Three squash: light green Clarimore, Golden Dawn yellow and dark green, almost black, Raven zucchini.
“Pot of Gold” Chard, 3 kinds of zucchini, Chinese cabbage.
Soon to be Green Rice, Zucchini cake, and Chinese chicken salad.
-
Chard, sweet, mild
This deep green chard with golden stems, is tender and never bitter. Plus, it is beautiful. I’m a chard fan and prefer it to kale. A favorite chard recipe is green rice. It is easy to double the recipe, make two casseroles and freeze one for fall.
Substitute chard for spinach in any recipe. Many versions of this old classic are on the internet. I’ve made many versions of what I call Green Rice Casserole.
Spinach-Rice Casserole inspired by the Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen. Serves 4 – 6
4 cups cooked rice (white or brown)
2 cups raw, chopped chard
1 or 2 cloves minced garlic
3 tablespoons butter (or, coconut oil)
4 beaten eggs
1 cup milk (or almond milk or, soy milk)
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar
1/4 cup chopped mixed fresh herbs like parsley, chervil, basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Saute’ onions and garlic, in butter (or oil). When onions are soft, add spinach or chard or kale and salt. Cook 2 minutes. (Or use drained, frozen chopped spinach, thawed)
Combine the onion mixture with the rice, eggs, milk, cheese, herbs, nutmeg, and chopped nuts. Spread into a sprayed casserole.
Bake, covered, 25 minutes at 350 degrees F. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes.
This is Container Chard, “Pot of Gold,” an exclusive from Renee’s Garden Seed. Chard is packed with vitamins A, C, and K, as well as magnesium, potassium, and iron.
-
Ah, Zucchini!
Zucchini, I’ve discovered, is much easy to keep at reasonable sizes if you grow
container varieties. Look for specially bred zucchini plants designed container growing. Tender, small squash are perfect for lightly grilling or roasting.
Thin skinned, baby zucchini are tasty eaten raw. Perfect to include in a fresh Pasta Primavera.
-
Chinese Cabbage
Chinese Cabbage will be a main ingredient in Chinese chicken salad, Kim Chee, cole slaw. Thanks to the milder summer weather and plenty of rain, I still have a couple for cabbages to harvest. It’s very unusual to have these plants so late in the season.
7/13
Patsy Bell Hobson is a garden writer and a travel writer. For her, it’s a great day when she can combine the two things she enjoys most: gardening and traveling. Visit her personal blog at 
