Archive for July, 2008
Happy Fourth!
For those of you here in the States, I hope you are enjoying your long holiday weekend with lots of family gatherings and fireworks displays. I’m visiting my small hometown, where there’s an annual festival with one of those Norman Rockwell-esque Main Street parades, including the local high school’s marching band and dozens of homemade floats. There’s also plenty of chicken barbeque and homemade ice cream flowing.
I’ve also been picking some homegrown blueberries here on my parents’ farm. I can’t wait to get a recipe together with them to share with you. Right now though, it’s time I pass along this manicotti recipe I’ve been hoarding for a week. This dish is a great way to sneak healthy vegetables past picky eaters at the dinner or picnic table. It tastes like a traditional cheesy Italian indulgence, but instead this manicotti is hiding the vitamin and mineral one-two punch of Swiss chard and broccoli.
If you’re a fan of only one of these vegetables, the recipe can easily be adapted to just using four cups of one or the other. The original recipe didn’t call for it, but next time I think I’ll add a little mozzarella on top too to help keep the manicotti more moist.
I’ve been growing Swiss chard in both my garden and in pots on my deck. Container vegetables are a new experiment for me now that we have a huge deck right off the kitchen. I’ve really been impressed by not only how well my plants are growing and producing, but also by how ornamental they are. Don’t hesitate to tuck in some Swiss chard with your flowering annuals, either in containers or beds. The foliage is really quite lovely, especially on the multicolored varieties. I can’t wait to see the yellow stems of my Swiss chard accentuated by the yellow pear tomatoes growing in the same container; delicious AND pretty!
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a dish of homemade chocolate ice cream callin’ my name. So tell me, what are you doing to celebrate Independence Day?
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