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Gardening is an exercise in optimism. Sometimes,
it is a triumph of hope over experience.
- Marina Schinz

The In Season series is a web diary of the gardening successes and mishaps of two eternally hopeful novices. The ladybug above will lead you to previous posts in the series.

Swiss Chard

Earlier this week, we harvested bunches of Chard and Beet Greens. We eat a lot of chard in various colours between June and September. Throw the seeds around, and that’s it. They grow fast, do not spread and take over the patch, and don’t harass the plants around them. No thorns, no pollination required, no temperamental behaviour. The plant is usually one of the first to show up and the last to die down. Not affected by hot summers or a bit of frost, it the one that keeps on giving. In the human frame of reference, it is what you would call a saint if it was female, and sucker if it was male.

It is one of our favourite greens, and we throw it in whatever will take it. For the first time this year, next to the chard, we threw some beet seeds. We didn’t bother to thin them out, and our beets may not grow very plump. However, we do have a dense thicket of red foliage which is nutrient-rich and delicious in its own right.

Both beets and Swiss chard are different varieties within the Amaranthaceae-Chenopodiaceae family and their leaves share a resemblance in taste and texture. Before the beet leaves turned red, it was easy to mistake one for the other.

This is one of those typical dinner creations that started out as one thing and went on to assume a totally new avatar. One of our Italian cookbooks has a recipe for Scafata - an Umbrian stew made with with Fava Beans and greens (usually chard or escarole). The dinner plan was soup with bread. I cleaned the greens, put the pot on the fire, and realised that we had no onions in the pantry.

It’s funny, the way the mind functions. To me, onions = in the pantry. It did not occur to me that there are onions growing in the yard. I had planted them myself. We constrain our thinking within certain self-imposed parameters that hinder our perception, imagination, and ultimately our actions.

A friend of ours illustrated this point recently. S asked J if he knew exactly how much money he has in his wallet. J said, “Between 21 and 22 dollars”. He opened his wallet and counted the cash - $21.45. Pretty accurate.

S said, “I said money. Do you have a credit card in your wallet?” J has more than one. S pointed out that J actually has thousands of dollars in his wallet which he could use if he wanted at that moment. His mind automatically translated ‘money’ into ‘dollar bills and coins’ when he was asked to state how much he had. That kind of thinking is useful in some situations, and constrictive in others.

Similarly, equating ‘onions’ with ‘things usually found in x basket in the pantry’ meant I had none, and that led me to throwing together some things from assorted jars to come up with this. I was sure we had frozen fava beans, but ended up finding soybeans (edamame) instead. In the end, the redacted recipe (if you can this a recipe at all) was much quicker that the original, and lip-smacking good. We ended up boiling some soba (buckwheat noodles) and tossed the whole thing together.

Soba Noodles with Soybeans, Beet Greens and Swiss Chard

The main flavouring in this dish is sweet chilli sauce (sometimes sold as sweet chilli garlic sauce) - the one with the ingredient list that startes with ’sugar’ and proceeds to ‘water, chili paste, salt, garlic and vinegar’. Anything that starts with ’sugar’ usually is disgusting in our book, but this is one ingredient we use a lot.
This is not really a recipe - just some random stuff that came together by chance and in perfect harmony.

In 1 tsp oil, fry
2 tsp chopped garlic.

Then add
the greens (we had about 5 loosely packed cups)

Let the leaves wilt, then add
sweet chilli sauce to season (we used about 1.5 tbsps).

It is important to let the leaves wilt first, ‘cos this sauce is very salty, and you could misjudge how much you need.

We also added
a few drops of dark sesame oil
2 tbsp concentrated tomato paste
dash of hot sauce (like Sriracha)

If it is not salty enough, add some tamari (natural soy sauce), or more sweet chilli sauce.

Separately, toss 1.5 cups thawed soybeans (edamame) in some fried garlic, sweet chilli sauce and hot sauce.

Boil some soba (buckwheat) noodles (we used 2 small bundles about an inch each in diameter) in plenty of salted water until al dente. Add them to the sauce and toss everything together. Top with the soybeans, and serve.

This is our entry for Eating With the Seasons hosted by Maninas @ Maninas: Food Matters and Jihva for Soy hosted by Sia @ Monsoon Spice.

Malevolence by Bee @ Forgive Me My Nonsense.

- bee

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SPEAK YOUR MIND

22 Comments so far

1. Cham on August 8, 2008 9:19 pm

   Tell me, when was your last visit to the grocery store? U ve everything reachable that is super cool! The greens re really awesome with soba

   last week. we go once in two weeks.

2. Simona on August 8, 2008 10:16 pm

   A little while ago I bought some soba noodles and was waiting for some inspiration to cook them. Thanks for your recipe. Great photos, as usual.

3. Manggy on August 8, 2008 10:25 pm

   Noodles flavored with tamari and sweet chili sauce? I am so there!
   To be fair, the credit cards are sort of glorified IOUs… Not quite as literal as actual onions in the garden, heh

4. arundati on August 8, 2008 11:38 pm

   i like the way you throw in and toss up this fabulous food!! pics are great….am sure palak will do well in this recipe….but then give me noodles made any way….and i am ready to slurp on.

5. Elizabeth on August 9, 2008 12:11 am

   I love how you can “toss everything together” and still end up with a beautifully-presented meal, and gorgeous photos too! You guys are amazing.

6. sra on August 9, 2008 1:18 am

   Aah, I’ve some soba noodles and some udon noodles both waiting - the Best Before date is this month - gotta do something with them soon, shucks!

7. Sri Gavar Gogji on August 9, 2008 5:04 am

   Amazing synthesis! I loved this post.

8. enjay on August 9, 2008 6:24 am

   ..it is what you would call a saint if it was female, and sucker if it was male…

   Priceless. Oh, and the recipe is very nice, too.

9. Mamatha on August 9, 2008 8:26 am

   I love Soba! Although I don’t have those greens or edamame, I’m sure I can improvise with some fresh spinach and lima beans/peas. I think I have rest of the ingredients. Thanks for this healthful recipe.

   Did I tell you I have some herbs growing in containers? It was too late to start a veggie patch this year, so next year it shall be. And I completely owe it to you for your inspiration and the informative posts on gardening.

10. indosungod on August 9, 2008 8:58 am

    I am with you on Chard. They are the most giving. The Sweet Chili sauce, picked up one without realizing it had sugar in it but now it is one of my favorite.

    The salad is refreshing.

11. Anonymous on August 9, 2008 6:02 pm

    Hi Bee,
    Sorry it’s been a while since I dropped by. It’s terrific how you have all those green growing in your garden. I am really into eating beet greens these days. I find it a nice change to spinach. And the beet leaves are so tender!

    This soba dish looks so appetising…yummmm!

12. Bharti on August 9, 2008 9:36 pm

    I’m absolutely a wuss when it comes to greens. I really need to try this stuff out. I usually stick with traditional greens like spinach. I must must venture! The recipe thrown together sounds very yummy. And once again, beautiful pics.

13. Uma on August 9, 2008 11:30 pm

    Never tried any recipe with swiss chard, though it looks so cool and is so healthy. The way you have used it in the noodles is simply superb. What a great idea! The pictures are a feast to the eyes.

14. lathanarasimhan on August 10, 2008 1:30 am

    Lovely pictures of beets! Your new header is so impressive! I know you changed sometime ago, but could never post a comment!

15. Priya on August 10, 2008 4:44 am

    Awesome Noodles!

    Do the swiss chard grow under thick canopy of pine trees? My back yard is full of pine which is good for cooling bill but not for gardening.

    it may - worth a try. or you can put it in a pot in the sun.

16. Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) on August 10, 2008 5:10 am

    Wonderful combination of colors and textures! I love soba noodles, and have promised to eat more dark leafy greens this year as they are so full of anti-oxidants, so this recipe will go on my must-try list.

17. sunita on August 10, 2008 10:18 am

    Absolutely love this recipe…thanks :-)

18. Nirmala on August 10, 2008 8:21 pm

    Lovely recipe! And I think you will soon end up in monthly-once or no grocery trips

19. Mansi on August 11, 2008 2:29 pm

    I so envy you your garden!!!! that swiss chard looks so pretty! great idea pairing it with soba noodles ppl:)

20. Jeanne on August 12, 2008 8:53 am

    I so envious of your garden!! I can’t wait for the day when we have our own place and can actualyl spend money on creating a proper garden rather than jsut trying to grow everything in pots that need watering every 5 minutes. Love the photos and the dish sounds fantastic - sweet chilli sauce is what got me eating ANY chilli in the first place The thin edge of the wedge.

21. Swiss Chard: Decorative and Nutritious! on August 15, 2008 7:10 am

    […] Soba Noodles with Soybeans, Beet Greens and Swiss Chard […]

22. ROUND-UP: Eating with the Seasons - AUGUST « Maninas: Food Matters on August 24, 2008 3:35 pm

    […] Soba Noodles with Soybeans, Beet Greens and Swiss Chard ~ Bee and Jai from Jugalbandi (USA) […]