Holy smokes, friends.
I was messing around in the kitchen this morning and did this:
I found yet another way to use the endless amounts of swiss chard.
I was making a banana bread recipe and greased two pans. I put the banana bread batter in the pan, and realized that I only had enough for one. Not wanting to wash the already-greased pan, I decided it would be easier to make another batch of bread. I was out of bananas, but guess what I had plenty of? 😉 Yes. Swiss chard.
While I tend to mess around with the banana bread recipe (think grain swaps, instead of all flour I’ll use a little cornmeal, some oats, some flax seed meal, wheat flour, spelt – whatever I feel like digging out), I kept the same base recipe, but swapped in a bunch of chopped chard and added almond milk to get the right consistency.
Savory Cheddar & Chard Bread
Ingredients: 1 large egg, 1/4 c. butter, 1 1/2 c. flour, 3/4 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground pepper, milk (cow, almond, soy), shredded cheddar cheese, cleaned, dried and chopped swiss chard (or spinach or kale)
Preheat oven to 350
Grease loaf pan
Soften 1/4 c. butter and beat in one large egg. Add 1 cup white flour and 1/2 c wheat flour (or all white), 3/4 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground pepper and stir. The dough will be VERY stiff, and not all of the ingredients will get wet. Slowly pour in milk or almond milk until the dough has the consistency of cookie dough. You don’t want it to be too wet because the chard will release a lot of moisture as it cooks, but you do want everything to mix evenly. Throw in two or three handfuls of chard (to start) and a handful (or cup) of shredded cheddar (I suppose any strong-ish cheese will do). Mix the best you can – I have a hunch that this would be easiest with a stand mixer. I use my momma muscles. Pour into pan, layering in more chard and a sprinkle of cheese as you go. It looks ugly, but will turn out beautifully.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until golden brown and a knife or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Enjoy warm out of the oven or grilled with butter. I ate two pieces (without butter even!) straight out of the pan, but I imagine it would be lovely with a couple of eggs and some fruit salad.
Eat within a day OR store in the refrigerator. The moisture content of the chard makes it more susceptible to mold (I predict, anyway).
Eat your vegetables!
xoxo
H
from midnight oil 