Roasted Beets, Swiss Chard, Pear Salad

A bunch of organic beets was just $2.00 at the farmers market. I bought a bunch, roasted the beets and saved the leaves for sautéing.

Some organic Rainbow Chard was handy in the backyard home garden, so, got a few of those chopped up with the beet greens, sautéed in olive oil, with a hint of salt and black pepper.

Some Asian pears were ripe and ready in the backyard as well, and these pears have a crisp crunch and perfect sweetness that goes well with most salads.

Some feta or goat cheese, plus a simple Greek vinaigrette is all it takes to serve up this chock-full-of-goodness salad.

Zucchini Chard Noodles with Capers Sun-dried Tomatoes and Chipotle

A quick weeknight meal that incorporates what the home garden has to offer at this time:  Asian noodles tossed in with sauteed garden veggies and flavorful no-cook sauce, served at room temperature with a light drizzling of freshly squeezed lemon juice and garnished with lemon zest.


Another tender home garden zucchini was ready to be picked.

Some lush home garden rainbow chard leaves were ready to be clipped and used as well.

A batch of home-garden cherry tomatoes were just about ripening.

Home garden Thai basil and Italian were both handy as well.

Plus some kale, bell peppers, onions, and garlic came together for this quick summer noodles with a fusion of flavors from MediterrAsian to Mexican.

No-cook Sauce: Thai basil, Italian basil, Capers, Sun-dried tomatoes, and chipotle in adobo sauce came together to make a thick fresh no-cook sauce. Simply combine the ingredients in a proportion that appeals to your taste, blend it to a smooth sauce-like paste, adding a touch of apple cider vinegar, some olive oil, and tamarind to taste.


Sauteed Veggies: Zucchini got spiralized, kale and chard got ribboned and they all got sauteed with onions, garlic, bell peppers, and tomatoes.

Amaranth Greens Rutabaga Beets Chard Spicy Ethiopian-Spiced Curry

A giant bunch of Amaranth greens hopped into my tote bag, all by itself, wanting to go home with me, imagining all the wonderful dishes it can become.

And so, couple of dollars gleefully jumped out of my pocket and nestled in the lady's palm at the farm stand while the amaranth leaves settled into my already brimming tote.

One dish is not enough to relish, and showcase, this amazing amaranth greens. High in dietary fiber with chockful of goodness like vitamin B6, folate, iron, manganese, calcium, plus cholesterol-lowering tendency and antihyperglycemic activity, I only wish it was available in the supermarkets on a regular basis instead of just the local farmers markets on and off. Most Amaranthus species are annual weeds, short-lived, and not all species are cultivated for the greens, so, understandably, they are not available year-round here. Amaranth seeds are one of my favorites as well, to boost salads and make kedgeree/kichri/porridge.

Known as Thotta Keerai or Thandu Keerai in Tamil, I remember my mom buying bundles of greens from a vendor who also knew which greens can address the heating/cooling of the body as needed, based on Ayurvedic principles. The thick but tender stems of amaranth greens remind me of tender asparagus. This is quite a staple as far as greens go in south Indian cuisine.

Some rainbow chard were ready to be clipped and used from the home garden.

I had some beets and rutabaga from the farmers market from last week. It seemed like a good combination for a spicy curry with a blend of South Indian and Ethiopian flavors. Ever since Ethiopian spice-mixes like Berbere, Mekelesha and Mitmita became readily available, much like the Indian spice-mixes such as Madras curry powder and Garam masala powder and Sambar powder, I have been adding them to my favorite Indian recipes. Fusion cuisine being my passion, finding equivalent substitutions from various cuisines to mix and match the flavors has been a wonderful obsession.

Nothing much to it, except for the curry paste which is non-traditional one I made up on a whim. and, managed to jot down the ingredients this time to share.

Ingredients:
For the spice paste:
1 Tbsp chana dal, lightly toasted
½ Tbsp urad dal, lightly toasted
3 to 4 dry red chilies
3 Tbsp sun-dried tomatoes for the intense flavor(or, use tomato paste)
1 Tbsp tamarind paste (sold as Sour Soup base mix in Asian stores)
2 Tbsp coriander powder
1 Tbsp cumin powder
2 Tbsp Berbere powder (Ethiopian spice mix)
1 Tbsp Mekelesha powder (Ethiopian spice mix)
1 Tbsp minced garlic
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Veggies:
2 cups chopped amaranth leaves
1 medium rutabaga diced
1 medium beetroot diced
8 or so rainbow chard, chopped
¼ cup diced onions
_____
1 Tbsp peanut oil
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 Tbsp brown sugar
salt to taste

Preparation

1. Spice paste: Combine the spice paste ingredients with a splash of water and grind to a fine paste in a blender or food processor, keep handy
2. Heat oil in a pan, add the veggies, turmeric powder, a pinch of salt and sauté
3. Add the spice paste and sauté some more
4. When onions turn translucent, add the amaranth leaves, just enough water to cook the veggies, cover and simmer gently, adding a splash of water as needed till veggies are fully cooked but not mushy, and the gravy thickens to make the curry
5. Serve warm with roti or naan or plain basmati rice

Chicken and Chard Rice with Raita

One pot/pan meals are quick and easy, which make it quite attractive for me on weeknights. Spiced rice-and-veggies is one of the easiest dishes to whip up that is quite filling on its own. Toss in some beans or lentils/grams for protein and there's a complete meal, no fuss.

While we don't eat red meat, no pork/beef/lamb etc., the kids and the other adult do like poultry and fish every once in a while. And, getting a small portion of chicken breast from a humane local source seems like something we can make peace with.

Now, there is a school of thought I had subscribed to for a period in my life wherein food was just a bland nourishment to keep body and soul together and any indulgence of the palate was outrageous and unnecessary. I am still superbly satisfied with a simple rice and rasam, or buttermilk and pickles, nothing fancy, no indulging the eyes and nose with an array of flavors and colors. I don't care for meat and am not much of a desserts-and-sweets person either.

Left to myself, I am perfectly happy with the Sattvic diet that I grew up with.

Then, what am I doing with a food blog sharing novel and offbeat recipes, along with richly flavorful staples? I haven't quite found the answer to that yet.

All I know is that I enjoy feeding the family and I find cooking to be Zen-like meditation for me. When I am in the kitchen, I am in my zone.

Anyway, here's hoping that fellow foodies and cooking enthusiasts enjoy stopping by and exploring the recipes for inspiration and comfort.

Nothing much to this dish. Sauté onions, garlic, diced chicken, lima beans, and chopped chard in a large skillet which has a fitting lid. Add rice and sauté. Add appropriate amount of stock or water. Cover and cook, making sure there's enough salt and seasonings to taste.

I used a readymade spice blend from the store -- Blazin' Blends New Orleans Style Seafood & Chicken seasoning.

Cook till rice and chicken are done, adjust seasoning and serve warm.

I served it with a favorite Cucumber Cherries Raita - simple yogurt sauce that cools the tongue and is a great accompaniment for this spicy dish.

Pumpkin Seed Chard Pesto with Carmen Pepper and Alma Paprika

Growing up with a variety of chutneys made with fresh seasonal ingredients, where most chutneys had coconut and herbal notes, I took a great interest in Pesto when I first encountered it at a friend's place ages ago.

Since then, I've tried quite a few pesto and chutney variations that have turned out anything from out-of-this-world to eww-get-it-away-from-me.

There are but a few staple indigenous ingredients in each region that lend themselves to umpteen combinations -- some good, some not-so -- subject to individual taste preference. So, mixing it up a bit seems natural and unavoidable for variety.

Anyway, getting back to this recipe, which came about because I had an unexpected set of ingredients handy,  begging to be used, the Pumpkin Seed  Beet and Chard Greens Pesto got a boost from home garden Alma Paprika and Carmen Pepper.

The Alma paprika are plump tomato-esque ones rather than the traditional corno di toro type elongated chili variety. The tiny plant was weighed down with two of these and I was waiting patiently for them to ripen to a brilliant red. Seeing as how the plant was falling down, I decided to harvest one of them while still yellow and sporting a healthy blush.

The Carmen pepper was getting big and strong and long, so I was sure I can wait till it turns sweet and juicy red. But, before I got around to taking a picture of it on the plant, the pepper fell off the plant. 

A bunch of chard and beet greens, Alma paprika, green Carmen pepper were ready to be made into something interesting. I thought of the protein-packed Indian staple of Dal, or maybe, South Indian Masiyal, perhaps even Chard-and-Peppers gratin or Creamy soup.

And then I noticed this unassuming jar of pumpkin seeds. It is lightly toasted and salted but unhulled retaining the highly valuable insoluble fiber. 

The mood called for a simple pesto using Chard and Beet greens, Pumpkin seeds, fresh garlic, Alma paprika, and Carmen pepper. 

I didn't quite measure the condiments, just eyeballed some apple cider vinegar and lemon juice, and olive oil, plus grated Parmesan for this pesto. The pumpkin seeds brought in the coarse texture I like in pesto.

Stirred in with rotini pasta and tossed with sauteed onions and bell peppers, this was quite the simple yet satisfying meal.

Fava Bean and Chard Herb Hummus

I am hoping to plant chard for fall harvest, along with more kale, lettuce, and snap peas. By late fall, I end up circling back to comfort foods like soups, stews, and casseroles with nothing new to add to the recipe collection here.

Anyway, a while back, I had a nice big bunch of rainbow chard and a bag of fava beans fresh from CSA that I didn't want to ignore. Not that fava beans will be ignored in our house, especially when the older child gobbles them by the handful when they are blanched tenderly and set out in a bowl.

While tossing some blanched fava beans in salads and pasta is easy, I wanted to make a dish with intense fava bean flavor that will be the center of attention for a simple evening meal. What's more intensely fava bean-flavored than Fava Bean Hummus? Well, maybe fava bean stew, fava bean falafel, fava bean koftas. Or, any of the three recipes in Broad Bean Bash...

It's a Zen-like activity to shell the fava beans. Well, at least, when there is just a small basketful, and not a giant sackful. So, one fine evening a few weeks ago, I sat and shelled the fresh fava beans out in the backyard, watching the hummingbirds flit to and from their feeder. The house finches and chickadees were making several trips as well, completely ignoring me sitting right in their path to the feeder.

The chard wouldn't like sitting in the sidelines, I figured. So, chard got chopped, stem and all, with the fresh garlic from the farm; sautéed with a pinch of salt and a splash of lemon juice, the greens were raring to go.

Later that evening, the beans danced in boiling water for a couple of minutes and dove into the bowl of ice water. Finally, they were glad to shed their thick outer layer without much coaxing, and emerged in their resplendent beany greenness. It was quite a sight to behold in a bowlful.

Now, strong herbal notes bring that added oomph to the palate, so, armed with my trusty shears, I snipped a bit of mint, fennel, oregano, and scallions from the garden.

Blanched fava beans, sauteed chard and garlic, fresh herbs, plus a couple of bold Serrano chilies came together with some tahini, olive oil, and a splash of apple cider vinegar to make this incredibly delicious Chard and Fava Bean Herb Hummus.

Served with homemade Chipotle Coconut Flour Flax Meal Rotis, and a small side salad, the Fava Bean Hummus took center stage that night for sure.

Ingredients
1½ cup blanched fresh fava beans
1 cup chopped chard with stems
½ cup packed herbs
2 Tablespoon tahini
2 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
salt to taste

Tempering:
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon small dry Pequin peppers

Preparation

1. Combine the hummus ingredients in a food processor and blend to desired coarse/smooth consistency, adjusting salt to taste
2. Tempering: Heat the oil in a small pan, add the cumin and caraway seeds, allow to crisp and brown gently, then add the Pequin peppers and turn off heat
3. To serve, garnish the hummus with the tempering, stir if preferred.
4. Serve with Chipotle Coconut Flour Flax meal Roti, or Chipotle and Sun-dried Tomato Tortillas, or, Ube Purple Yam and Chipotle Naan, or, Mint Olive Greek Pita,  or Kohlrabi-stuffed Kale Fennel Naan...

Lumaconi with Roasted Beets, Sweet Potatoes, Kale and Chard

Large snail shell lumaconi is wonderful to stuff with favorite filling and serve warm or at room temperature. Sometimes, leftovers become the filling. This time, some pesto with Greek yogurt and sauteed chopped spinach came together to make the filling. Served with roasted sweet potatoes and beets, this was a sumptuous meal one weeknight.

Now that it is cold and rainy, the last of the kale and chard from the garden were waiting to be used up. Am told they'll manage winter fine and keep yielding, but they seem quite sparse now.

Saute some kale, chard, garlic in olive oil with a pinch of salt, then add a splash of lemon juice and set aside. Roast the sweet potatoes and beets. Meanwhile cook the lumaconi to preferred doneness, drain, coat lightly in favorite vinaigrette.

Simply toss the roasted beets, sweet potatoes, sauteed kale and chard, with lumaconi and serve warm.

Roasted Kabocha Squash, Chard, Kale, Quinoa Salad

Winter squashes are here. With its relatively thin-ish edible skin and sweet and soft flesh, Kabocha squash is a favorite with me. It cooks up fast - roasted or steamed - and needs very little to enhance or boost its flavor.

Caribbean squash and Kabocha squash were handy, plus the weather dipped to the 70s so that turning on the oven was not as self-destructive as it can be on the 100 degree days.

Slice the Kabocha, toss in some olive oil, sprinkle some salt if preferred and roast  in a 425°F oven for about 12 minutes. (Thicker slices might take a little longer).

Meanwhile, cook the quinoa in stock (or water plus some salt) in a rice cooker. I prefer 1:1 quinoa:stock. When done, stir in some lemon juice and olive oil, if preferred.

A bunch of kale and chard from the home-garden came in handy to boost the salad. Simply saute them with a dash of salt and a splash of lemon juice.

When ready, toss the quinoa and chards+kale together, arrange roasted Kabocha on top and serve warm or at room temperature.

A simple salad for the sweet autumn days...

Home Garden Eggplant, Kale, Chard, Mint Rice with Lemon Cucumber Cherry Raita

Summer has been rather hot around here, and I haven't been cooking anything new or interesting. Just the same trusted comfort foods. And a lot of salads. Home garden lettuce and kale have come in handy for the salad base so far.

Ichiban eggplant, kale, chard, mint and chilies from the garden came together for this simple Indian rice dish flavored with mild spices like cumin, coriander, turmeric, plus star anise, cardamom and cloves, along with some crushed ginger and garlic.

Typically, raita is a cooling yogurt accompaniment served with spicy dishes in India. This time, I went with lemon cucumbers from my garden (pictured in the right bottom corner of the collage above), plus some mint and cherries, as well as colorful mini peppers and red onions.