OLS Week 8 - Potatoes, Chard and Tomatoes, Oh My

Before I go any further, I have a confession to make. I skipped OLS last week (Week 7 for those keeping track) out of pure and utter laziness. I had plenty of local food in my refrigerator, but little time or energy to get creative and make a meal. So while I ate a lot of local stuff, I never managed to get a full meal out of it.

This week, I decided to use up a good deal of the pound and a half of swiss chard I got from the CSA (thanks, person who didn't want any) and some really ripe (and therefore discounted) tomatoes I picked up at a local farm stand. I sauteed the chard in olive oil with chopped onion and garlic, then added two chopped tomatoes and a bit of balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. When the chard was wilted and the tomatoes were warm I tossed in a bit of fresh oregano and basil. The result was delicious and I ate it over non-local rice last night. But for lunch today I had it over a couple of baby white potatoes left over from last week's CSA share.

Last night I also made a wonderful tomato and scallion salad reminiscent of the tomato and onion salad I made a while back. It was very simple--just chopped tomatoes, chopped scallion, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh basil, salt and pepper--and oh-so-good. Especially today for lunch with my chard-and-tomato topped potato. An easy and local meal at my desk. (Local except for the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, that is.)