I’m keeping the row of chard going, I hope, with some good row covers. But I’ve decided that the chard leaf is really not the most interesting bit at all. So far, I have successfully used chard stems: solo; in an Italian sausage/olive pasta sauce; roasted with carrots/shiitake mushrooms/potatoes; with chicken and tomatoes; in a pork stew; and with mixed greens.  Think celery but sweeter/nuttier in flavor and with a less determined crunch but plenty of structure.  An excellent vegetable. The stem that is.  The leaf…  Well, I like it, far, far more than kale (which takes virtue a bit far, never mind the bugs) but for leaves, spinach is best. Chard and beets (a cousin) compete but can’t quite win out.

Unfortunately, frost kills it.  We will see what tonight brings. Winter has to come some time!