The winter has sped by. I managed to escape the apparently endless snow during my time in Portugal. I had mixed feelings about that, I like snow but I don’t like the cold gray days so Portugal was a great place to spend the winter months. Three months is a long time though and it’s good to be home.
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We will open on April 30th. There has been a lot of activity here getting things organized, you’ll see some changes that we hope will keep our veggies fresher and enable us to expand our garden.
The greenhouse is full of blossoming tomato plants, baby lettuce, herbs, and chard. Last night I tried a new recipe for Swiss Chard. It was adapted from one of Martha Shulman’s in the New York Times. We loved the blend of flavors and the crunch.
Swiss Chard and Red Peppers
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons marsala or ginger wine
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 clove garlic, minced or through press
2 tablespoons minced ginger root
1 pound Swiss Chard
1 red bell pepper, cut in chunks
½ cup diced sweet onion
¼ cup chopped peanuts (optional but good)
¼ cup chopped cilantro (optional but good)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1.Mix soy, wine, and oil together.
2.Cut stems of chard into ½ inch pieces.
3.Cut chard leaves into ½ inch strips, keep separate
4.Heat a large skillet, stir in the garlic and gingerroot for a few seconds, then add the chard stems, red pepper, and onion. Stir a couple of minutes until beginning to soften, then add chard leaves and soy mixture.
5.Stir until the chard leaves are tender, another couple of minutes. Add peanuts and cilantro.
To my delight, Boise, one of our Jamaican workers brought us a gift of ginger wine. It is sweet and gingery and I love to have it over ice cream or splash a little into a sauce.