Swiss Chard Time!

Every summer since... well... forever, we've been lucky enough to be included in a very special list of people.   My best girlfriend's parents own a beautiful farm and have a kitchen garden that is very prolific. They keep a list of lucky people who they give extras to.... and we're on it.

They just gifted us with all kinds of fresh yummies but my favorite is the rainbow chard. Thought I'd share how we keep these delicious greens fresh just in case you've never done it.

 First I scrub out the sink and rinse it. Then I fill it to the top with icy cold water. I put in handfuls of chard and bounce it up and down and back and forth until any dirt or insect "friends" are dislodged.

I lay out a clean tea towel and put three or four layers of clean paper towels over it. Then I check the front and back of each leaf and shake off any extra water and lay the leaves on the paper towel overlapping them to blot off most of the rest of the water. Sometimes I put two or three layers of leaves on top of each other with paper towels in between each layer.

Then I lay another few layers of clean paper towel over the leaves and roll the whole thing up inside the tea towel. I pop the roll into the fridge and it will keep nice and fresh and crisp for almost a week.

I think this is one of the most anticipated times of year for me. It means the beginning of the start of the leading edge of the end of summer.... and that means fall is coming...... and that means......

 HALLOWEEN!!!!!

By the way, just in case you didn't know, chard goes really, really well with bacon!

:D