SRC Post for November: A Swiss Chard Recipe—Seriously delicious so keep reading!

Secret Recipe Club

Here is my fifth posting with Secret Recipe Club.  This club, hosted by AmandaAngelaTamiTina, and Jane,  is a great way to expand your foodie horizons and explore different blogs.   The premise is that you will be assigned a “secret pal,”  you explore your new friend’s site, and then secretly bake or cook away with one of your new pal’s recipes.

I don’t know how I get so lucky.  Every single one of my SRC assignments has been absolutely foodie fabulous!   November is no different.   Thanks Amanda for my newest secret pal:   Aimee at From Chapel Hill to Chickenville.

Aimee (currently from Chickenville) states that she is no super mom (despite the “Wonder Woman T-shirt her husband made for her).   I beg to differ, Aimee.

This super woman currently is raising four cute youngsters under the age of eight, homeschooling, blogging, tending a flock of hens and cooking away.

You be the judge.

To tackle all these responsibilities and duties, one would need a sense of humor, correct?   Aimee has that too.

Ten Crazy Things About Me  (from Aimee’s blog)

  1. My favorite color is purple..ever since I was five years old..with a purple “fur” coat

    Here's a couple of purple beauties for you!

  2. I have broken a baseball bat…on purpose…with my shin
  3. If you looked under my bed you would find a hoard of dust bunnies..I’m allergic to vacuuming…really
  4. One of my children was born on Leap Day
  5. I bought a stove off Ebay once…really
  6. I LOVE my minivan and see no reason why you can’t still jam out to Motown with the kids…windows open…rocking the van from side to side…while strangers are looking at you like you are insane
  7. None of my kids like my favorite vegetable…peas (they also don’t like mashed potatoes, so they really can’t be trusted)
  8. I have no idea how to text…I’ve never even attempted it
  9. I once quit my job and went to Australia on “walkabout” for 3 months
  10. My engagement ring belonged to my Grandmother and was originally purchased at a pawn shop!

I’m diggin’ her.

My pick from her list of recipes had to be Sauteed Swiss Chard.    My rainbow Swiss chard has survived last winter, a tremendous heatwave, and a drought  (I have no idea how) and is still going strong even after one hard freeze and a recent frost and I wanted to make something using as many local products as possible.   The raisins intrigued me as well.    Plus, I have found a recent affinity for Swiss chard and I love the colorful rainbow or  “Bright Lights” varieties.   But, as a child I absolutely hated it.  My grandmother would grow it in her garden and then she would stew it until it almost fell apart.   No offense grandma—you were a fantastic cook and I learned many kitchen techniques from you—but it wasn’t until I had sauteed chard that I fell in love with this food.

I only made a few adaptations to Aimee’s original recipe.   I added bacon (a no brainer) and I found some beautiful jumbo mixed raisins at the grocery store.   I thought their color would play off well with the rainbow chard.

Sauteed Swiss Chard
Adapted from Aimee at Chapel Hill to Chickenville

3 slices thick cut bacon
1 T. bacon fat
1 bunch of chard, stems trimmed off
1 c. onion, chopped
1/4 t. smoked paprika
1/2 c.  jumbo mixed raisins
1/4 c pine nuts

I thought the colorful raisins would compliment the rainbow chard.

Trim the chard:  slice off the large stems and slice the leaves into large strips.

This is a big ol' bowl of chard.

In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp.   Remove bacon and crumble; set aside.  In the reserved 1 T. of bacon fat, add the onions and sprinkle with  paprika.   Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent, about 4 minutes.

Add the chard leaves,  raisins, and bacon.

Cram it all in the skillet.

It will reduce down quickly as the chard cooks.   Cover the skillet and let cook for around 6 minutes, stirring a couple of times.   Stir in pine nuts before serving.

Seriously, this is delicious stuff.

 

Aimee states, “The mix of the sweet raisin, crunchy pine nuts and delicious chard put this dish in a class by itself.”   She is absolutely correct.   I tried this recipe for a pre-Thanksgiving family meal this past weekend.   My brother-in-law loved it and asked for the recipe.  This dish would be a great side for your Thanksgiving table.

I absolutely  love that Aimee served this with Macaroni and Cheese because “You gotta have the Blue Box sometimes!”  (See, sense of humor again.)

Photo credit to Aimee at From Chapel Hill to Chickenville

Aimee—you have inspired me.   I want chickens in my backyard, too.   As a final homage, you prompted me to search my crazy soul.

Ten Crazy Things About Me

  1. Contrary to popular belief and comments, I, Eliot, am a female.
  2. I was once on Jeopardy!   (Alex is pretty aloof and it is way too stressful to be fun!)
  3. I have a cat who thinks she’s a dog.
  4. My husband and I cancel out each others votes on every election.
  5. My family (as far as I know) does not know that I blog.   Only my hubby knows.  I am waiting to be “discovered” by everybody else.   So, thus far, it gives me a lot of freedom to talk about them.  🙂
  6. I broke my nose in high school when I ran into one of my best friend while we were running “suicides.”
  7. Speaking of high school, I couldn’t decided if I wanted to marry Rick Springfield or Adam Ant.   (I had issues, OK?)
  8. Now, if I weren’t very happily married (hear that honey?), I would marry Anthony Bourdain (and yes, I know he is married, too.)
  9. If I could live anywhere in the world, it would be New Mexico.
  10. Finally, I hate to copy, but I am pretty sure I am allergic to vacuuming as well!

Aimee, so nice to meet ya!   Please check out From Chapel Hill to Chickenville.

They grow 'em big in Chickenville. (I thought Aimee would appreciate the humor!)

You can check out my other SRC posts:

 



21 comments to SRC Post for November: A Swiss Chard Recipe—Seriously delicious so keep reading!

  • I agree! People that don’t like mashed potatoes can not be trusted 😉 just kidding.

    Love the facts about you and I love this dish! great pick!

  • I thought my garden was on steroids–still have swiss chard in my garden after 2 freezes. Guess I’m not the only one with bionic swiss chard. 🙂 This recipe is perfect timing for me. Sounds delicious. (Those purple chickens totally crack me up!)

  • Oh, I’m laughing so hard! What a WONDERFUL post!!! I love swiss chard and have never thought to put pine nuts with it. We’ve got a bit left in the garden that the frosts haven’t gotten so I think I’ll try that this week 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful one – and Happy Thanksgiving!!

  • Eliot,
    You had me at “here”!! I am NOT that funny, maybe you should write my copy, because you are hilarious gal. I’m so glad you liked the recipe. Bacon would set this over the top – great idea. What other ways do you cook your chard? And better yet, how do you grow it? I’d love to add it to my garden next year. It’s a fall crop – right?

    I’m off to read more of your blog. I need to absorb some of your “funny”. And I MUST get the purple chicken photo. LOVE that!

    Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

    • Eliot

      Aimee—
      Thanks for all the kind words! Loved exploring your blog!!!!!
      You and your crew have a fantastic Thanksgiving, too!
      Eliot

  • I’m loving your use of greens lately Eliot! Bacon and pine nuts sound like rather delicious add-ins too. I don’t think I could break a baseball bat if I tried ;0

  • Wow, I have bought some insane things off ebay before (like my wedding dress), but a stove? You’ve got me there! I love swiss chard, and your recipe looks great!

  • Your grandma must have been southern. we tend to cook to death all our veggies. Yup, I figured you were a female. We still dont know your real name though, I guess I will continue calling you your cats name. I LOVE swiss chard and will be trying this recipe soon.

  • What a fun post! I have yet to cook/taste swiss chard, but this post changed my mind. Swiss chard is on my shopping list!
    Great SRC post.

  • My swiss chard is still going strong and I need to cut it back again before the cold takes it out. This would be a great use for it!

  • Great SRC post! I also liked your list!

  • What a fun and entertaining post! I love the recipe, both of your lists, and the pink and purple chickens. I am a big fan of swiss chard and picturing it with the smoky bacon, sweet raisins, and pine nuts has my mind spinning! 🙂

  • *drooooooooool* the sound of this chard sounds so incredible with the raisins and bacon. You kill me! How many times are you going to kill me? Remember the white chocolate brownies? Those killed me too. Have mercy! lol Thanks for sharing some of your craziness with us. I think we can all relate to being allergic to vacuuming. 🙂

  • What a beautiful side dish for fall and winter dinners! I love the addition of raisins, pine nuts and bacon. I bet this is incredible! Great choice from a great blog! : )

  • Liz

    Oh, I love both lists!!! You are both entertaining…and I think I may be allergic to vacuuming as well…in fact, I’m certain! I need to try Swiss chard…I’m always grabbing my favorite spinach when a recipe calls for greens, but you’ve inspired me again. Have a great Thanksgiving, my friend~

  • I agree that Swiss chard is deeeelish. Great pick for the SRC!

  • What a great view on Aimee, just from reading your write up I love her. Of course I fell in love with you after you got my blog 😉 and I continue to enjoy you! I have a dog that thinks it’s a cat. I’m amazed that you were on Jeopardy, are you smarter than you blog??? Kidding. I am more than allergic to any housekeeping. I love this recipe. Thanks for the smile and drool.

  • I love swiss chard. You chose a great recipe for the Secret Recipe club. Here is what I cooked up from group C: http://su.pr/1HICCz 🙂

  • Great recipe. This looks and sounds delicious!

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