Recipe: Colcannon with a twist -- chard and kale
Colcannon is an old Irish side dish: Mashed potatoes mixed with cabbage and onions. It's a favorite for family get-togethers and winter dinners, and can serve as a holiday side dish, too.
The Gaelic name means "white headed cabbage." So taking the cabbage out of colcannon does seem like it can't really be called "colcannon." But for lack of a Gaelic dictionary, this variation is colcannon with a twist.
Before the big cabbage heads are mature, this recipe uses what's in abundance now -- young winter greens. That includes baby chards, kales and, yes, cabbages.
(Stick to the green-hued greens and not red chard or cabbage; the red may bleed into the mashed potatoes. )
Think of this colcannon as healthier mashed potatoes (all those extra antioxidants!) with no gravy necessary.
Another plus: This dish can be made ahead and re-warmed for gatherings.
Colcannon with mixed winter greens
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients:
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Garden Checklist for week of May 5
Survey your garden after the May 4 rainstorm. Heavy rain and gusty winds can break the neck of large flowers such as roses. Also:
* Keep an eye on new transplants or seedlings; they could take a pounding from the rain.
* Watch out for powdery mildew. Warmth following moist conditions can cause this fungal disease to “bloom,” too. If you see a leaf that looks like it’s dusted with powdered sugar, snip it off.
* After the storm, start setting out tomato transplants, but wait on the peppers and eggplants (they want warmer nights). Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.
* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.
* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.
* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.
* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, radishes and squash.
* Plant onion sets.
* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.
* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.
* Don’t wait; plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.
* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.