This is a variety of Swiss Chard called Bright Lights. It’s pretty as a bouquet, with some pink stems, white stems, and here you can see the yellow and the red. Chard is so easy to grow from seeds or starts, and in climates like Seattle, actually winters over sometimes.

Chard and garlic are made for each other. Lightly steam the cut-up chard (I cut up the stems separately and start them first so they cook just a bit longer), then dump all into plenty of hot olive oil that has a whole lot of lightly browned sliced garlic in it. Cook a little more and then serve. A Sicilian way is to mix in steamed potatoes. Yum!

For more ruby visions of all kinds, visit Ruby Tuesday.

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