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Cooking And Ptsd - How To Make It Easy

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Help! I need some yummy suggestions on how to create something with rainbow chard. I love greens... and have some ideas... but need your expert ptsd type of brilliance to get me on the chard path! (waits mouth wateringly):geek::geek::geek:
 
My easy chard = devein, stack, slice 1cm ribbons, sautéed gently -don’t stir a lot- in olive oil w/ garlic, salt, & pepper.... serve at room temp.

More complicated =

- stirred into almost any cream or olive oil based pasta dish, or layered into lasagna

- added to most Italian soups

- Cowboy Corned Beef Hash > (cooked/leftover) Corned beef chunks, 1 purple onion sliced thinly sautéed w/olive oil & cracked black pepper, sautéed chard &/or beet greens, hash browns or country fried potatoes, & a couple poached eggs.

- Used in place of cabbage for cabbage rolls, esp if using a chicken Italian sausage filling. Wowza.

- play on dolmades... risotto stuffed chard leaves, instead of rice stuffed grape leaves

- (already sautéed) Greens stuffed tamales -or- BBQ polenta wedges served with greens & harissa (separately), kinda christmassy with the red & green toppings.

- (already sautéed)... layered into paninis of almost any kind.

- (already sautéed)... as a kind of bruschetta
 
Chard makes some tasty/nurturing juice, too, if you're into that....I typically combine it with granny smith apples, ginger root, celery, beets, and a little lemon.

It can also be juiced and frozen in ice cube trays to save in a ziploc freezer bag to add to recipes later. It's a great soup addition, be it juiced or in it's original form.

It's one of my favorite greens to saute with garlic/onion/sea salt/cayenne and black pepper/with a drizzle of liquid amino (soy sauce replacement).

I also add it to garden salads. I love the variety of colors.

Oops...forgot to add that it can also be made into "chips"...like kale, large spinach leaves, and other greens. Pull it from the stem in chip-sized pieces, massage it with a little olive oil and favorite seasonings, place on a baking sheet with some parchment paper...I often use nutritional yeast and garlic powder...and bake at a low temp until crispy....being careful not to bake too long or they burn. Check a recipe for the actual temp and time, as it's been a while since I made them.
 
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My easy chard = devein, stack, slice 1cm ribbons, sautéed gently -don’t stir a lot- in olive oil w/ g...
WOW Friday, I'll have what your having! I tried it myself after looking up a few recipes on the net B4 any replies were posted. I overcooked the chard (used the stalks too), by a mile. So, it doesn't take long at all after you mix it in w/ garlic? And Holy chopsticks batman - all the other recipe suggestions - ve haf questions! Thnk U! :hungry::hungry:

Chard makes some tasty/nurturing juice, too, if you're into that....I typically combine it wi...
Tornadic, great recipe for juice - I am SO into that - but now only have a vitamix - so can mix a drink w/ same ingredients? I also use liquid aminos to "B"... love them. The recipe I tried last night included lemon - maybe I put too much in - but it just overtook the whole flavor of the dish. Have you ever tried lemon w/ Chard and what do you think of it? Tank U! :hungry::)
 
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Not sure how they'd all do as a smoothie-like blend vs. a juice....but if you try it, let me know.

Another option is to blend them in the blender, then use a nut milk bag or some cheese cloth and squeeze the juice out of it and use the leftover pulp for a veggie stock or make another creation of some sort. I like to make flat breads and such with pulp and some chickpea flour.

I haven't used lemon much with chard, unless I drizzle some on top of salad when I'm out of my favorite dressings, or put a small amount in with some juices. Sorry to hear it drowned out the flavors of the other ingredients in the dish you tried. May it taste better next try.
 
I forgot about the mini-pizzas.....I slice them about 1/4 inch thick (can also use zucchini) and use in place of a pizza crust, top with a little pizza or marinara sauce (or homegrown tomato and a basil leaf during garden season), some vegan cheeze, onion, bell pepper, mushroom, or whatever other toppings come to mind when I'm making it. Spinach and broccoli are two other favorite toppings....and red/purple cabbage. I like to use parchment paper underneath them on a baking sheet and bake on 375 for about 20-25 minutes. Good stuff!
 
...eggplants?
My kid is insane for eggplant Parmesan, so 99.9% of them -if I buy them, he’s begging, or already going to town slicing them before I’ve even got the rest of the groceries in the house- end up cooked & portioned into individal servings, and frozen in the freezer. Because it’s one of those things that’s kind of a pain to make, even with jarred sause & someone else did the shredded cheese (salting/draining, rinsing, drying; individually dunking & breading, baking; then layering them into baking dishes with sauce & cheese & baking again)... but? Nukes in the microwave just aaaaawesome. :tup: So it’s one of my make ahead meals.

If I manage to rescue them from the Eggplant Parm Lunatic I usually end up cutting them lengthwise into thick steaks, oil & season with salt & pepper, grill them blackened & mushy.... purée, let sit, drain juice, mix with with garlic, lemon, tahini, ras el hanout (a middle eastern spice blend)...and hellooooooo baba ganoush! :D Sigh. I almost never get to have baba ganoush.

Don’t even get me started on how much I miss ratatouille. Which is about as much work as eggplant parm, and probably won’t happen until my kid leaves home.

Eggplant is kind of a bitch to work with, because the bitter juices need extracting & draining, which means adding at least an hour onto the prep or cook time... and often starting the night before. :wtf: It’s part of what makes them awesome, though, because much like a sponge they soak up all the flavor you throw at them... but have such a strong flavor themselves that it’s practically impossible to overpower them.
 
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Well, I bought a small one @Friday and I woke up at 3 AM and decided to fry some of it with some onions. YUM. My mom used to bread squash, and I have of course had eggplant parm. in restaurants, but I am not so handy in the kitchen as she was, so for me to fry them and make anything with them at all, was awesome even. I used olive oil and a bit of avocado oil too. They were very tasty!

I will have to try some garlic with them tonight. That sounds good.
 
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