Excuse me, waiter! There's a chard in my taco!

Wow--what a week! There are lots of changes happening in the work place, and they have been accompanied by long, long days. The worst part is, I had this absolutely great menu plan for the week, but nothing got cooked. If I ever doubted how much of a negative impact fast food has on my body, I put the doubts to rest this week. I've stayed vegetarian, but that doesn't always mean healthy. After all, french fries and a diet coke are vegan!

Last night, the walls were closing in, so I decided to load up the briefcase and come home. Foolishly, I thought I'd get some work done here. Why, I don't know, because when I'm that burned out, my self-discipline flies out the window. Instead, I pulled myself into the kitchen and happily rinsed, chopped, minced, and diced my way to a really good dinner.

I'm still cooking out of Jack Bishop's A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen. I really like the way this book is arranged by season. It helps me as I try to reduce my carbon footprint, as the seasonal vegetables tend to be grown more closely to home. This book has been on my shelf for a couple of years, and was untouched until recently. Frankly, it looked too "vegetarian" for me. It features the kind of food I was always afraid I'd have to eat if I became a vegetarian. Apparently, the only thing I had to fear was fear itself. Tonight, we had Soft Corn Tacos with Garlicky Greens, accompanied by Mexican Citrus Salad and a crock of frijoles refritos.

This was really good. Who knew? I was surprised at how flavorful and satisfying the tacos were. The chard has a nice, earthy taste, which is livened up by carmelized onions, minced garlic and jalapenos. The rustic flavor of warm corn tortillas complimented it perfectly. We topped it with a jarred salsa from Trader Joe's, but any favorite salsa would work. The citrus salad wasn't anything special, but it was an easy and quick side with a nice flavor. It is short week to use a sharp knife to trim the vibrant citrus of it's pith and rind and cut it into slices. I arranged the slices on a platter before sprinkling them with lime juice, coarse salt, a whisper of chile powder, and chopped jalapeno. I loved the way this meal looked on the plate. It was like a rainbow had landed on the table.

I would suggest a bit of pre-prep work if this is to be a weeknight dinner. If the chard is prewashed and chopped, the whole thing could go together in 30-40 minutes. I hadn't cleaned and chopped my chard, so I did that while the onions were cooking. Otherwise, I would have done the citrus salad during that time. As it was, I did the salad first, then started the main.

Given the array of power-packed fruits and vegetables, I'm going to send this one to Sweetnicks for the ARF/5-a-Day roundup. Check it out weekly for lots of good ideas on ways to incorporate more antioxidant rich fruits and veggies into your diet.

Soft Corn Tacos with Garlicky Greens

8 large corn tortillas (at least 8 inches in diameter)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced

4 medium garlic cloves, minced

1 medium jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded if desired, and minced

1 1/2 pound chard, stems and thick center ribs discarded, leaves washed, shaken to remove excess water, and chopped

Salt

1/2 cup prepared salsa, at room temperature

1. Move an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Wrap the tortillas in aluminum foil and place them in the oven. Warm for 15 minutes. Remove the packet from the oven and set aside until ready to eat.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, deep stockpot over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and chile and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the damp chard, sprinkle with salt to taste, and stir to coat the chard with oil. Cover and cook, stirring once or twice, ,until the chard has wilted, about 5 minutes. Uncover and simmer to evaporate any excess liquid in the pot, 1 to 2 minutes. Adjust the seasonings, adding salt to taste.

3. Transfer the chard mixture to a serving bowl. Spoon the salsa into another bowl. Unwrap the tortillas and place them in a cloth-lined basket. Let everyone assemble his or her own tacos, spooning some greens into the center of a warm tortilla, topping the greens with a little salsa, and then rolling up the tortilla to enclose the filling.

This recipe was discussed here.