One Local Summer: Week 2

I was SO lucky to snag a tomato at the Dover Farmers' Market Wednesday. A sight for sore eyes (or eyes just wanting more than greens)! I also bought more summer squash, a cucumber, spring garlic, a head of swiss chard and I also snagged the last quart of sugar snap peas.

I searched very hard for this recipe as I knew I could somehow incorporate the tomato, chard and a half dozen local eggs for my second weeks' One Local Summer meal. Sure enough...may I now present:

Swiss Chard and Tomato Frittata

from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites, the Moosewood Collective

Serves 4

1 lb. Swiss chard
4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed (I used the spring garlic)
1 cup chopped onions (no local onions so I used one scallion from my garden)
2 tsp. olive oil
6 egg whites
2 whole eggs
3 T chopped fresh basil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 medium tomato, sliced

1. Wash the Swiss chard, remove and discard the large stems, and finely chop the leaves.

2. In a 10 to 12 inch nonstick skillet, saute the garlic and onions (or scallion) in 1 teaspoon of the olive oil for 3 minutes on medium heat.

3. Add the Swiss chard, stir, cover, lower the heat, and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and drain the Swiss chard if juicy.

4. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites, eggs, basil, salt, and pepper until blended and stir in the sauteed Swiss chard.

5. Coat the bottom of the skillet with the remaining tsp. of oil and return it to medium heat.

6. When the skillet is hot, pour in the Swiss chard-egg mixture and arrange the tomato slices on top. Cover and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, until the edges are firm and the bottom is golden and beginning to brown.

7. Place a large flat plate or pizza pan over the skillet and flip the skillet over so that the frittata falls onto the plate. Slide the frittata back into the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes, until the eggs are fully cooked. Serve immediately or at room temperature.

Okay, so here's what I learned, and this is a biggie for eating local: you can most certainly improvise the recipe and quite a few times you have to. For instance: I had a total of six eggs in my cooler (yes, fridge is still dead) so I used 2 whole eggs and 4 egg whites. The recipe still turned out fabulous! You just need to adapt and tweak the ingredients. Don't be afraid of trial and error!

The second thing I learned is...you don't have to be a "pretty" chef. I tried REALLY hard to flip the frittata over so it'd be "perfect," but the frittata had other plans. It folded over once it hit the pan so I decided to just cut up the mix a bit and make it more scrambled egg-like. It wasn't as pretty in the end, but it seriously tastes the same and gets the job done!

So go out there and have fun, improvise as needed, and don't worry about perfection!

(I wanted to mention that this meal makes a great brunch or even breakfast (your breakfast choice sets your blood sugar for the day, why not treat it to a chard and eggs? It reheats great as well.)