Swiss Chard, Acorn Squash and Freekah

If you've been watching my blog at all you know we're in high production mode for tomatoes, swiss chard, bok choy and acorn squash. What's a girl to do with all that produce?

Well … after an Indian birthday celebration and a 20+-mile bike ride on Saturday with Dan's sisters we were exhausted and full so we opted for goat cheese, tomato, cucumber, carrot, radish, and avocado sandwiches for dinner on Saturday night (sorry we were so hungry we forgot to take pictures)– they were however, quite tasty.

Sunday was filled with re-organizing the pantry – tossing out the things there is no way we will eat in this life time and scrubbing and cleaning the closet – a satisfying day.  After cleaning the closet I took a short nap and then headed out for my 8,500-step walk. After all that activity, my legs were tired and so was I.

But we still needed dinner – so now that we can actually see what's in the pantry I decided to make a dish that included Freekah which is a young green wheat that has been toasted and cracked. It's a healthy whole grain food, similar to bulgur wheat and other whole grains and it has a kind of nutty flavor.

I found the perfect recipe that used one of our 16 acorn squash, freekah and kale --which I substituted swiss chard for because we have more than any human should be allowed to have. The flavor combination of this dish was amazing. The sweetness of the maple roasted squash, combined with the garlic, nutmeg and pepper sautéed swiss chard and the Dijon mustard sauce was a unique taste combination – by unique I mean good.

I don't often get a "This is a top 10 recipe" comment from Dan but that was his response after a few bites; must have done something right.

We did take pictures of this dish and as you can see we have a side of sliced tomatoes (of course). If you have any favorite swiss chard or squash recipes send them my way. Lately I've been pondering a swiss chard dal and a squash based vegan macaroni and cheese - as the days get shorter and the nights cooler comfort foods seem to find their way to the dinner table. 

But take heart we still have a lot of experimenting to do in the coming weeks and my carrots are close to ready - roasted carrots with a balsamic glaze and toasted sesame seeds here we come!

Thanks for stopping and keep sending recipe suggestions!