Okay, what is with the Cleveland weather these last few weeks? I understand it's summer, and yes it's Cleveland where we get the worst of everything. And nobody better say, "In just a few short months you are going to be wishing for this weather, young lady!" because I totally won't (right).But, seriously! Where is the sun? Why is it as muggy as in Miami, FL?? The bad part of the weather is that it makes me want to skip cooking, let alone any semblance of dinner and just eat ice cream all day long. Bad for the body and bad for the blog. And sometimes, that's all that motivates me to get into the kitchen! I have no way to prove this, but I assume we have loyal readers or even semi-loyal readers who count on coming to this blog and seeing SOMETHING, ANYTHING. As the Pioneer Woman would say:
 
tap tap tap....

......is this thing on?

Anyway, so it's into the kitchen I go. After last weeks bounty of greens I was somewhat disappointed with this week's share. I don't know, nothing really "spoke" to me and told me what it needed to become. We all have those weeks I guess. But I think I came up with some exciting ways to use the produce. Let me know what you think and which recipe this week ends up being your favorite!

Swiss Chard and Sweet Potatoe Gratin
***I found this recipe on the Smitten Kitchen Blog and sort of halved it since I didn't have as much chard as she suggests and didn't want too heavy of a sauce considering the weather. Also, I put this together and baked it on Saturday and it heated up and served very well today- a great option if you don't feel like turning on the oven after a day at work or because it's too damn hot!


1 bunch swiss chard, more if you've got it!, washed and chopped coarsely (Source: FFM)
2-3 sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (1/8" setting on mandoline)
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped finely
1 C whole milk or heavy cream (Source: Snowville Creamery, FFM)
1 TBL flour
1-2 TBL butter (Source: FFM)
cheese
s&p
fresh flat leaf parsely (Source: Fire escape garden)

Prep your onion, garlic, greens and potatoes. Saute onions and greens in a little butter. The original recipe warns against liquid and draining it off, but I didn't have any?? Set aside when wilted, after about 5 or so minutes. TIP: If you are using the stems, put them in first and let them soften up a bit before adding the leaves. I didn't use mine as I tossed them into my crockpot batch of veggie stock!

To make the sauce, melt the remaining butter and whisk in the flour. Cook for about 1-2 minutes and add garlic. Warm milk for about 30 seconds in the microwave or in a saucepan if you're anti-microwave. Slowly whisk in milk to avoid clumps. S&P the sauce- congratulations, you've made a bechamel sauce one of the mother sauces! Whisk over medium heat until thickened.

Grease a 9x9 glass pan and layer sweet potatoe slices, a little cheese, S&P, and then half of the chard mixture topped with half of the sauce. Repeat with remaining ingredients and put a little cheese on top too. Bake for about 45 minutes or so at 400F. I baked mine a little less knowing that I would be heating it up on Monday and because I didn't have as much sauce as the original recipe.

The first time I ever flew on an airplane was on my way to a service trip with my youth group. We were headed to Cusco, Peru and I kept having horrible flashbacks from the movie about the soccer team that crashed in the Andes and ended up eating each other. All that aside, the trip was the beginning of a significant change in my life and I fondly recall many memories including hiking up to Macchu Pichu one day. I stood at the top of one of the terraces and took in the view below and was just astounded that I was standing in a place that I had seen only in history books. It was as mystical and beautiful as you can imagine. The trip began to provide me with insight into a more global perspective and ultimately a more meaningful life.

On the trip, one of the things I learned was that potatoes were actually first discovered in South America. I guess I had always assumed they were native to North America because of all those bags of “Idaho Potatoes” I saw at the grocery store. I mean, if you’re going to say that potatoes are your claim to fame, then shouldn’t you have the market cornered? Anyway, I later also found out that most sweet potatoes in the US are of the yam variety which is quite confusing since it’s not a true yam or sweet potato at all. Amidst all this apparent confusion the sweet potato is actually very good for you with loads of fiber and vitamins. Another plus is that sweet potato vines are in the morning glory family and produce beautiful blooms as well. Unfortunately, I had never really been a fan of sweet potatoes until recently when I discovered that they are pretty awesome in savory dishes rather than smothered in brown sugar and marshmallows at Thanksgiving. Sweet potatoes go great with eggs and greens, so that was the inspiration for this recipe. If you haven’t cooked sweet potatoes without some form of sugar, give this recipe a shot and let me know what you think! Hopefully we will be receiving some local ones later in the season and I will highlight some of my other favorite recipes.

Warm Sweet Potato and Zucchini Salad

**I admit that this recipe doesn’t really fit into the theme of this blog since sweet potatoes aren’t in season. I’m trying to do a better job of cooking seasonally and locally, but I do have a soft spot for these little guys so I hope you will give me a pass just this once.







2-3 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced ¼” thick
1-2 zucchini (green or yellow), sliced lengthwise ¼” thick
Salad greens  (Source: FFM)
Cilantro and Parsley (Source: Fire escape garden)
1-2 fried eggs (Source: FFM)
S&P

Dressing:

1-2 TBL Dijon mustard
1 TBL white balsamic vinegar
1-2 TBL olive oil

 

Brush olive oil on sweet potatoes and zucchini slices. Grill on your grill pan until tender. Note: The zucchini slices will cook much faster than the sweet potatoes! Make up your dressing. Cook fried egg, leaving the yolk a little runny. S&P your greens and divide sweet potato and zucchini plus greens into two or three salad portions. Drizzle dressing on top and “garnish” with egg. 


Listening:
Artist: She & Him
Album:  *** we didn't quite listen while cooking.  Went to the show immediately following eating dinner!