Why are there so many songs about Rainbows?

A:  Probably because the songwriter was inspired by a beautiful garden overgrowing with rainbow chard that never seems to die and turns into trees.

Earlier this week I made "watercress" soup using a combination of mustard greens and rainbow chard, and in that process, I had to de-stem the chard.  It seemed like such a shame to throw out those neon-hued stems, so I searched for recipes and came up with this one from chef Jack Staub, contributor to Food & Wine magazine.  I believe he is the same Jack Staub who is a vegetable gardening expert and has written several interesting books on herb and vegetable gardening (check him out on Amazon.com).

This recipe is for a very fast and easy, sweet and tart flavor-packed relish, which gets even better if you let it sit in your fridge for a few days. The flavor profile is similar to chutney but unlike the store bought version (such as Major Grey's), the vegetables in this rendition remain crisp and crunchy.  The substitutions I made from Staub's original recipe, which cam be found here:  http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/bright-lights-swiss-chard-relish included increasing the amount of garlic, substituting a large shallot for the onion, and using zante currants instead of golden raisins.  The currants are smaller, denser, and more crunchy compared to the soft, anemic looking, squishy raisins (OK, can you tell I am not a big fan of golden raisins?).

I like to use this as a condiment for fish or chicken but my favorite preparation is to mix a liberal amount into a can of high-quality oil packed tuna, along with some chopped almonds and dash of curry powder. With the oil in the tuna, there is no need to add mayo.  It is also really good when spread on crostini with a little bit of cream cheese or hummus.  Enjoy!

Rainbow Chard Relish

Olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
Stems from a bunch of Rainbow Chard (also known as Bright Lights chard), chopped into small dice
1 shallot, sliced and minced
salt & pepper
1/3 cup zante currants
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint

Follow the "HAHA" method to warm a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a skillet (Heat-Add-Heat-Add:  heat the skillet, add the oil; heat the oil, add the ingredient), Reduce heat to medium and add the garlic, taking care to soften it but not brown or burn it. Saute for 1 minute then add the shallot and chard stems and rain a little salt and pepper onto the mixture.  Stir to blend and continue to cook for 4-5 minutes until everything starts to soften up.  Raise the heat to medium high and stir in the remaining ingredients, letting the honey-vinegar mix bubble up.  Cook for another 1-2 minutes.   You can eat it immediately but I prefer to transfer the mixture to a clean jar or bowl and let the flavors meld for a couple of days.