The Chard Confessions

Even though I'm only 39-ish, I was 60-ish before I tried my first Swiss Chard. Barbara Kingsolver wrote in praise of chard in her book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and I decided to give it a try. The first tasting batch was sauteed in olive oil with garlic and a touch of balsamic vinegar. It tasted similar to spinach but with a little more bite. Now, we eat it steamed, sauteed, in fritattas... just about anywhere you would use spinach.

If you want to eat local and in season, then chard is a great summer green; it grows well in the heat and doesn't go to seed as spinach does once the weather gets very warm. We are growing three varieties this year: Northern Lights Mix, Lucullus, and Ruby.

Here's an unusual and tasty recipe for Swiss chard; enjoy!

Rustic Chard Pie

An easy dish with a biscuit-like crust

2 tablespoons butter

8 large chard leaves, thinly sliced

1 medium onion, sliced

Salt, pepper, minced garlic to taste

1/4 cup mixed fresh herbs: parsley, thyme, chives

6 eggs

1 cup whole milk yogurt or sour cream

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 375. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chard and onion. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and optional garlic; cook, stirring occasionally until the leaves are tender, about 10 minutes; do not brown. Remove from the heat, add the herbs, taste, and adjust seasoning.

Meanwhile, hard cook 3 of the eggs, peel, and chop coarsely. Add to the cooked chard mixture and let cool while you make the batter.

Combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, and remaining eggs. Add the baking powder and flour; mix until smooth. Lightly butter a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish. Spread half the batter over the bottom, then top with the chard filling; sprinkle the cheese over the filling; smear the rest of the batter over the chard and cheese, filling in any gaps.

Bake for 45 minutes; it will be golden brown. Let cool for 15 minutes before slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature as a main dish, side dish, or cut in smaller squares to use as an appetizer.

Rhona

Attack of the Mexican Bean Beetles...

...and how we stop them!

These culprits are on our green beans, wax beans, lima beans, and kidney beans:
After performing a little twosome activity, the female beetle deposits these little goodies on the underside of the leaves:

Since we use organic methods and avoid pesticides, here's how we get rid of these pests:

The eggs take 4-5 days to hatch, so every 4-5 days we look under all the leaves and smite the eggs with our bare hands!

Does this work? It does give the beans plants a chance to reach maturity. After a certain point, there are too many plants and leaves to check, so we hand pick the beetles, larvae, and eggs while we pick the beans.

Mamma Bella had some chicks...

After 3 weeks of dutiful broodiness, Bella has hatched two chicks: Apollo and Starbuck. She's being an excellent mom, showing them how to find food and protecting them from overly intrusive paparazzi.

Farm Stand is Open for Business

Our self-service farmstand, located near the corner of Old Joppa Road and Greenspring Avenue in Joppa, Maryland, re-opened for the season on June 7th. Entrance to the stand is on Greenspring Avenue.

Farmstand hours are: Sunday through Friday: 12 noon to 7 pm.
Closed on Saturdays for the Greenspring Farmer Market.
Also closed on medium to heavy rain days, because we
cannot pick in wet conditions... and don't want to!