Well? We did it! Brian and I welcomed a new baby girl to our family last Monday. Everything about the labor and delivery was a huge surprise, including the fact that I was only in active labor for about 4 hours! I never expected a Hollywood delivery (all the baby books emphasize how rare they are), but there we were–Brian navigating early morning traffic over the Williamsburg bridge, my water breaking in the car, needing to push before we got to the hospital (so glad we avoided an emergency delivery on 10th Avenue!), careening up to the hospital entrance, being whisked away to L & D while Brian was still signing in, and then, a mere half hour later meeting our new baby girl. Phew! Now that the wild ride is over, we are settled at home and loving these first few days with our new baby and her big sister. Suddenly, we’re a family of four.
But we still need to eat, and things are slowly ramping back up. We’ve been plugging away at our farm share and the seasonal ingredients that are pouring in. One of my favorite things about our farm share is that it forces us to experiment. Neither of us has any special affinity for chard and so left to our own devices, we’d probably pass it up at the market or the store every time. Not that we have anything against it–just that chard’s kind of a humble option amid July’s bounty. But when your farm share gives you rainbow chard, then you’ve got to figure out something to do with rainbow chard. So for a recent dinner with a friend, we made this chard slaw which is now one of our favorite summer sides.
This is a pretty straightforward slaw with a mayonnaise base. Because chard can be little bitter when you’re eating it raw, we added lemon juice to balance it out a little. Although we used chard on this occasion, we’ve also done the same with kale and other greens and found it’s an excellent way to make healthy, raw green vegetables an exciting side.
Rainbow Chard Slaw
for the salad
1 large bunch chard (or kale), sliced into thin ribbons
4 carrots, peeled and grated
1/4 cup scallions, chopped
for the dressing
1/2 cup minced salad onion or yellow onion
1 clove garlic, smashed and minced
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground white pepper
pinch ground cayenne pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise (we like Duke’s)
In a small bowl, whisk together the onion, vinegar, lime juice, sugar, sesame oil, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Whisk in the mayo until mixture is emulsified. Place the greens, carrot and scallions in a large salad bowl, and drizzle with slightly more than half of the dressing.
This salad is best dressed 20 minutes before serving. It will hold up, refrigerated, for several hours, but is best eaten day of. To enjoy later, simply save the greens and dressing, and combine them as needed.
Looks Delicious! I wish our CSA share included rainbow chard this time of year. Sadly, there are precious few tender greens to be had here in KY come July. We’re in the thick of the eggplant-squash-tomato days. I suppose it could be worse. I’ll save this recipe for next spring, though.
Hi Emily, We were surprised to see the chard in our share too. Aren’t the squash and tomato days of summer grand?
I should have planned my visit so that I could be there now, to cook for you! Congratulations again. She’s adorable.
I wish! Thank you Kimberley.
One of Charlottesville’s newer CSAs allows you to pick and choose your produce, and a share comprises one brown bag full of produce per week. We are hesitant to join because we love the challenge that traditional CSAs present.
Sounds perfect. The weekly CSA challenge is fun though.
Yay!!
Congrats to you and your family! Sounds like you had a pretty exciting delivery…my 2nd was so much faster {and easier} than the 1st and came 5 days early…but, not that much faster!
Love that my boys have each other and I think sisters are pretty special too! It’s been 7 whole years since we became a family of 4, but I remember it being a very exciting and exhausting time. 🙂
Can’t believe you’re cooking away here already! This slaw looks fantastic. Making a chard slaw has been on my food to-do list for a long time, so I will be definitely trying this one.
Best to you + the wee one!
Hi Kate, Thank you so much! I am loving watching the sibling bond develop. So nice to know that they’ll always have each other in this world.
As for the cooking, it’s such a marathon each week trying to use up our CSA share, we’ve just got to keep going.
I rarely comment on anything in the Internet world, but I have to thank you for this wonderful recipe. It has become a favorite and I get requests for the recipe every time I share it. Seriously. It is one of my new favorite recipes of all time.
Congratulations on the new addition!! This salad looks fantastic and will make short work with all the CSA produce I’ve got on hand. Looks delicious.
@kickpleat, Thanks! Quick slaws of all sorts are the perfect remedy for CSA abundance.
Wowza! Congratulations on the new addition! That is the best news of the day.
Congratulations on the new member in your family! I love your blog!
@Sarah, Thank you so much!
This is so funny to see. We’ve been eating absurd amounts of kale and collard slaws. Good to know we are on the same wavelength, even if states apart. Good luck and much love to the family of four.
Hi Shelley, that’s so funny! I am sure that you guys get more than your share of leafy greens all summer up there. Here’s hoping a few tomatoes come your way too. Thanks for the nice wishes–hoping to see you guys sometime sooner than later.
So so happy for you guys! She’s just gorgeous. Hope to meet both your girls in person some day!
Hi Julie, That would be great! We aren’t traveling much these days, but if you get back to NYC we’ll have to have you and your family for dinner.
Wow what a delivery story!
I’m a little obsessed with rainbow chard right now. I am finding at our little farmer market store and it has been looking amazing. I slice it up thin and saute it in a little olive oil with aleppo pepper, have you ever tried it? I discovered it last year and I’m hooked on it.
I’ve also been using the leftover sauteed chard as a topping for a tortilla pizza. A little salsa, pintos, cheese and chard on top of a tortilla then in the oven for a bit. A weird but delicious combo!!
And I meant to say before I hit Submit…
I was drawn to this recipe b/c I love that the chard is raw! I am going to have to try this one out! Looks so colorful and delicious.
Congrats on becoming a fam of 4!!