Image | julochka

I was talking with Heather earlier and she mentioned she had #HomeChat coming up tonight on Twitter and I inquired as to what these homechatters would be discussing.

Raw foods.

Hold on, here. Raw? People aren’t supposed to eat raw bacon. Doesn’t Heather Solos know this?!

Now this is funny to me but Heather will be rolling her eyes about right now because that’s pretty much EXACTLY what I said during our phone conversation and she didn’t laugh then, either. She suggested I look up a couple of salad recipes.

OH! That’s right! Salad=raw. Sweet! I can do salad.

I am the chick who has decided to plant a million plants for her first garden; I like veggies.

The vegetable in my soon-to-be garden that’s causing me much consternation is the rainbow swiss chard. It looks beautiful on the seed pack and the kids are excited so I consider the chard a win. But here’s the thing: I’ve never eaten swiss chard. Or chard. See? I don’t even know what to call the stuff.

Because of the #HomeChat topic, I tasked myself with finding a recipe that’s RAW and involves swiss chard.

Avocado and Rainbow Swiss Chard Salad

Greens:

• 1 bunch of Swiss Chard, stems removed
• Other salad greens, if desired

Dressing:

• 1 avocado (mash half for dressing and reserve other half for salad topping)
• 1 Tb olive oil
• 2 Tb balsamic vinegar
• Juice from 1 lime
• kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Salad Toppings:

• 1 carrot, shredded–I’m going to use my Cosmic Purple carrots!
• 10-12 grape/cherry tomatoes, halved or whole…depending on the size–I think the black cherry tomatoes will look awesome in this.
• 1/2 c pistachios
• Reserved half of avocado, diced

Wash chard and whatever greens you’re using.

In a salad bowl, mash 1/2 of the avocado, olive oil, vinegar and lime juice. Add the greens and toss to coat.

Add your salad toppings and toss again to make sure everything is coated.

Let the salad “rest” for about twenty minutes in the fridge. Right before you serve, test for seasoning and add kosher salt and pepper.

Come on! Raw doesn’t look half bad now, right?!

POSTED IN: Food and Drink,Garden