The Changing of the Chard

"Sometimes you people really make me pissed off." -- my grandmother


Allycen: You know what I hate? Tomatoes.
Nanny: How can you hate tomatoes?
Allycen: I've always hated tomatoes.
Nanny: You know, your taste buds change every few years. Maybe you should just try a little bit, maybe you'll see that you like it.
Allycen: Nope. I tried some recently and I still hate tomatoes.
Nanny: I don't understand how we can be related.

I have this conversation with my grandmother at least once a year, usually just to rile her up, but also mostly out of habit. Occasionally she'll ask me how I feel about ketchup (meh) or I'll tell her that it's her own fault that I hate tomatoes, since she's been insisting to me since I could walk that one day I'll come into the tomato-loving family tradition.

Luckily, there is one vegetable that we have no trouble agreeing on: Swiss chard.


I have memories of being very young, in my grandmother's garden with her as she cut the stalks of chard to serve for dinner. We would take it upstairs in a colander and wash it out -- or anyway, she would, because there were frequently spiders in the leaves and I feel even more strongly anti-spider than I do anti-tomato.

And there, in my grandmother's kitchen, I learned to love not just Swiss chard, but the perfect taste of vegetables fresh from the ground.


I haven't had Swiss chard in a very long time. I'm glad my taste buds haven't changed so much that I don't like it anymore.

Swiss Chard and Pintos

adapted from here

2 Tbsps olive oil
4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp, approx. crushed red pepper flakes
1 bunch Swiss chard, rinsed and chopped
1 small tomato, chopped
juice from 1/2 lemon
juice from 1/2 lime
1/4 cup queso fresco
salt and pepper, to taste

*Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a baking dish.

*In a skillet, heat the oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes on medium for about 1 minute. Add the chard, cover, and cook for 4 minutes.

*Uncover, and stir in everything else except the queso. Cover again and cook for another 4 minutes.

*Transfer this mixture to the baking dish and stir in the queso.

*Bake for 15 minutes.