It’s been a few weeks since we found out that kale is the new spinach. I’ve come to accept this and have even integrated this new information into my mental-foodencyclopedia. (Kale, [keyl] – noun: (1)  leafy green vegetable; (2) the new spinach; (3) deliciousness.)

But, these sudden world changes beg the question: What is the new kale?

Fortunately, that’s an easy question to answer.  It’s chard.  Chard is the new kale.  The up-and-coming green star.  Now, really, I would like to say that chard is the new spinach.  (Or, spinach is the new spinach and kale is just kale, and chard is the new awesome. But whatever…I’ll roll with this.)  Chard has long been a favorite of mine.  Those tender soft green leaves.  The beautiful multicolored stalks.  There is not much more you could ask for in a leafy vegetable (and believe me, I ask a lot of my leafy greens).

Let’s be honest, how can you not be happy when cooking with neon-lights variety rainbow swiss chard?  The pretty colors!  (Yes, I’m like a toddler…or a mosquito…drawn to bright happy things).

Individual Rainbow Chard Gratin Pot Pies*

Ingredients

• 1 bunch chard, chopped
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/3 c. cornmeal
• 1/3 c. nutritional yeast
• 1/2 c. and 1/4 c. milk (almond, soy, coconut, or cow)
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp and 1/4 c. garbonzo flour
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Sautee garlic and shallot in the evoo over medium heat.  When the shallot starts to brown a bit, add the chard.  Cook until chard softens and turns a bright green.
3. In a separate sauce pan, melt butter.  Once butter is melted, stir in 1/2 c. milk, 1/4 c. garbonzo flour, and nutritional yeast.  Continue to to stir over medium heat until it begins to thicken.
4. Pour butter sauce over chard mixture.
5. In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal, 2 tbsp garbonzo flour, 1/4 c. milk, egg, and salt and pepper to taste.
6. In greased individual ramekins, split the chard mixture evenly.  Top with cornmeal mixture.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until top begins to brown.

* Originally these were supposed to be individual gratins…but, I’m still getting my dairy-free, gluten-free cooking down and they turned out more like a mini-pot-pie.  Still delish, just not gratin-ey.

Alright, peeps, what’s your fave chard recipe?

Winter is always difficult for me.  The short days.  The cold.  The heat bill.  It’s all I can do to stop myself from curling up in a ball in bed at 8pm.  But, with fall and winter do come two of my favorite things: Running Season and SOUP.  There is nothing like coming home from a freezing cold run to a hot shower and a hot bowl of soup in your belly.  The beauty of soup is that it lends itself well to the slow-cooker, which is, btw, my new favorite appliance.  Lately I’ve been experimenting with soups that require little-to-no prep and can simmer all day when I’m at work and be ready for my belly by 7pm.

Here is just one of those magical soups.

Super Easy Ribollita-Minestrone Slow Cooked Soup

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup dried cannellini beans
• 3 tbsp evoo
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bunch greens (I used mustard greens, but anything hearty will do), coarsely chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 yukon gold potato, chopped
• 1 cup chopped stewed tomatoes
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cups stock (veggie or chicken)
• 1 cup rice
• Fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1-2 cups stale bread cubes
• Parmesan cheese
• Salt and Pepper

1. Combined beans, evoo, garlic, potato, carrots, celery, tomatoes, onion, rosemary, and stock in slow-cooker.  Salt and pepper to taste. Cook on low of 4-5 hours, until beans are soft.

2. Add rice and greens and continue to cook low for 1 hour.

3. Stir in bread cubes.

4. Serve in bowls with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

Baby, it may be cold outside, but it’s warm in my belly.

Some days when I’m thinking up dinner, I get bored.  I get bored because I eat the same things over and over and over and over.  Yogurt.  Check.  Berries.  Check.  PB&J.  Check.  It’s those nights, that I’m left with either a wonderfully creative dinner…

Or an inedible mess.

Fortunately for me, last night was one of the luckier times.

Collard-Quinoa Wrap-ups

Ingredients:*

• 8-10 large Collard Green leaves (or other harty/strong greens like cabbage)
• 2 cups Tomatoes (fresh or canned)
• 2 Zuchini
• 4-5 Spring Onions
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 2 cups Quinoa (cooked)
• Olive oil
• 3 Tsp Red Wine Vinegar
• 3 oz. Goat Cheese
• Salt and Pepper to taste

*Note: I used all local produce and cheese.  Now to find local quinoa.

1. Wash collards and trim hard center stalks.

2. Blanche the stalks in bowling hot water until they become a bright green.

3. Lay the collards on a paper towel and allow to dry.

4. Combine tomatoes, garlic, and red wine vinegar in a blender or food processor…

5. …and blend until they look like this.

6. Heat the olive oil in a pan and add chopped zucchini, cooking until zucchini begins to soften.

7. Add chopped spring onions to zucchini and cook for 3 to 4 more minutes.

8. Add half of the tomato mixture, cooking until tomato sauce is reduced to paste consistency.

9. In a large bowl, combine quinoa and zucchini mixture.

10. Spoon zucchini mixture on to collard leaves and wrap up, rolling them as you would egg rolls or a burrito.  Line wraps in an oven safe dish.

11. Top the wrap-ups with the remaining tomato mixture and goat cheese. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.

12. Enjoy!

Now, I would be lying if I said I actually ate these for dinner last night.  Because I didn’t.  Instead, while they were cooking, I got hungry and filled up on potato chips and rainbow sherbet.  Yum.  And that, ladies and gents, is why I’m happy to be an adult.  Dinner. of. champions.

Alrighty…I’m now off to test drive some real slick fast beauties.  Details and pictures of my new ride tonight.

So, the fourth of July plan was going to be a repeat of last year: B and I would go to Atlanta, I’d run the Peachtree RR, and he and I would stay and play at a BBQ that afternoon.  But, I’ve been feeling pretty crummy lately and much like my blog, housework has been neglected at an all time high rate.  Falling asleep on Friday night before my 100 mile ride the next day, I felt achy, exhausted, drained, and unhappy.  The only way I could get myself to go forward with my Ironman training the next day was to tell myself that I could skip the Peachtree and the associated festivities…and spend the long weekend entirely in Augusta if I still felt crummy in the morning.

Fortunately, I didn’t feel crummy in the morning.  And I rocked out my 100mile ride in about 5.5 hrs.  But, the idea of getting my life together and having a mellow three day weekend was too appealing.  Once the idea got in my head, I couldn’t get it out.  As much as I love going to see my girlfriends in ATL, I needed this weekend to recoup.  Not only do I feel physically good for the first time in a week or so, my house is kinda clean.  I won’t go so far as to say completely clean…but it’s getting there.

But, the weekend to regroup meant that I had zero social plans for the fourth (a blessing and a sad lonely curse).  Just because I didn’t have social plans, didn’t mean that I didn’t want something patriotically yummy to eat. And yes, folks, I recognize that sentence uses the word “didn’t” three times.  Yes, I recognize this is poor writing.  No, I do not care to change it.

Patriotically yummy.  And patriotically easy for this patriotically lazy girl.

Easy Peasy Patriotic Pastry.

Ingredes:

Pastry Dough (homemade, store bought, etc.)

Berries of patriotic colors

Marscapone cheese

1. Roll out the Pastry Dough (it helped that I still had frozen balls of left over dough)

2. Spread marscapone cheese over top

2. Arrange berries over marscapone cheese

4. Make sure it’s a pretty pattern

5. Bake on 350* for 15 minutes

6. Now, folks this is the most important step…Eat the entire tart in an afternoon.

“I cannot make my days longer so I strive to make them better.”- Henry David Thoreau

I’ve been lamenting the lack of time in my days.  But, fortunately, as the weather turns nice, I start to be more productive.  There is a bounce in my step that helps me accomplish a little bit more.  Part of that, today, was also that I was home at lunch.

If you remember, last week, I had a gutter debacle.  And, I’m a REALLY good procrastinator.  But, today, I realized that it’s supposed to rain for the next few days.  So, I really needed to get the gutter fixed before it comes crashing down two stories during the next monsoon.  When I figured this all out, I managed to find a gutterman to come clean out and fix my gutter at lunch.  It was great.  Except when the gutterman came and I could almost swear that he had been a client of mine before.  Probably not.  But, you never know.

Anyway, I cleaned some at lunch, I read some, I chopped some of my veggies for my dinner recipe; but, for the most part, I soothed my big burly boyfriend who was flippin out about the close proximity of another man.  A man outside my house is too close for the boy’s liking.  So, we snuggled.  And when we snuggled, he would shut his yappy snarly mouth.

It was nice to check “clean gutters” off my to do list.

To save some more time in my day, I made a low prep frittata tonight using deliciously fresh eggs from a friend’s chickens.

I started off by sauteeing shrooms with some garlic.

Added a thinly sliced red onion and two diced zucchinis.

And cook for about 10-15 minutes, until veggies are soft-ish (yes, oh so precise terminology).

Allow the veggies to cool.  Wisk 4 or 5 eggs (depending on the size) with a splash of milk-product (I used soy, but cow milk is perfectly acceptable).  Add cheese of choice (mine, as a good Greek girl, was feta).  And then stir in cooled veggies.

This is where I got creative.  I don’t have a skillet that I can stick in the oven, so, the typical range top cooking transferred to a broiler for a frittata was out of the question.  So, I improvised.  I poured the mixture into a pie pan and baked in the oven, before broiling the top.

And cooked until done (yes, my precise-itudes are so helpful)

I also roasted some CSA veggies with balsamic vinegar and red wine.

It was not my most attractive dinner, but it sure was delish.

The first slice of a pie never comes out pretty.

Ok.  Folks.  Not only has William challenged me in my swimming, I’ve been challenged by a friend here to see who can get to the pool three times for swimming first.  I start tomorrow.  I WILL get up for swim practice.  And, I will give you a recap in the morning.  I will also tell you about my depressing bike ride today (basically, I have some work to do to get back to where I was last September…).

Also ps. In defense of B, the shoe he ate was years and years old…and in fact the last time I wore them to court, someone told me that I was really starting to look like a PD because they were so ratty.  Maybe he did me a favor.  Not really…bad dog.

Hello lovelies!

I went out and hit the trails this morning…it was amazingly beautiful out and I was excited for another unplugged run.  I did take my garmin this time, so, I guess it was just “less-plugged.”  I did my “long” run (the quotations are because it was just 12 miles, which in the grand scheme of my life isn’t that long…) late yesterday, so my legs were beat.  But, when people pick which trail to go on, I go.  I like being with people.  So, I go.  But.  Oh heavens.

We hit the HARDEST trail out in the area where we were.  Seriously.  3 miles of climbs that vary between 400 to 500ft of ascent. 3 miles with 200-400 ft of ascent. I was DEAD.  When I finished, I felt like I had run 20 miles hard.  But, it was just 6 miles.  Up and down and up and down and up and down and up and up and up a mountain.  And up a mountain again. It was good though.  Great to be with friends.  Great to get outside.  And great to work out some of my trials while out in the trails.

Which is good.  Because we start a two week jury trial session tomorrow.  And…I have about 15 cases still in jury trial status on the calendar.  Which meant an extended afternoon in the jail chatting with clients.  I’m generally against jail visits on the weekends…especially when it is beautiful outside.  But, sometimes it’s got to be done.

Given the long afternoon/evening at the jail, I didn’t manage to get everything on my to do list done this weekend, but I did get a lot done.  I weighed the benefits of finishing the to do list at the expense of my (quickly impending) bedtime and a nice homecooked Sunday dins.

And Sunday dins are important.  It’s all about family.  Even if you are eating by yourself. Right?  Right.  More importantly I have Leftovers (with a capital L) for lunches throughout the week.  Lots and lots of leftovers.

Starting off with Stuffed Green Peppers.  With Eggplant.

And onion and garlic, cooked with 1/2 cup water until soft.

Add stewed tomatoes and corn (I was a little hesitant about the corn in the recipe, but it turned out yummers).

Added quinoa (substituted for the recipe’s rice).

Then stuffed pepper halves (and was left with about 9/10 of the stuffing…lunch?)

Baked on 350* for 45 minutes, then topped with cheddar cheese and bake 5 more minutes.  While the peppers were baking, though, I got started on a Spicy Okra Stew.

Onion, okra, and garlic sauteed in evoo.

Coriander, Cayenne Pepper, and Cumin are added with three tomatoes and a cup of water.  Boiled until sauce thickens.

Oh no!  Tomato Down! Tomato Down!

Um, my knife is dirty.  Ick.  Don’t pay attention to that.

Alrighty folks, it’s time for us to hit the hay.  B says good night.

Today was one of those days.  I was stressed from the start after spending all day working…and I woke up early this morning to continue working (though, bonus points for me–up at 6am for the 5th straight day in a row).  And it was just downhill from that point on.  Surprisingly I handled it quite well until this afternoon.  And I still handled it well on the outside this afternoon.  But inside I was bubbling with rage and frustration.  And I came home from work ready to explode.

So.  I did twenty minutes of meditation.  And that helped some.  But I needed more.  And I kneaded more. (I can’t miss the chance for a good pun.  Sorry.)

Pizza dough.

Yep.  Pizza/rustic tarte for dins.  Pizza dough from scratch…with lots of dough to knead and punch all my frustrations out on.  Perfect and tasty.

Ready for some rising…

It’s ALIVE!

Spread it all out, top with onions sauteed in evoo with fresh thyme.  And bake for 12 minutes.

Take it out, top with gorgonzola and chopped walnuts and stick back in the oven for 10 minutes.

And top with (CSA) arugala!

Served with Sesame Ginger Soy glazed Sweet Potatoes and some TJ’s 2-buck chuck.

Nom nom nom.

Ok, off to bed ladies and gents…but tell me, what do you all do to work out anger and frustration?! but, seriously folks, punching pizza dough = best ever.

This morning I woke up all bright eyed and bushy tailed, still on a missing to consume all of my produce before I leave for Baltimore on Friday.

Sadly, I had devored my massive stash of apples, and was left with a solely nanner based fruit supply.  But, in a creative stroke of genius, I thought that the apple-brown sugar- flax brekky that I have been eating would be fantastic with nanners.  I mean, banana + brown sugar = banana’s foster.  And who doesn’t like some fake flambee-d nanners for brekky?

So, I combined 1 nanner, a bit of brown sugar and a scoop of flax meal in a bowl and nuked for 45 seconds.  Then I topped it with a scoop of almond butter.

It doesn’t look half bad now, right?  Yum.  Then I made a big mistake.  I tried to mix the almond butter in.  And, well, didn’t think about the fact that nanners are far mushier than apples.  And this is what I ended up with:

Appetizing brekky: FAIL. Ummm…and for breakfast this morning?  Apparantly a veritable bowl of vomit.

Fortunately, it didn’t taste as nasty as it looked, and was actually quite tasty.  And, really, the star of the meal was…

I do love me some Silk Nog. It is, perhaps, my favorite part of the holiday season (save, of course, all the good will and cheer, etc.).

I actually have two cartons of it in my fridge right now.  I remember the days back in Durham where the only place you could get the Silk Nog was at the one Whole Foods (unless you wanted to drive all the way to CH).  And, many times, they would be sold out of the Silk Nog.  So, whenever I went there and they had it, I would buy 2 or 3 cartons.  I guess I still have an irrational fear of not being able to buy Silk Nog…

I wanted to make something healthy that i could eat on for the rest of the week…because i’m lazy and the LAST thing i want to do when i get home from work is thinking about cooking (and honestly, i’m trying to eliminate my reliance on frozen meals and the microwave).  So, I decided i would make some chili, it would make me feel like my home and my mommy.  So…I Saturday night i covered a mixture of 13 different dry beans in water…then added chili pepper, canned tomatoes, green peppers, crushed fresh garlic, paprika, onions, hot red pepper :

then…cooked for a while and ate with some pasta (gotta carboload for the HIM this weekend), cornbread, and cheeeese.

it was delish.  i’m always proud of myself when i make a real meal.  because sometimes, left to my own lazy devices, i would eat sugar cereal and hotdogs for all of my meals.  i think there was one day where all i ate was lucky charms (for breakfast and dinner) and nilla wafers and peanut butter m&ms for lunch (yum).  i finished that day feeling like poo.  my stomach, though, was quite the happy.  but, my stomach, and my soul, and my whole body is far happier when i eat like a real person and not a 35 year old bachelor or a college student.

after a fun trip to the jail for trial prep on a weekend (and by fun i mean, miserably spending a lovely sunday afternoon in the jail attorney box…), i got to spend some quality with the wonderful baby boy who enjoyed getting muddy with some frisbee.and then i spent the rest of the weekend freaking out about the half ironman this weekend…it was great.  still freaking out though, which is less great.