Today in my kitchen...

Isn't this rainbow chard lovely!? It's so gorgeous I almost hate to cook it. However, I know it will taste fabulous so I can take a knife to these beauties without too much regret.

Here's a great way to eat chard:

Swiss Chard with Almonds and Raisins
Ingredients:
For Two Servings:
1 Tbsp slivered almonds
¾ tsp olive oil
1/3 cup shallots, chopped
1 pound Swiss chard, fresh, end trimmed, cut into ½ to ¾ -inch wide pieces
1 Tbsp raisins, chopped (golden or red flame)
1 Tbsp water
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 ½ tsp red wine vinegar

Instructions:
• Set a large nonstick pot over medium heat. When hot, toast almonds, stirring often, until lightly golden, about 3 minutes; remove from pan, chop and set aside.
• Heat oil in same pot over medium heat. Add shallots; cook, stirring often, until light golden, about 4 minutes.
• Add Swiss chard to pot and increase heat to high; cook, tossing, until chard wilts, about 3 minutes.
• Add raisins, water, salt and crushed red pepper; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until chard is tender, about 5 to 7 minutes.
• Remove from heat; stir in vinegar. Transfer to a serving bowl; sprinkle with toasted almonds.

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So we got our big colorful picture to start this entry and I'll move on to even more exciting news - we are now participating in a Cow Share. Actually, we have two shares of a cow that lives in Loveland. And Thursday night we picked up our first shares of the milk. I've been drinking it and making lots of good stuff with it. These are 1/2 gallon jars...



Can you see the cream line? I skimmed the cream off two half gallons and have it culturing to make cultured butter (which also means some buttermilk).


And since I've been using a lot of buttermilk, I also put some buttermilk out of my fridge into another quart of whole milk and set it in the cupboard for 24 hours to culture. Oh, and the kombucha seems to be forming a scoby, just like it's supposed to.



I wanted to share a little color I'm enjoying. The geraniums in my kitchen are in bloom again, still, some more... they've been flashing their bright smiles all winter. I've wintered these particular plants over for several years now and they just keep producing brilliant blooms.



The ones in the living room are healthy and eager, with lots of new leaves, but I don't think they get quite enough sun in that room. Hopefully they'll start their blooming when I can put them back on the deck in another ?month?



And it looks like I've got some sprouts for lunch tomorrows!



I also decided to soak more wheat as long as I've got the dehydrator here that I borrowed from Kathy. I'll try to get 20-24 cups of grain sprouted and dried before I return it.



Today was also day 8 of the sourdough starter so I mixed up some bread. I don't know if the starter was potent enough or not. We'll know in the morning when I wake and find out if I've got risen loaves or bread colored bricks in my pans.



I know it must look like I spend all my time in the kitchen. Apparently that's just where all the excitement has been lately.