I have been quite busy with my vegetable garden. No, that's not an excuse as to why I have not written more frequently 😝. But ever since I decided to grow common vegetables we eat at home as well as some popular herbs I find myself thinking of how they are doing even when I leave home. The weather hasn't been forgiving of late either. Climate change is really real and the rains are falling indiscriminately without any regard for sticking to the weather calendar. I am not surprised to learn therefore that onions are now being imported to Ghana. The rains are destroying the maturity of onions and Ghanaian farmers are getting frustrated and desperate; hence onions from Niger and the like 😐. I am just here thinking of the precious dollars being sent out of the country. *long sigh*
I planted swiss chard and out of the whole lot one seed actually made it! I have decided to allow the weather be all fussy and wait for the much drier season to plant some more. Swiss chard is a popular leafy green vegetable packing incredible health benefits. It's a popular vegetable used in Mediterranean dishes and it can be used for different meals depending on the leaf maturity stage. Younger leaves are great in salads whilst the more mature larger leaves can be sautéed or used in other forms of cooking ( thinking of Nkontonmire here).
So here I was with one swiss chard plant. It had grown quite large and very healthy. It was such an easy vegetable to grow and needed very little attention. I didn't have any diseases affecting it although I caught one grasshopper nibbling off some ends. That hopper didnt live to see the next day 😂😂.
I trimmed off about six large leaves to make a saute for breakfast. This recipe was very simple and I used ingredients I already had at home.
Wash the leaves in salt water or a store-bought vegetable wash if you'd prefer.
Line up the leaves and give them the BIG chop!
Swiss chard has a crunchy texture and chopping them up was such a delightful 'crunch' in my ear. Yes you can devour the white stalks of Swiss Chard. I think they were quite tasty. I sauteed it with garlic and some seasoning and it was freshly delightful!
Here's my recipe on how I cooked my sauteed Swiss Chard Omelette.
Ingredients:
6-8 large fresh Swiss Chard leaves
2 cloves of garlic
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt
dried thyme
dried parsley
Instructions
1. Wash leaves (front and back) in salted water for about a minute.
2. Chop in large chunks
3. Mince garlic using a garlic mince or thinly slice with a knife.
4. Place a pan on fire and lightly oil it.
5. Saute garlic in the oil till you smell the caramelising garlic fragrance (not when it's getting burnt)
6. Add Swiss Chard and the seasoning ( red pepper flakes, thyme, parsley and salt)
7. Cook for five minutes. Leaves will take on a darker green colour and will shrink substantially.
8. Whip two eggs and pour over the leaves. Lightly break up as eggs solidify to get it scrambled up.
9. Serve warm and enjoy with brown or white toast.
It doesn't have a slimy texture like cooked spinach does. It tastes vaguely like spinach and bok choy with a slight sweet flavour. As we enjoyed this simple meal, my body was already feeling all the vitamin K, A and C coursing through my body 😍😄.
I have planted more swiss chard seeds and looking forward to a much bigger harvest in the next few months.
So, have you planted Swiss Chard before? Have you eaten it before? What was it like for you? Do share in the comments below. Tag me on instagram @oyooquartey if you have before.