Honeyed Words: On Cooking and Blogging (With a Side of Chard)

On Cooking and Blogging (With a Side of Chard) · 17 April 2007

Picture of Fresh Vegetables

Today is my mom’s birthday (Happy Birthday Mom!) but since it’s a Tuesday, the family decided that we would celebrate the weekend before.

I’d been suffering a bit from the blahs last week. I’m not sure why, but my motivation and activity levels were low. Perhaps it was the plethora of mandatory government interfacing I’d endured; I’d somehow managed to schedule preparing my taxes and going to the DMV in the same week. Whatever the reason, by Friday evening the only thing I wanted to do was come home, put on a pair of comfy pajamas, and veg. It didn’t bode well for the huge list of things I wanted to get accomplished Saturday morning.

About 7:00 p.m. on Friday night, my sister called. She had been planning to come down from L.A. (the city I love to hate) early Saturday afternoon so that we could have a girl’s weekend with my mom, but had received a frantic call from a mutual San Diego friend needing support, and came down Friday night instead.

You would have thought that would have ended my plans to get chores in the morning done entirely, but it had exactly the opposite effect. I woke up Saturday morning, completely energized, ready to go out to the farmer’s markets, re-pot my herbs, do my laundry, and shred my mail pile!

It struck me then, that the reason I enjoy blogging is very similar to the reason I enjoy cooking. It’s not so much about the finished product, it’s about the process of research, investigation, and sharing. With a partner in crime, the idea of waking up early (before 10 a.m. on a weekend) seemed exciting rather than a chore. Bolstered by camaraderie, I visited not one but two farmer’s markets, where my purchases were ever so slightly influenced by my sister and our idea to buy “pretty” food.

As I said in Saturday’s post, I didn’t end up with the dragon fruit that was the purpose of the trip, but I did end up with baby red carrots, red scallion onions, yellow chard, and (inedible) ornamental sweet peas. As you can see from the picture at the top, they were quite striking.

The vegetables turned into the side dishes for the evening. Steamed asparagus is a favorite of my mom’s, so I left that in it’s virgin state for her. With the remaining ingredients, I made Blanched Chard with Roasted Carrots and Onions, which we served with lamb. I was really pleased with the vegetables. I cooked them on the crisper side, and the table agreed that’s how we like them, but if you like your roasted carrots without any crunch, then go for the more tender cooking time.

Being together with family and preparing a meal that all of them would be eating really revitalized me. There’s something special about nurturing people you love in a way that manifests itself physically. I wonder if this is why food blogs are so popular? Are we all trying to recreate the sense of satisfaction and passion that comes from sharing the fruits of our labor? Are we hoping to share a sense of satisfaction with a wider audience?

Even when I’m not writing about food, I hope that I’m providing some sort of helpful information to people out there on the Interwebs and that my ramblings will either amuse, inform, or inspire. I think it’s the sense of actually producing something tangible that prompts a lot of bloggers to keep on blogging. Just like cooking, the feedback might not be auditory, but it’s inherent in the act of consumption. On that note, happy reading, and happy eating.

Picture of Blanched Chard with Roasted Carrots and Onions

Blanched Chard with Roasted Carrots and Onions

Inspired in part by 101 Cookbooks.

One bunch chard (yellow in my recipe)
One bunch baby red carrots
One bunch baby red onions
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp dried thyme
Salt to taste

Method

Heat oven to 375°.

Wash carrots, scrubbing well to remove all the dirt. Cut off carrot tops and roots. Slice the carrots in half, lengthwise.

Wash onions. Cut off the onion greens (these can be saved for use in other recipes) and roots. Slice the onion bulbs into rings.

Place carrots and onions in a clean, plastic bag or bowl. Add enough olive oil to the bag or bowl to thoroughly coat the vegetables, then add dill, thyme, and salt. Shake the bag or mix veggies in the bowl, coating the vegetables with the oil and herbs.

Place oiled vegetables on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven 20 (crisp) -30 (tender) minutes.

Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water and set on the stovetop to boil.

Wash chard and remove stems, leaving leaves whole. The center spine part of the leaf is a bit bitter and can also be removed if you don’t like the taste.

Immerse leaves into boiling water. Cook 5-6 minutes or until tender. Remove from boiling water and immediately immerse in cold water to set the color. Remove from cold water.

Arrange chard leaves at the bottom of a plate with roasted vegetables on top.

Serve warm.

Blogging, Carrots, Chard, Onions, Vegan, Vegetarian