Broccoli, Cauliflower, Spinach, and Peas -- a crazy vegetable side dish

In my pursuit of vegetables, I decided to assemble this motley stirfry of assorted vegetable riff-raff as a side dish to go with our pancakes for dinner. 

As with much of my cooking, it was opportunistic based on what I had in my possession already.

ingredients:

1 or 2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

1 small red purple onion, finely chopped (approximately 1/4 cup)

2 medium carrots, diced (about 3/4 cup)

1 large tomato, diced (about 1 cup)

250 g cauliflower florets

150 g chopped spinach

250 g green peas

250 g broccoli florets

(those 4 are all organic, frozen vegetables -- defrost before using if you do the same)

up to 1 tsp sea salt

up to 1 tbsp marjoram

up to 1/2 tsp turmeric

up to 1/2 tsp chili powder

up to 1/2 tsp mesquite powder

directions:

1. in a large saute pan, melt the coconut oil, and add the onions and carrots

2. add the tomato, cauliflower, turmeric, chili powder, and a little of the sea salt

3. when they are nicely cooked, add the spinach and peas, and the marjoram and mesquite, and a little more salt

4. when the vegetables are all happily seasoned and cooked, add the broccoli and combine well to sauce everything. adjust seasoning and add more salt if needed.

Quick and Easy Miso Broth for When You're in the Mood.

Sometimes I'm in the mood for a light soup -- a miso soup chock full of match-sticked veggies. I found myself with some black radishes in the fridge -- after my experiences with simmered daikon radish in Japan I am particularly fond of radishes in miso soup. I cut the radishes into rounds, then the rounds into sticks. I did the same with some carrots -- cut 'em into medallions, then into sticks. I even did the same with some ginger. I then put the veggies in a pot with a handful of wakame seaweed, covered the whole thing with water, added a splash of organic, wheat-free tamari, and a little sea salt. After the veggies have simmered to softness, I will turn stir in some miso paste, and bring it up to heat without boiling it.

You can really use whatever veggies you have around that can take a little simmering. Kale is fab. Broccoli? Why not. Whatever you like.

This is a very light tasting soup, and something I find very satisfying in the evening when I don't want a heavy meal. The ginger, toasted sesame, and seaweed are all mellowed and balanced by the savoury richness of the miso, bringing out the delicate sweetness of the veggies and creating a beautifully complete taste sensation.

You can also jazz it up by doing an egg drop into the miso soup, cooking it carefully so the egg cooks without boiling, and you don't kill the enzymes in your miso.

Yummy :)

ingredients:

3 black radishes -- sliced into rounds, and then cut into sticks (or whatever veggie strikes your fancy)
1 carrot -- sliced into medallions and then cut into sticks (ditto)
ginger root -- finely minced

1/2 cup dried wakame

soy sauce -- organic tamari is my choice, wheat free
sea salt

miso paste -- organic

water

roasted sesame seeds -- optional (for sprinkling on top)


directions:

1. places cut vegetables in a pot
2. top with ginger and wakame
3. add water to cover, and bring to a boil
4. simmer gently until the vegetables are pleasing
5. add miso paste (first mix with a little water in a small bowl and then add to the pot)
6. if the soup has cooled down by this addition, bring back to heat, but don't boil

really, fantastic.

New Bagels -- vegan this time, and full of seeds

I have a slightly new bagel recipe, and a slightly new bagel procedure. The bagels are soft and chewy on the inside, with a nice texture and a thin, crisp and chewy outside. Do you remember those chocolate chip cookies that came out in the 80s called 'Crispy Chewy'? I'm scared to think of what vast quantities of sugar went into them to achieve that texture. These bagels are nothing like those cookies, however. And I strongly advise against adding chocolate chips. I think the boiling process would be their downfall.


ingredients:

1 1/2 cup warm water
2 tbsp unpasteurized honey
1 tbsp bread yeast

1 tsp egg replacer + 1/4 cup water

1 tbsp sea salt
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup spelt flakes
1/4 cup flax meal
1/4 cup chia seeds
4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

big pot
water
baking soda (approx 2 tbsp)


directions:

1. mix the honey into the warm water, and stir in the yeast (the water should be about bath temperature). Set aside
2. mix the egg replace with the 1/4 cup water and set aside
3. in your mixing bowl add the sea salt, spelt flakes, flax meal, chia seeds, whole wheat pastry (soft) flour, and apple cider vinegar
4. add the egg replacer mixture, and the proofed yeast/water, and mix it into dough
5. knead the dough for about 15 minutes (thank you Obsidian Betelgeuse)
6. divide the dough into 24 equal balls, and make those balls into bagel shapes
7. rise the bagels uncovered for about 1 hour
8. preheat the oven to 345. Heat a big pot of boiling water, and boil the bagels for 2 minutes per side (you can probably do between 4 and 6 at a time, depending on the size of your pot)
9. drain the boiled bagels on a cooling rack before placing them on a baking sheet (lined with parchment or silicone is best)
10. bake for 25-30 minutes at 345, switching the positions of the trays halfway through


Now an important thing to mention is this:
The top side of the bagels will be dry and firm, while the underside will be soft and malleable after rising. For this reason, I like to pick the bagels up one by one, and put them top side down onto a slotted metal spatula to deposit into the water. This way the bagel won't get squished and compressed before boiling. I also like to make sure the original top side is up when baking the bagels after boiling, and if I put the top side down for the first side of boiling, the top side is naturally up after the 2nd side of boiling.


Also, it is possible to coat the bagel in seeds or sprinkles of some kind after boiling, when the seeds will stick to them because they are wet. You absolutely don't want to add these before boiling. ;)


I hope that made sense.

Green Sesame Noodles with Bok Choy Saute

green sesame noodles with bok choy saute

We received another organic bin this week, and in it was baby bok choy. Really lovely fresh baby bok choy. I thought green noodles would make a wholesome backdrop to a saute of baby bok choy, perhaps sauced with something in the miso honey and ginger family ...

I wanted to see what would happen if I added chia seeds to my standard green noodle recipe. And then tossed them with coconut oil and toasted sesame seeds after cooking. Here's the amended noodle recipe, and the saute recipe follows.

green sesame chia noodles:

ingredients:

150 g frozen organic spinach, defrosted

1 organic egg (xl or l)

1/2 cup almond flour

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 chia seeds

1 1/2 cups  kamut flour

directions:

1. in a food processor, puree the defrosted spinach. If you are using fresh spinach, let me know how it turns out.

2. add the egg and combine

3. add the sea salt, chia seeds, and almond meal, and combine

4. add 1 1/2 cups kamut flour, and pulse to combine.

5. gather the dough into a ball, flatten, wrap, and set aside to 'rest'.

6. divide the dough into 4 parts

7. roll each part on a mat sprinkled with kamut flour, using a rolling pin sprinkled with kamut flour.

8. if the dough is too sticky, add more kamut flour

9. roll the dough out until it is nice and thin

10. make sure the surface is well sprinkled with kamut flour, and roll it up 

11. set the roll aside and repeat with the other portions of dough

12. once all the portions of dough have been rolled up, cut them into spirals using a sharp chef's knife or bread knife (I prefer a bread knife because the serrated blade makes this task easier)

13. uncoil the spirals and lay them out

14. put the noodles in boiling water spiked with a little oil, and cook for 2 minutes.

15. drain the noodles, and toss with coconut oil and a couple of table spoons of toasted sesame seeds

Ready to roll

Green noodle dough with chia seeds. What country does this look like?

A spiral

Three rolled up portions of dough

Cutting them efficiently with a serrated blade

Spirals before they are unrolled

the noodle spirals, after cutting, before unravelling

unravelling the noodle spirals

boiled for 2 minutes, and tossed with coconut oil, a pinch of sea salt, and toasted sesame seeds

bok choy saute:

ingredients:

2 lbs baby bok  choy, cleaned and cut into bite sized pieces
2 cups carrots, cut into medallions then sticks
1 celery rib, cut on the diagonal, then into strips
1 cup raw almonds
2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
1 or 2 tbsp finely minced fresh ginger

up to 1 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp miso paste
1 tbsp honey
1 or 2 tbsp lemon juice


directions:

1. heat the coconut oil in a large saute pan, and add the almonds, carrots, celery, and ginger, with a little sea salt. Cook until happy.
2. add the baby bok choy and a little sea salt, and stir
3. mix the miso, honey, lemon juice in a small bowl
4. add the miso paste to the vegetables, and combine well
5. serve on a bed of sesame tossed green noodles


Now, if you want to orchestrate the making of this meal in a way that fits into your busy life, you can do it in stages:

1. make the dough, and wrap it and put it in the fridge. The dough can easily be made a day ahead.
2. at your leisure, roll out the dough in 4 parts, roll up the dough, and slice. Put in an airtight container, and put it back in fridge
3. at your leisure, clean and cut the carrots and celery, and store in an airtight container.
4. Before cooking, measure out your ingredients into 'junbi' bowls. 'Junbi' is the Japanese word for 'preparation'. A student of mine who was an amateur gourmet cook used to say to me 'Ryori wa junbi desu', which means 'Cooking is all in the preparation'.
5. You can actually saute up your almonds, carrots, celery, and ginger earlier, and leave 'em in the pan on the stove.
6. Bring water to a boil at the same time as the carrots and almonds are done cooking, and hot.
7. Add the bok choy and do your thing with it, and then toss in the sauce. When that is all ready, set it aside, and cook your noodles. They only need 2 minutes. When the noodles are done, drain 'em, and toss  'em with a little coconut oil and sesame seeds. Put a little bed of noodles in a bowl, and top with the vege stir-fry. Easy-peasy!

ready to top the noodles

ta-da!

:)

Cauliflower sauteed with Turmeric and Chili powder

I'm just crazy about sauteed vegetables. I like any thing from the brassica family sauteed with a little sea salt and black pepper. However, it is fun to liven things up with other choices, like ginger. I thought the pale creamy colour of the cauliflower would look beautiful tinted with the brilliant tones of chili powder and turmeric. As a bonus, turmeric has tremendous anti-inflammatory and disease fighting properties.

ingredients:

cauliflower, cut into florets

coconut oil

sea salt

chili powder

turmeric

directions:

1. saute the cauliflower in the coconut oil on low heat, adding sea salt, chili powder, and a generous amount of turmeric

2. eat with enjoyment

Raisin, Flax, and Chia Muffins -- Vegan, Sugar-free, dairy-free, egg-free

I was in the mood for some freshly baked muffins this morning. I didn't want anything sweet. I wanted something that would sit well in the tummy, and taste great with a cup of tea. These muffins fit the bill perfects. The raisins give a little sweetness, but the muffin itself has a yummy nutty and seedy taste to it. the texture is pleasing and moist, and the nutritional content is sky high. So far they've been given the thumbs up by a 1 year old, a 3 year old, and three adults.

ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tsp egg replacer + 1/2 cup water, combined

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp ceylon cinnamon

2 tsp ground vanilla

a touch of black pepper

1/2 cup ground flax seed

1/4 cup whole chia seed

2 cups almond flour (JK gourmet)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup kamut flour (finely ground kamut pastry flour for texture)

1/2 - 3/4 cup organic thompson raisins

directions:

preheat the oven to 345

1. pour the warm water over the coconut oil, allowing it to melt

2. add in the apple cider vinegar, sea sal,t and spices

3. when the water and coconut oil mixture has cooled down, stir in the egg replacer and water

4. add the flax seed and chia seed

5. stir in the almond flour

6. add the baking soda and stir well

7. fold in the kamut flour gently, stirring until just combined

8. add the raisins and fold in gently

9. scoop the thick batter into 24 prepared muffin cups

10. bake at 345 for 30 minutes

Birthday Cake!

My delicious little boy turned three today. Now, I don't give him any foods made with sugar and white flour, but if you are a regular reader of this blog, you most likely know this already. At risk of being labelled a helicopter mother, I am very selective about what he eats. I make all his food, and he has never tasted candy aside from the occasional morsel of exquisite european dark chocolate. For his birthday I wanted to make him a cake that was truly a cake -- one that would please a 3 year old who is just starting to become keenly aware of what a 'birthday' means, and one that would pass muster with his grandfather who believes healthfood has no place in desserts.

I manage to accomplish this goal.

I started with my son's favourite vegan brownie recipe (from way back in November), but altered it slightly, and un-veganed it. The addition of eggs were helpful, in my opinion, because it can be harder to achieve lift in a full size cake than in a baby cake.

My son and I decided to bake a pretty fancy layer cake, and once I decided any old oven safe dish would do, we got quite creative. The secret, gentle readers, is lining the bottom with parchment, and using butter or coconut oil liberally as a release agent. More on that below. 

Together, my son and I came up with this fancy quintuple layer design, and completed the look with delectable glazes, and some naughty chocolate morsels. I confess we used milk chocolate morsels as well as dark chocolate morsels, and I certainly think the visual effect was worth it.

I made an almond butter glaze to go between the layers, and then a chocolate glaze to cover the whole thing. The contrast was pleasing, and the cake itself was a big hit.

Now, if you are going to bake a cake, it's always really helpful to have it come out of the pan unscathed. One can always resort to the tried and true flour and butter method of cake release -- grease the pan generously, then coat the butter with an even layer of flour, shaking out the extra. However, I have to tell you that lining the bottom of the pan with a piece of parchment does the trick like nothing else. I recommend coating the pan with coconut oil, putting in your sheet of parchment, and giving that a bit of a coating too. I used a well-used silicone muffin cup for our smallest cake, and didn't bother lining that. However, silicone holds its oil well, and after a couple of years of using these cups, ain't nothing gonna stick to those suckers. If yours are new, you must coat them the first few times you use them. And I find if I run silicone bakeware through the dishwasher, I absolutely have to give it a good coating of coconut oil the next time I use it.

Cutting the parchment to fit the baking dishes

Liberally coating the dishes with coconut oil

Liberally coating the parchment with coconut oil

My motley crew of baking dishes in the oven. I put my single muffin cup in an oven proof bowl because silicone is not so self-supporitng, and I didn't want it to tip over on the rungs ...

The resulting layers, cooling prior to use

This recipe made 5 layers, but 3 of them were quite small. So, as it stands, it  might be adequate for a nice triple layer cake using smallish pans, or a double layer cake using larger ones.

Chocolate Brownie Cake:

ingredients:

1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil

2 1/4 cups hot water

1 1/2 cups pitted honey dates

1/2 cup coconut nectar

1/4 cup coconut sugar

2 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar

2 xl organic eggs

2 tsp egg replacer, + 1/2 cup water, mixed together

2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp ceylon cinnamon

1 tsp regular cinnamon

2 tbsp ground vanilla

a little black pepper

1 cup + 2 tbsp raw cacao powder

3/4 cup pecan meal

1 1/2 cup almond flour (JK Gourmet)

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups kamut flour (finely milled, please)

1/2 - 3/4 cup callebaut dark chocolate morsels (or other similar quality dark chocolate chips)

directions:

preheat your oven to 345, and choose your baking pans

1. pour the hot water over the dates, but first check to make sure there are no pits in your dates

2. allow the dates to sit and soften for about 10 minutes. This is a good time to prepare your pans with coconut oil and baking parchment.

3. add the coconut oil, coconut nectar, coconut sugar, apple cider vinegar, cinnamons, salt, vanilla, and black pepper

4. puree the dates using an immersion blender

5. making sure the concoction is not too hot, add your eggs and blend again

6. add your egg replacer and water and blend again

7. add your cacao, and either mix by hand or use your immersion blender

8. mix in the pecan meal

9. mix in the almond flour

10. mix in the bakng soda very thoroughly

11. add the kamut flour, and fold gently until combined. You do not want to over mix once you've added the kamut flour

12. finally stir in the chocolate morsels, and pour/scoop the batter into your prepare pans.

13. bake the cakes for approx 30 minutes, until they spring back when poked. The challenge of course if using different pans of different sizes and different materials is to judge when each one is done, because they will all take slightly different lengths of time.

14. When fully baked, remove from the oven to a cooling rack. 

15. Once cooled somewhat, you may remove the cakes from the pans -- I find running an instrument down the sides of the pan can be helpful for releasing the cake from the pan.

16. Cool on racks until fully cool. The cakes may now be assembled, or wrapped well and saved for later.

To decorate your cake, you might like to try glazing. It is fun and easy, and looks interesting. I made an almond butter glaze to hold the layers together, and then coated the whole thing liberally with a chocolate glaze. Yes, and chocolate, but that's up to you.

Almond Butter glaze:

ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup almond butter

3 tbsp coconut sugar

a pinch of salt

2 pinches of ground vanilla

2 pinches of ceylon cinnamon

directions:

1. melt the almond butter and the coconut oil

2. add the coconut sugar, the cinnamon, the vanilla, and the sea salt

3. mix well. 

4. This works great between layers, and I recommend using it on chilled layers.

Chocolate glaze:

ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup coconut nectar

7 tbsp raw cacao powder

a pinch of sea salt

a pinch of ground vanilla

directions:

1. melt the coconut oil

2. add the coconut nectar, and stir well

3. add the raw cacao, sea salt, and vanilla

4. stir well.

5. For best results, pour over chilled layers.

To assemble the layers, I made the almond butter glaze. I chose a plate large enough to hold the largest layer of my cake. Taking the layers out of the refrigerator, I put the largest one on the bottom. I then poured some of the glaze into the middle of the layer. I put the next layer on, and repeated this until all the layers were on. The chilled cake helps set the glaze a little so the layers don't go moving around on you. I then put the whole thing in the freezer for about 10 minutes, because that makes the glaze harden up in a hurry. While the cake in all its assembled glory was in the freezer, I made the chocolate glaze. I then removed this cold cake from the freezer, and began to pour the glaze on it, from the top, also a a little on each layer to make sure it was nicely coated. 

If you want to attach anything to the glaze -- such as the evil little Callebaut morsels that we chose -- you'll need to work fast because they won't stick to a hardened glaze. However, if your glazed cake is too set, you can just take a little of the remaining glaze and dab it on the back of each morsel as you go.

And the results are a cake that has no cane sugar, mainly uses sweeteners that won't spike your blood sugar, is made with real food, taste great, looks great, and is kind of sort of good for you. Especially if you leave off the chocolate morsels (the milk chocolate doubly especially). No food dye. No artificial oils. No refine white flour, no refined sugar. So, all in all it's a reasonable compromise for a cake that is just as birthday-ish as it should be.

With the addition of glazes and Callebaut chocolate morsels

Yummy :)

Ready to fulfill its birthday destiny

Singing happy birthday to the birthday boy

Blowing out the candles -- one by one, but he got them all.

Chickpea and Tomato Stew -- The New Crockpot Adventures Continue

Last week I needed 2 cups of chickpeas to make hummus. So, I cooked up an entire pot of chickpeas -- because although not difficult, it does take time -- and then apportioned the extra chickpeas into separate packages and froze them. So, today, I just grabbed a package marked '3 cups of chickpeas' out of the freezer, and was ready to rock and roll. What, you might ask, do chickpeas have to do with rock and roll? Not much, I have to admit. And as a further non sequitur, I would adjure you to pretty much label everything you put in your freezer, with the contents, the quantity (if not immediately obvious), and the date. You would be amazed how quickly one forgets ... And then it's freezer roulette for dinner again. Which is kind of fun when you are bach-ing it, but could be hell to pay if you are cooking for your family.

Today, I decided, was the day to make another crock pot concoction. I was in the mood for something in the tomato and chickpea vein, and am very pleased with the resulting crockpot stew.

I found some very nice organic romas at the super-market. Romas tend to be my cooking tomato of choice. If you don't mind a little extra liquid, you can certainly go with a different type of tomato.

Aside from that, I pretty much went with my pantry and freezer standards -- some onion, garlic, carrots and celery for base flavours, some sweet potato for balance of sweetness with the acidity of the tomato, and some green peas for colour at the end. 

This is exactly the kind of dish that goes beautifully with a hunk of freshly baked bread. However, a bed of quinoa and amaranth would work wonderfully with this as a topper. Or enjoy by itself!

ingredients:

2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

2 tbsp finely minced garlic

3/4 cup finely chopped onion -- red or white is fine

1 1/2 cups diced carrots

1 1/2 cups diced celery

1/2 tbsp sea salt

4 cups chopped tomatoes ( 1 1/2 lbs)

1/2 tbsp sea salt

1/2 tbsp marjoram

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tbsp marjoram

3 cups cooked chickpeas (or canned, well rinsed)

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 cup diced sweet potato (asian if available)

1 cup frozen organic green peas (defrosted from frozen)

directions:

1. turn on the crockpot, set it to high, set the timer for 6 hours, and put the coconut oil in the bottom

2. add the garlic and onion, then layer the celery and carrot on top, and sprinkle 1/2 tbps sea salt on top of that

3. layer the tomatoes, and sprinkle 1/2 tbsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tbsp marjoram on top

4. layer on the chickpeas, and sprinkle  1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp chili powder

5. close the lid and let it cook

6. after about 3 hours, layer the sweet potato on top

7. after about 5 hours, stir the whole thing to combine, and allow to cook for one more hour

8. when the stew is fully cooked, turn off the heat, and add the green peas, stirring to fully combine.

I really like the simple flavours of this stew. It has all the charm of comfort food, with a sweet and zesty richness.

If you have a big crockpot like mine, you can double the recipe, and freeze some of the result in portions that can be easily defrosted for quick meals. (Freeze those portions well labelled, of course.) ;) Or you can just invite a lot of people over to eat. Throw a couple loaves of bread in to bake, and everyone will bow down and worship the ground you walk on. However, if you are not actually thinking of starting your own cult, then the freezer might be a better option.

YUM!

There is some kind of alchemy that happens with tomato-based dishes of this ilk -- that is, soups and stews, primarily. It takes between 24 and 48 hours once the dish has been cooked, but it becomes more than the sum of its parts. I just had this for lunch today, and it was ... one of the best things I've ever eaten. True story. 

Window Box Garden Salad

I do not have a green thumb. I do not even have a brown thumb. I think it's more a greyish shade of blue. Hey, at least I have a thumb.

My Aunt and Uncle are brilliant gardeners, and have always fed themselves from their efforts with the land. I have a very pleasant childhood memory of going up to Camp Naivelt with them one weekend and spending the entire time working in the garden. It was a great feeling. My mother grew carrots, tomatoes, rhubarb, peas etc in our backyard when we were growing up. They all can grow orchids, violets, ficus plants, figs, etc, without problem. So, coming from such obvious green thumb stock, it begs the question of just where I went wrong. 

Well, I'm working on it, and am proud to say I've actually managed to turn the corner of my rather murky gardening past. I've discovered that sunny windows are the key to plants enjoying a decent life. I know, I know. Obvious, right? I just didn't always have sunny windows. In fact, in one memorable basement apartment, although there were windows, they were in deep window wells and encrusted with enough grime that they looked like they had a full opal on at all times.

Things are different now. I now live in the light, and am beyond grateful for this.

I have kept one snake plant going for about a decade, through 4 different dwellings, despite both over watering and under watering it. I also have a christmas cactus that has been with me for nearly 8 years, and has bloomed twice this winter, apparently enjoying its window ledge.

I've kept a golden cypress alive for the past year, and have recently discovered the joys of plant vitamins Yes, I now give my plants vitamins, and it seems to make them very happy.

I started six big terra cotta window planters with various seeds -- spinach, swiss chard, and parsley. The cool thing about seeds is they actually grow, and in after just over a week, I have many small plants growing in harmony and cheer. I also have a more mature swiss chard and parsley that I started in the spring, and have been enjoying since then in salads, mostly. I also harvest from the parsley planter whenever making something that will be livened by a bit of green, such as hummus.

Tonight I decided to use a box of organic grape tomatoes along with the baby swiss chard and plenty of parsley to make a side salad to go with our samosas. Yes, it was Tuesday Night Samosas. From frozen -- and raw -- they baked up in 30 minutes at 345 degrees.


ingredients:

1 box of organic grape tomatoes, quartered
1 handful baby swiss chard or other baby greens, slivered
1 handful parsley, chopped

sea salt
black pepper


directions:

1. combine the tomatoes with the parsley and swiss chard
2. toss with a little sea salt and black pepper to taste
3. enjoy as a salad, or as a very fresh tasting topper for thinly sliced and toasted bread

yum ...