I’m thinking about my grandfather today. He was a man of few words. He didn’t see the need to learn a whole new language in a whole new country. I suspect he didn’t do much talking digging ditches. His vocabulary consisted of two words, one phrase: thank you. He always said it in “threes,”
thank you
thank you
thank you.
My grandmother, on the other hand, worked diligently at mastering English. She read the newspaper. She watched soap operas (As the World Turns Berlitz). And, she talked to everyone. They were an interesting pair, my grandparents.
Today as I pick tomatoes from my garden I think of grandpa’s gnarly hands fashioning stakes to support the tomatoes in his garden with his rust-speckled pocket knife. I think of the workshop in his basement and the HUGE workbench he shaped and chiseled. Slowly. And deliberately. Grandpa didn’t need words.
And grandma? I think about her boiling the canning jars to “put up”
quarts
and quarts
and quarts of tomatoes for the blustery winter months ahead.
We never tired of tomatoes.
Braised Chard with Tomatoes and Olives
Ingredients
1 ½ pounds Swiss chard (about 2 bunches)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound pear tomatoes, blanched and peeled or 1 can (14.5 ounces) whole pear tomatoes
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Several grinds fresh black pepper
1/3 cup chopped dry oil-cured black olives, pitted (or kalamata olives if you prefer those)
Directions
- Carefully wash the chard leaves but do not dry them, water should still cling to the leaves. Coarsely chop the chard, removing the stem ends if they are tough.
- Place the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan that has a tight fitting lid. Heat over medium heat and add the garlic. Sauté for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, but do not brown.
- Add the tomatoes, including their juice. Use a metal spoon or a knife to coarsely chop the tomatoes in the pan, then add the salt and pepper. Pile in the chard, stir briefly, and cover.
- Cook over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes. Stir halfway through the cooking time to bring some of the tomatoes to the top. Add the olives, stir to incorporate, and serve.
Source: adapted from The Vegan Gourmet by Susann Geiskopf-Hadler & Mindy Toomay
10 thoughts on “Garden Inspired”
Those tomatoes remind me of my grandfather as well. Ahhh I can smell his garden with tomatoes, asparagus, cucumbers, potatoes and green peas. Thank you for taking me back there.
Where did your grandparents come from? Thank you is a handy phrase to know in any new language.
So here’s the Danish version: Tak, tak, tak 🙂
Your grandparents sound like a perfect pair. Your story reminds me of when I was little. We lived in upstate New York. On the corner of our street lived Yugo. He barely spoke any English but he had the most glorious garden. He was kind enough to let me wander through it and would speak to me in Italian as he showed me various plants. My only regret is not having spent more time there. It was a magical place and he and his wife were a very kind.
Another kale recipe for you, coeusrty of the Kripalu Cookbook. This is from memory but nothing is precise in this recipe. I found this recipe after we received tons of kale from a CSA in Massachusetts a few years ago.Confetti kale1. Wash your kale, cut off the stem ends. Then chop into half inch wide strips.2. Dice red pepper as much as you want to add, proportionally to your kale.3. Have on hand a bag of frozen corn.4. Saute several garlic cloves in a generous amount of olive oil.5. Add the chopped kale and turn it so it all wilts.6. Cook the kale for awhile, turning it so that it all wilts.7. Add the diced red pepper and cook until reasonably soft.8. Add the frozen corn. Cover the pan to finish.9. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve delicious!
Sue Ann… i just love feeling into the presence of the force of character of each of your grandparents through the potency of your image fused words. I can hear your grandfather and LOVE his three thank youuuuuuus! What a dear! and his hands… his gnarly hands in the garden. And your grandmother! and her passion for relating to people and learning that art through the soap opera.
Something about these two I see exquisitely woven in youuuuuuuuu, Sue Ann. The silent force in the garden… and the connective force with others through food. Truly a divine tapestry in which I witness in awe. I adore you!
Thank YOU for reminding me that these two characters live in me and through me, Kathleen. I hold them dear and I love that I can keep them alive in this space.
I just returned from visiting my 91-year-old grandmother and can I even tell you how many tomatoes she had in her garden? Truck-loads!
She no longer cooks–or eats much, for that matter, but she can’t stop growing tomatoes! This post is so charming, and so timely, Sue Ann–I think we are running on the same wavelength these days!
And you know I am crazy-mad for chard, right? 🙂
What is it about tomatoes? Holding tight to the last few tomatoes in my garden.
Sue Ann, what a lovely post… and photo! I could smell your tomatoes… hear your grandfather’s triple ‘thank you’s’… feel your grandmother’s assimilation by the quart. Now all that’s left is to taste your gorgeous recipe. Truly writing for the five senses.
I can still hear his voice saying those words, too, Kim. They still make me smile.
What a vivid details about your grandparents; you must have so many memories of them to cherish. Triple thank yous and multiple quarts–so incredibly endearing. And the recipe? I just love the combination of chard with tomatoes and olives.