One Local Summer Meal #1

Potato, Swiss Chard, and Beet Leaf Scramble

Meal #1 for One Local Summer.

Ingredients:

1 small head of garlic, or 4 cloves
2 tbsp. olive oil (this was not local, obviously)
6 baby carrots
1 small onion
approximately 1/4 cup fresh basil (I used three kinds--Genovese, Petra, and Sweet)
8 small or new potatoes (I had yellow, red, and white)
Approximately 2 cups of swiss chard leaves and beet leaves, or spinach, or other dark leafy greens
Approximately 1 cup of swiss cheese, or your favorite local cheese (I used Amish swiss cheese from the local Amish community.)


You'll need to use a deep skillet or a shallow dutch oven or whatever you call the thing I used. :)
Over medium heat, put 2 tbsp. (or less) of olive oil in the bottom of the pan. Let it get hot, then add chopped garlic (I microwave the cloves first to get them peeled easily), the chopped onion, and chopped baby carrots. Cook this mix while you're slicing the potatoes, then add the potatoes.

Chop up the basil, and add it to the mix. Cover, and cook until potatoes are soft. Wash the swiss chard and beet leaves, and then roll them up into tubes and slice them into curls. I don't know how else to describe it! Add the swiss chard and beet leaves to the mix, and cover.

Cook for approximately 1 1/2 minutes, or until the swiss chard and beet leaves are slightly cooked but not completely wilted, if that makes sense. They'll change colors a bit too, and the potatoes will probably have little pink spots because of the beet leaves.

Add the shredded swiss cheese, cook until the cheese melts, and then serve hot. Makes 2 servings.

Very easy, very yummy, and I'm glad I made this instead! I'm definitely going to make it again. Maybe even tomorrow night. ;)

More pictures here.

Whye Bread and Salad

Earlier this week, I made four loaves of bread. Actually, five, if you count the one in the bread machine. Two white, and three (I'm not really sure what to call them--white with rye flour? Oh, I know!) Whye. :)



I made the Whye bread in my hand-crank bread maker from 1904. Three loaves at a time was a snap for it; I could have easily done five, at the very least. I'm probably going to have to freeze one loaf at least; there are two left, since I brought one to work.

Anyway, the Whye bread is absolutely scrumptious. Here is the recipe:

Whye Bread

4 1/2 cups of warm water
10 cups of bread flour
1 1/2 cups of dark rye flour
4 tsp. yeast
1/2 tsp. salt (or to taste; I never put much salt in my bread)
2 tsp. sugar, honey, or other sweetener

If you're using a mixer like mine, follow the directions on the lid, which are liquids first, then dry. Crank for 3 minutes or thereabouts; the dough will form a ball and clean the sides of the bucket. Either let rise in the bucket or transfer to a large bowl. Set in a draft-free spot for about an hour, or until doubled in size. (It really depends on the temperature.)

When it has risen, punch down, form into large oblong, and cut with a sharp knife into three pieces. Form those three pieces into loaf forms, or freeform if you wish. Slash the top with a sharp knife. Be creative. Most of the books say 'slash three times' or whatever, but really, do what you want. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 30-35 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

I made a small personal pizza to go with this, since one of my loaves was a big large. It was yummy!

Tonight for supper I had a salad from my garden. The only thing not from my garden that was on the salad were the sunflower seeds and the salad dressing.

What you see:

Turnip, baby carrots, beet leaves, curly lettuce, deer tongue lettuce, the other lettuce I have in the lettuce bed, and baby peas.

It was quite delicious!