Saturday, September 3, 2011

Saturday supper at home





After spending more than a week not eating much of anything (I survived on Ensure and ice water), I'm finally back on my feed. I'm posting this homely and homey supper just because it feels so good to have an appetite again.













I found a ham slice on sale at Safeway and we had bought a couple of baking potatoes the other day.









The chard came from the farmers market. The prep for the whole meal was extremely easy - hardly any labor involved.




With my insides still a tad delicate, all I did with the ham was to trim fat from it, bring a skillet full of water to a boil, drop in the ham, cover it and turn off the heat. After 10 minutes it was nice and warm and a lot of the sodium had been leached out.




We've learned a simple and absolutely dependable way to bake potatoes. First of all, we buy the biggest russetts we can find. They each weigh nearly a pound. So we cook just one and it's enough for the two of us. 1 hour and 10 minutes in a 400 degree oven does the trick. Oh, don't forget to stick a fork into the potato a few times on each side so that it doesn't explode. You can dress it with butter, salt, pepper, sour cream, chives or scallion. Many, many possibilities. I had mine with a small pat of butter and a little salt and pepper.




We use an easy braise for all kinds of greens. Baby spinach takes maybe 3 minutes and kale more like 10. Chard falls in the middle - 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the thick parts of the stems and cut them into 1/2 inch pieces. Rinse the greens and chop them roughly. Heat 1 Tbs olive oil and 1 Tbs butter in your largest saute pan. Saute a little garlic if you wish and then add the chopped stems. You can reserve them for another purpose or simply include them. They need about 3 minutes before you add the greens. When the greens have wilted, salt and pepper them a little and put a lid on the pan. Let them cook for maybe 5 minutes until tender to your taste.






All in all a meal with some definite medicinal value.





























9 comments:

Peggy said...

Sounds like a tasty meal to celebrate the regaining of your appetite =)

Chris said...

Do you bother with oil and salt before baking them or do you just throw it in plain and season afterwards?

Glad that you're back from "under the weather".

Anonymous said...

Sorry you were under the weather. Great tip about the ham and the sodium - a baked potato is a delicious and safe way to regain an appetite. Here's to your full recovery.
Mary

Mary Bergfeld said...

I'm glad you are feeling better, Stephen. Nothing is worse than the summer uglies. They seem to hit harder than their winter cousins. You had a great idea regarding the peas for the soup. Thanks! I hope you feel well enough to enjoy the long weekend.
Blessings...Mary

Mary Bergfeld said...

Me again, Stephen. You asked about the tube pan. It is like an angel food pan but the bottom is not removable and the tube is smaller. It is also not quite as high as an angel food cake pan. have a good evening. Blessings...Mary

Aarthi said...

This looks absolutely yummy...I should try this soon...Thanks for the recipe dear...

Shu Han said...

definitely looks delicious and light! i'm glad you got back your appetite! take care!

Pam said...

Glad you are feeling better. This meal sounds like one my mom made when I was a child. She would put melted honey butter over the ham and it was delicious!

Ma What's 4 dinner said...

Oh oh oh I looooove chard! So sorry to hear you weren't feeling well! We didn't eat so well either, but that's because here in Connecticut it took so long to get power back after Irene. We survived on canned soup and grilled cheese I made on the propane grill.

So glad you're feeling better!


Lots of yummy love,
Alex aka Ma What's For Dinner
www.mawhats4dinner.com

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