Nero di Toscana cabbage. And while that flame will certainly never fizzle, I have to admit that if I were allowed to grow only one dark leafy green for the rest of my life, I would have to choose Swiss chard.

I've been meaning to write about how enamored I am with this hardy, versatile, and gorgeous vegetable since, oh, about the time I started blogging. A few months ago I realized that for once my procrastination paid off. When an editor at NPR.org asked if I'd be interested in contributing to 'Kitchen Window,' their weekly online food and recipe column, it didn't take me long to come up with the perfect topic for my first piece: Swiss chard.

"Letting Leafy Greens Into Your Life" can be found here. It includes two of my Less Fuss, More Flavor recipes, both of which I am now officially addicted to: Swiss Chard Tuna Salad and Hot Swiss Chard Artichoke Dip. In the sidebar you'll find detailed instructions on how to grow your own Swiss chard (it's easier than you might think and can even be done in containers).

If you enjoy the article, or if you have delicious success with one or both of the recipes, I'd love it if you'd take a minute to leave a comment on 'Kitchen Window.' It's a little different than leaving a blog comment; just click on the 'Write To Kitchen Window' link located in the upper right side of the page and fill in the blanks. Thanks so much.

Oh, and be sure to check out the other 'Kitchen Window' columns, especially "Restoring Humble Pot Pie To Its Rightful Place" and "Chowders Lighten Up" which my bread baking buddy Kevin managed to write even though he's been busy covering for me (along with my pal Beth) over at our new project, A Year In Bread.

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