Sauteéd Swiss Chard with Garlic, a Pun, and a Giveaway from Molly MacRae

 

Chard is lovely stuff—to look at and to eat. Here’s a delicious side dish that’s a combination of slightly caramelized, crisp-tender stems and tasty, tender greens made lively with the zip of garlic and the brightness of lemon.

This might sound like a non sequitur but bear with me. We’ll get back to chard in a few paragraphs. Have you ever attended the International Edible Book Festival? It’s actually many individual festivals, taking place around the world, on or close to April 1^st each year. Started in 2000 by Books2Eat, the festival is the brainchild of Judith A. Hoffberg and Béatrice Coron. From the Books2Eat website: “This event unites bibliophiles, book artists, and food lovers to celebrate the ingestion of culture and its fulfilling nourishment. Participants create edible books that are exhibited, documented then consumed.”

The women chose April 1^st because that’s the birthday of French gastronome Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), author of Physiologie du goût. Also because April Fools Day is a fine time to play with words and eat them, too. Many of the entries are gorgeous, artistic creations. But just as cozy mystery writers love puns, so do the many cooks whose entries involve puns.

The Chard in the Scone

Circling back to lovely chard, in 2008 I entered the International Edible Book Festival here at the University of Illinois. My creation? The Chard in the Scone. It won an award, possibly for best literary pun, but I only remember the thrill of winning and not the exact award.

April 1^st is approaching. Is there an International Edible Book Festival in your area?  

*** Giveaway ***

For your chance to win a copy of There’ll Be Shell to Pay, book 2 in my Haunted Shell Shop Mystery series, answer either (or both) of these questions:

What book title did I play around with for my edible book entry?

What book can you imagine turning into an edible masterpiece?

Put your answer(s) in a comment below and remember to give your email address, too. I’ll choose a winner at random on Brillat-Savarin’s birthday – April 1^st. (Canada and U.S. only, please)

 

Sauteéd Swiss Chard with Garlic

Adapted from The Complete Diabetes Cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 garlic cloves, sliced thin

1 1/2 pounds Swiss chard, stems sliced diagonally 1/4 inch wide, leaves sliced into strips 1/2 inch wide

2 teaspoons lemon juice  

 

Directions

Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just shimmering. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly browned, 30 to 60 seconds. Add the chard stems and cook, stirring occasionally, until spotty brown and crisp-tender, about 6 minutes.

Add half the chard leaves and cook, stirring and tossing with tongs, until just beginning to wilt, 30 to 60 seconds. Add the rest of the leaves and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until they’re tender, about 3 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice, season with pepper to taste, and serve.

 

click here for a free, printable pdf of this recipe

 

Now available for pre-order – All Shell Breaks Loose

book 3 in the Haunted Shell Shop Mysteries!

 

On North Carolina’s Ocracoke Island, Maureen Nash sells exquisite seashells to locals and tourists—with Bonny the shop cat and the ghost of a Welsh pirate for company. And when needed, she steps in to help the police solve a murder . . .

Dr. Irving Allred is boasting around town that he’s about to get his hands on an authentic haunted sword. But minutes after Maureen hears the story, a woman walks into the Moon Shell, sword in hand. She found it while walking her bulldog on the beach—and its blade is stained with what looks like blood. Looks like it’s time to call the sheriff’s department.

Allred is furious that his prize is now in police custody—and even more agitated that an unknown buyer was trying to outbid him. He’s convinced the sword will lead him straight to the ghosts he’s been hunting. He’s not the only one on the Outer Banks who’s been searching for spirits, though. An odd visitor also showed up at Maureen’s shop claiming the ability to sense them . . . though somehow she didn’t seem to notice Maureen’s spectral friend hanging about.

When a man who’d been camping nearby is found cut down along the shore, Maureen starts providing some unofficial assistance to Captain Rob Tate by digging into the island’s maritime history. But it’s not the only mystery she’s facing—because the shop’s resident ghost is seeing ghosts himself . . .

  

Happy reading! 

 

The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes “murder with a dose of drollery.” She’s the author of the award-winning, national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries and the Highland Bookshop Mysteries. As Margaret Welch, she writes books for Annie’s Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and she’s a winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect with her on Instagram or Bluesky.