Vegetables Galore!

So this summer we have gone in with a couple of friends to buy our vegetables from a locally-grown and tended, organic, community garden (that might be overkill with the adjectives, but I want to do it justice). People pay a flat fee at the beginning of the season and then every week you pick up your bag of vegetables.  Our friends have done it in the past and found for just two people it is too many vegetables to use in one week.  So the creative solution is to split the veggies (along with the cost) with another couple.  And we were the lucky recipients to be asked to join them!  Yes!!  A dream come true!  I know I might sound overly excited about veggies, but we had been talking about eating more organic and eating more vegetables in general.  It really was perfect.

So this week (you guessed it!) we received our first bag of goodies and the all-star line up is as follows:

Salad beets
Zucchini
Radishes
Swiss chard
Spinach
Field greens
Lettuce

This knowledge comes after spending a good amount of time in a vegetable picture glossary (yes we own one, don't judge), plus we had to break down and text our veggie buddies asking for the names of the vegetables they dropped off for us.

Because friends, vegetables do not look the same out of a garden as they do in a bag at the grocery store.  I'm still skeptical that what Nate is labeling spinach really is, it doesn't look like spinach I've bought before.  But these are the things marriage's are built on right?  If he says it's spinach, it's spinach.  And to be frank, I've never bought swiss chard or salad beets.  We are breaking new ground here.

So tonight we made "Chard Stir-Fry"...the recipe is below
However, we made one or two substitutions.  We didn't have vegetable juice, so we used tomato juice.  And our swiss chard had already lost it's stalks so we borrowed some of the stalks from our spinach leaves.  It was different form our normal style stir fry but still had good flavor!

We are gaining great new vegetable knowledge this summer...if all goes well we will be master vegetable eaters and cookers.  If it doesn't...you can wait for the "Vegetables for Sale" sign outside our door to buy wonderful vegetables of your very own!  ;)

Phase 1 (we added green peppers too)

Phase2--in goes the swiss chard

Phase 3--everybody is in!

The final product- Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

3/4	pound Swiss chard, red or white
2	cloves garlic, minced
4	green onions
1	tablespoon cornstarch
2	teaspoons onion powder
1	teaspoon paprika
1/4	teaspoon black pepper
1/2	cup reduced-sodium vegetable juice
2	teaspoons canola or vegetable oil
1/2	pound mushrooms, sliced
2	medium tomatoes, cored, cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
2	slices Canadian bacon, cut into julienne strips

PREPARATION:

1. Rinse chard, shaking off excess water. Cut out rib sections; coarsely chop ribs and stems. Place in medium bowl; toss with garlic. Stack chard leaves; cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips. Set aside.
2. Slice green onions, separating white parts from green tops. Add white parts to chard stem mixture. Combine cornstarch, onion powder, paprika and pepper in 1-cup measure; stir in vegetable juice until smooth.
3. Heat oil in wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chard stem mixture; stir-fry 1 minute. Add mushrooms; stir-fry 1 minute. Add chard leaves; stir-fry 2 minutes or until wilted. Stir cornstarch mixture; add to wok with tomatoes, green onion tops and Canadian bacon. Cook and stir about 3 minutes or until sauce thickens and mixture is heated through.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:

Fiber	3 g
Carbohydrate	14 g
Cholesterol	7 mg
Saturated Fat	1 g
Total Fat	4 g
Calories from Fat	30 %
Calories	109
Protein	7 g
Sodium	349 mg