Swiss Chard & Beet Greens

  I went to visit Mom the other day, and came home with swiss chard and beets! I had just mentioned in another post that Brian likes borsht, so I was really happy to get some beets. They were small, but would be enough for one meal.

 It was already close to supper time, so I decided to just make the greens, and leave the borscht for another day. There are lots of recipes for how to prepare greens....you can add sauteed onions, garlic, even bacon.... but I keep it plain and simple.

 I washed both, then cut off the beets and the swiss chard stalks.

 I also removed the center of each swiss chard leaf.

 I cut the swiss chard in strips.

 The beet leaves were small, so I left them whole.

I filled two pots of water (salted), brought to a boil 

then put in the greens. Both take about 3 minutes.

Beets

Swiss Chard

Just add butter, and serve.

There's not a lot of difference in flavour; the swiss chard is slightly milder.

Both are as tasty as they are healthy!

Puppies In the Garden

  I'm a little distracted these days, with our four week old CavaDoodle puppies. We had them outside for the first time today, and I managed to get some pretty cute pictures of them in the garden.

  

  Our CavaDoodle puppies are a cross between our Mini Goldendoodle female, Bitsy, and our tan and black Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Jet.

Our CavaDoodle puppies, enjoying their first outing.

Yes, I see you!

Peak a boo!

I don't know who is having more fun, the puppies or Danica!

Enjoying the fresh air and sunshine for the first time!

Not sure quite what to make of this new place!

Tuxedo is always ready to explore!

Hello there!

Not much bigger than the tomatoes!

If you'd like to know more about CavaDoodles, follow my Pinterest board- CavaDoodles.

Manitoba Sky Monday Aug. 29/16

This entire week had amazing skies, from last Monday's sunset.....

 ....to Wednesday's storm clouds

.....to Friday's sunrise 

....and mist
 

 .....to Saturday's ever changing skies

 ....and yes, another beautiful sunset

Ending with the most amazing skies of Sunday evening,

that cast a strange orange glow over everything.

Orange skies in the west to pink in the east.

I know I posted a lot of pictures this week, 

but it was hard to cut any more than I did.

I hope you enjoyed our Manitoba skies!

Scripture Picture Sunday # 3 Ecclesiastes 3:11

Saturday Snapshot - One Lonely Delphinium

A late blooming Delphinium among the tomatoes.

Cucumber & Tomato Salad (Middle Eastern/Canadian Style)

 Although we no longer plant a big vegetable garden, most years we still grow potatoes, carrots, and sometimes beets (because my husband loves borscht), but ALWAYS cucumbers and tomatoes. As long as I have my cucumbers and tomatoes in the garden, I'm happy! And this year, that's all we got planted....well, except Daniel's pumpkin...I'll tell you about that another time.

 Our cucumbers are a little late this year, but we've been able to pick a couple of times. We have lots of green tomatoes, but it seems the gophers like them as much as I do....as soon as one ripens they are out there enjoying a feast! 

  
 I had been craving a particular meal that I'd learned to make years ago, from some Arabic friends who had moved to Canada from Israel....Rice and Lentils, with Cucumber and Tomato Salad. The way I made the salad is very similar to the ones I've seen online, except I don't add parsley, and most use English cucumbers....and I didn't plant any!

Don't these cucumbers and tomatoes look delicious just the way they are? 

The salad is best with the veggies finely chopped

Cucumber and Tomato Salad

                        3 small  cucumbers (or one english cucumber)

                        3 Tomatoes (several cherry tomatoes work fine!)

                        1 tbsp mint (I use dried mint from my garden)

                        1 lemon ( I add the zest of 1 lemon)

                         

                        Other veggies (onions, peppers, radishes) are optional

                         Dressing

                        2 tbsp lemon juice (I use fresh lemon)

                        3 tbsp olive oil  

                   

Cucumber and Tomato Salad with mint and lemon

This salad is served with rice and lentils, that are garnished with fried onions.

Onions fried until translucent 

Rice and Lentils

2 cups rice
1 cup lentils
4 cups water
salt
Optional:
garlic cloves (to taste)
onions (to taste)
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
(The spices I add are from another Arabic dish...my Canadian Style!)

Add lentils and spices to water and bring to boil, then simmer  until tender; about 30 minutes.
Add rice (and more water if required) and cover. Cook on low/med about 30 minutes.
Serve garnished with fried onions, and salad.

Cucumber and tomato salad, served with rice and lentils, garnished with fried onions. Delicious!

Have you tried this dish or something similar? Let me know. Thanks for stopping by!