2002-03-01
One of the great benefits of my sister's visit back when Clay was a week old is that she introduced me to chard. I'd heard of this vegetable, of course; I've seen it in the vegetable section of calorie counters and recipe books, but I wasn't sure exactly what it was and I didn't really believe anyone ate it.
When she and I were in the groovy healthfood gourmet store (GHGS), she picked up a bundle and I had a kind of inward groan, assuming it would be unpleasant. But that night she incorporated into a vegetable medley and I loved it. It's leafy green stuff, comes in bundles of six or eight big leaves wrapped together. The stems are either white or yellow or magenta (and who knows what other colors, these are just the ones I've seen). Sometimes it comes with a few of each color and is labeled rainbow chard.
I was surprised to find it not only at the GHGS but at our ordinarily--albeit very good--regular grocery, where I had of course, never noticed it. Chard, where have you been all my life?
I've been making up for lost time, eating it several times a week. In addition to being yummy, I'm sure it's chock full of vitamins (if you know otherwise, don't tell me; I don't want to know). It's also one of the less labor-intensive vegetables to prepare: it's virtually all tender and edible, cooks quickly but you don't have the sand problem you have with spinach. And it's got more bite than spinach.
It's the perfect vegetable, I tell you. Go out and bring some home today! Just be careful to keep an eye on it while it's cooking; you don't want to burn it. Because, you know, then you'd have charred chard.
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