**This giveaway is now closed.
There are few things I enjoy more than spending an afternoon cuddled up with:
A: A warm body I love (Smudge, G Dawg or one of the pups all take first place),
B: Either my iPad loaded with new online mags to scroll through or a fresh batch of my favorite print titles to savor,
OR
C: A new cookbook to glean tasty inspiration from.
Lucky me, I have exactly three of those reasons to make a fresh iced coffee, kick off my shoes, and steal away for some “me” time but this time it’s with the debut cookbook from one of the web’s most popular food bloggers, Lori of Recipe Girl, appropriately titled The Recipe Girl Cookbook. Well said Lori.
Lori was one of the first food bloggers I discovered after being introduced to her blog by a friend of a friend. I had just started FoodieCrush and after blogging for a just a few months I boldly asked Lori if I could interview her. She was probably wondering what she got herself into, but graciously said yes to this newbie.
I got to know her a lot better on a blogger’s trip to visit Harry & David, and in person realized this girl not only knows food, but she’s generous and creative, offering advice when asked and encouraging others to reach their goals. Plus she likes a nice glass of wine. I can totally get down with a gal like that.
So when Lori asked me to take a look at her new cookbook, and cook and eat and share one of her recipes, it wasn’t hard to respond with an “Absolutely!” Send over the echo-sign, I’m in.
Lori paired my post with one from Amanda, who chose to make Lori’s Cheese Ravioli with Brown Butter & Fresh Tomato Sauce. My plan was to choose a side dish that would work with her choice, creating a complete—and simple—dinner. Oh but which recipe was would it be?
I had the toughest time narrowing down my recipe creation choices, maybe because there are 195 of them.
Avocado and Pine Nut Salad (oh, what a perfect combo), Gorgonzola Smashed Potatoes (it’s not like I’d be caught without a fridge full of cheese so I had all the ingredients) or Cheese and Herb Beer Bread (my idea of two essential ingredients joined in perfect union.)
But my daring pairing skills took over and I finally decided Garlicky Swiss Chard with Chickpeas would be the perfect mate to the Cheese Ravioli.
Luckily spring has produced some gorgeous ribs of Rainbow Swiss Chard that are populating one of my go-to grocery stores. Okay, you might be thinking, ew, swiss chard. What even is that? Hippie dippie food? No, it isn’t hippie dippie food, it’s delicious. And a veggie you really need to incorporate into your diet thanks to it’s many, many health benefits that offset our love of cheese and butter. It’s all about balance people. And I think it might be one of my recently acquired and newly coveted veggies crushes.
A few notes about the recipe:
1. Follow Lori’s advice on the ingredient list and do not halve this recipe. It seems like a TON, literally a TON, of swiss chard, but like spinach, it cooks down a bunch, so if you’re serving for a crowd, plan accordingly.
2. There’s plenty of room for interpretation here by switching up the noted ingredients for what you have on hand, just like Faith did in her Recipe Girl Cookbook Review. You can always sub out kale or spinach for the swiss chard, parmesan or goat cheese for the feta cheese and regular onion for the shallot (which I had to go back to the store to get since I was out!) Be adventurous and play a little people.
3. While this recipe lives in the “sides” section of the cookbook, I totally ate the entire thing for lunch. It was that good.
If you try this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
- 2 bunches Swiss chard, center stems cut out and discarded and leaves coarsely chopped
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
- 2 medium shallots, finely chopped (about ½ cup)6 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 15.5 ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese, optional
- In a larges skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add half of hte chard and cook, 1 to 2 minutes. When the first half has wilted, add the remaining chard. When all of the chard is wilted, add the chicken broth. Cover the skillet and cook the chard until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the chard through a fine sieve (strainer) and set it aside.
- Wipe out the skillet and heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, until they are softened, about 2 minutes. Add the chard and chickpeas and cook until heated through, 3 to 4 minutes. Drizzle the lemon juice over the mixture and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle cheese on top just before serving, if desired.
Being a bit of a print junkie who happens to make online magazines because I can’t afford to print it, the first thing I noticed when I handled the The Recipe Girl Cookbook was the delicious cover stock. It has a velvet feel that is so soft to the touch it just begs to be opened. Okay, will do.
After a few drool marks skirted the pages thanks to lush pics by another fave food blogger/cum photographer Matt Armendariaz (who I interviewed here) I noticed each of the recipes has an icon noting it to be gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian or a web favorite. Thanks for that awesome idea I may borrow for upcoming eBooks. Mwah.
The recipes are unique enough for skilled home cooks, but easy enough for the novice to pull off and just about each recipe features a ‘Change It Up’ idea suggesting how to get creative and use Lori’s recipes as a baseline to create your own interpretation. As a winger, I totally get that.
Congratulations on your new cookbook Lori, I’m betting it will leave plenty of people happy and belly-full.
Lori and KitchenAid want you to enjoy the book at home with a new blender to boot. One winner will win a copy of The Recipe Girl Cookbook and a 12-Speed KitchenAid Blender in your color choice. I of course like orange, but you get your pick. Please read the complete rules found on the widget. Valid for U.S. residents only.
Good luck!
Thanks for reading and please keep in touch by subscribing to FoodieCrush and follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest. This site includes affiliate shopping links of which I receive a small percentage of sales to allow me to create new and special content like this for my readers, so thank you for your support. All opinions are my own.
Subscribe and have every FoodieCrush post delivered straight to your e-mail inbox
Great post!! Can’t wait to try this recipe and just added Recipe Girl to my Google Reader! My newest veggie discovery is spaghetti squash. I’m not sure how I’ve gone this long without knowing about this vegetable. It’s such a healthy and substantial substitute for pasta!
Cabbage. I have been making it different ways and it really is good.
Spaghetti squash! I love it!
Brussels sprouts, made in different ways
I’m a little late to join the kale bandwagon, but I’ve been trying to incorporate that into more recipes. Swiss chard seems like a natural next step!
Fennel- baked!
kale!
We grew Swiss Chard last summer and I ate SO much of it, I haven’t been able to think of eating it again…..until I saw this recipe! Looks similar to one I make with Kale and just might win me back over to Swiss Chard again 🙂 Thanks for the opportunity!
This books sounds right up my ally! I love all veggies, but I think that kale is my favorite.
We are doing our second year in a community garden, I received a free package of Swiss chard. Will have to give this a try if we are successful.
I would say my newest one was acorn squash and I absolutely loved it!
This looks awesome! My newest veggie discovery is collard greens used as wraps!
Congrats to Lori! I am so excited to start cooking from this book!! This swiss chard looks so good!!
Kale!!! I like making kale “chips”
Not really a new veggie but I love whipped cauliflower
kale!
Oh yes, this is totally my kind of recipe.
Thanks for such a beautiful post – your pictures are inspiring. Thinking of adding a few more rows of leafy greens to my garden now!
My newest veggie discovery are leeks. I love them! This year I am using them more and more in my cooking.
I didn’t just discover cauliflower but I’ve been loving on it in different preparations
I know I’m late to the game… but a few months ago I had kale for the first time! Unfortunately, I’m not a huge fan of it 🙁 A little too bitter for me!
Jacqui – if you find dark greens a bit too bitter, try adding just a bit of brown sugar when you cook them. Don’t use enough to make them sweet, just a tiny bit to offset the bitterness. I got that tip from an old Southern Lady many years ago and it’s something I use for kale, collards, mustard greens, etc. Of course, you could always substitute Swiss chard or beet stems & greens for a milder taste.
I’m into asparagus lately 🙂
It’s not a vegetable, but I discovered Yuzu fruit in December and have been hooked on it since! I love Swiss chard, but right now the garden is full of kale and spinach which would work so nice in this recipe. I may have to try it since I plan to make the ravioli recipe tonight!
just tried kale for the first time this week was yummy!
Swiss chard is great to grow in the garden because it just keeps re-growing whenever you pluck a bunch to eat. It seems to grow faster than spinach too – at least mine does 🙂
Parsnips.
I think my newest would be kale.
My newest veggie find is edamame. I love the bright color that makes every dish I add them to seem fresh.
This is stunning. Great interview, too. The book sounds great!
Mmmm…love Swiss chard. This looks so beautiful and light and fresh. Cheers to Lori’s new cookbook! 🙂
I’ve been adding veggies to my garden that I’ve eaten for many years but had never thought to try to grow. Broccoli raab and baby bok choy grow as well as kale and chard in my garden, it turns out, and this year I’m trying red kuri squash (I’ve never grown winter squash before) and Good Mother Stallard beans alongside the summer squashes and pole beans I usually grow.
Newest veggie discovery. . leeks! LOVE! and wow, love this swiss chard recipe!
Yum! Simple and stunning. I love Lori’s recipes because they are easy, crowd-pleasing, and still look complex and like they took a long time to make. Beautiful photographs as always!
I just started eating Kale, and I like it!
I don’t think I have a recent veggie “discovery,” but I’m kind-of into the mini sweet bell peppers right now, instead of full sized red ones.
So true. Honesty and everything regdcnizeo.
Love fresh fennel!
I’ve rediscovered broccoli – I forgot how wonderful and versatile it is!
You know I have never had swiss chard, but I adore chickpeas. This looks so healthy and delicious. I can’t wait to get her cookbook!
I’ve been getting into sorrel lately. More of an herb right? But the way I’ve been eating it, it’s like a green.
This cookbook looks great.
Jicama! My new obsession!
I am going to make this recipe, have never had swiss chard or chickpeas, so two new tastes at one time!!!
We grow chard in our garden every summer – MUST try this!
Asparagus!!
I’ve been trying out kale.
My newest discovered vegetable is eggplant!
Beautiful dish! Love the Swiss chard and chickpeas together!
Kale…I am just discovering how savory it can be!
Wowza, problem solved like it never hadepnep.
It’s not really a new vegetable discovery, but more of a discovery of a new way to eat a vegetable we already love… I steam brussel sprouts, then finish them off by sauteing them in a little butter, lemon juice and fresh cracked pepper. Oh yum!!
Kale…I’ve become addicted to this power food!
Definitely kale!
My newest discovery is kale!
I’m not much for the bitter greens, but I could totally see doing this with spinich. Sounds yummy!
My newest veggie discovery is arugula. Can’t get enough of that lately.
I discovered jicama this year, and I love it on salads or just as a snack!
Definitely broccoli rabe is the newest vegetable that I like.
I just started using shallots. I always used onions instead, but now know what I was missing!
Fennel bulb! I can’t believe I lived this long without trying it.
Kale! I love adding it to soup!
Brussels sprouts – I’ve always liked them but now there are so many new ways to fix them!
Beets and Kale, I have been making some wonderful salads, sides and juices with these two veggies!
My newest veggie discovery is spaghetti squash.
Okay, I haven’t had swiss chard in years and I just remember it being bitter…but you actually have me wanting to pick up some from the farmers market. It looks that yummy! Hmm…my newest veggies discovery. Brussel sprouts. Yummy!
My newest veggie discovery is scrumptious orange sweet peppers!
My newest veggie discovery is scrumptious, sweet orange peppers!
I recently had artichoke leaves and absolutely loved them! I never knew how to eat them (sill dont know how to cook them) but now I’m hooked!
Kale! So delish!
My newest discovery are shallots – they are amazing and I wanna put ’em in everything. 🙂
Thanks for doing this giveaway! I LOVE to cook and would absolutely love winning this cookbook and blender!! 🙂
Hi Krystina, so glad you’ve entered, best of luck!
Roasted cauliflower. I can’t get enough of it.
My newest veggie love is grilled corn
Cabbage, Cauliflower, and Aspargus!!
squash blossoms! (does that count as a veggie…?)
Asparagus!!
I recently discovered kohlrabi!
Kale. It grows well here, now I have to learn what to make with it!
Hi Denise, give these 20 kale recipes a try, lots if great options to pique your tastebuds.
We’ve been eating cauliflower by the bucket-load. Using it for all kinds of things these days like sauces and stir-fry.
I’m trying beets!
I love chickpeas, yum!
kale! (I know i’m late to the game on that one, sorry..)
just had swiss chard fro the first time, and wasn’t a fan…
Here are 20 kale recipes to try https://www.foodiecrush.com/2013/04/garlicky-swiss-chard-and-chickpeas/
I’ve just come across edamame. I know, how weird that I’ve never had it before!
I’ve been trying to put more vegetable purees in main dishes and also do kale or spinach in my smoothies. Thanks for the chance to win!
I LOVE veggies. All veggies. I don’t know what is new to me!…BUT I have just started trying to roast my own chickpeas to create a crunchy snack. Still needs some work 🙂
My daughter recently made a delicious soup using boy choy. Loved it. Can’t wait until our Farmer’s Market opens next week. Good stuff a’coming.
Looking for ways to add more veggies to our meals. This looks yummy!
Newest Veggie Discovery, hmmm, I would have to say fennel. That is a veggie, right?
Ohhhhh I want a big bowl of those greens right now! Garlic, chard, chickpeas, feta….too good to be true!
Like everyone and their mother, I’m finally discovering kale!
I’m just starting to use kale and chickpeas!
Newest veggie is probably eggplant… never liked it before, but then I learned to sweat it before using, and now I can’t get enough!
I recently discovered how delicious beets can be.
I have finally tried Kale and loved it!
Chayote squash!
My newest discovery is fennel. I’d never cooked with it until last year when it showed up in my CSA share.
Kale, loving it!
Collards are new to us and yummy!
this is a great giveaway – thank you!
kale – really loving it!
I like shallots!!
raw brussels sprouts! they make the best salads.
Our most recent is spaghetti squash. Still trying to figure it out 🙂
I am going to attempt to create a tiny raised bed garden for my apartment balcony and grow some kale and spinach along with other tasty veggies!
Um, I guess I discovered that oven-baked carrots are delicious! Thanks to Picky Palate for that one!
I’m still looking for that new something. I’m open for any suggestions.
I must confess, my husband roasted Brussels sprouts last night and for once I actually liked them after YEARS of not.
My new favorite vegetable is spaghetti squash! I eat it with everything.
Kale.
Definitely loving spaghetti sqush!
I love almost all kinds of vegetables, but the most recent “discovery” was probably okra. I used to hate it, but now I really like it!
I love this recipe! We are planting a lot of chard at our farm this year and easy recipes like this are right up my alley!
Brussel sprouts are def new for me.
Zucchini! It’s actually more of a re-discovery than a discovery. I had forgotten how wonderful and versatile it is.
Looks yummy!
purple artichokes!
Chinese spinach. Love the Asian markets!
I just discovered Kale. Never tried to before and I love it!
I recently discovered kale
Parsnips are my newest favorite veggie!
Escarole! I’d never even heard of it until a few days ago, and it’s a bit bitter yet still so good.
Kale is my newest veggie discovery…….. we just tried Kale chips, yum!!
spaghetti squash
My newest veggie discovery is fingerling potatoes
Spinach…although I wouldn’t say it’s a new discovery exactly (I’ve eaten it here and there for years), but I have discovered that eating a gigantic spinach salad (with cucumbers, carrots, whatever I have on hand) EVERYDAY really helps my body to feel good. I have some foot aches/pains (possibly arthritis, or from an injury I had) and as long as I eat my spinach every day, I feel fantastic and pain free!
Blue potatoes and yellow and purple cauliflower.
Anything with a garbanzo bean, I’m in! Love your blog and recipe girl too!
kabocha squash
Nothing “new” but we are loving the spring asparagus right now.
Beets!!! I knew I liked beet greens, but I didn’t realize I love beet roots!
Seems kinda silly, but Rainbow Carrots!
My latest veggie discovery? Hmmm… It would have to be the Rainbow Chard. Okay, you can stop laughing now! But really, I tried it and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised!
I’m a fairly new convert to Swiss Chard. I’d never had it until recently joining a CSA. Now I crave it and even grow it in my backyard garden.
I just had roasted beets for the first time ever. . .
I’m enjoying carrots and finding new ways to serve them=)
My newest vegetable discovery while walking through the produce market is “broccoli rabe”, but I have yet to try. I like broccoli,so I wondering it can’t taste too much different, or can it?
Recently, I’m definitely loving cauliflower.
My newest veggie discovery is sauteed asparagus with lemon.
I love broccolini!
I’m trying to become a kale-eating person. I need more green leafies in my diet. 🙂
Not really a discovery but I’m learning how to use zucchini for more than just bread!
Going through an asparagus phase!
sunchoke, sooo yummy
You had me at Garlic!! xo
My newest veggie discovery is komatsuna
just bought my first ever bag of fiddlehead ferns! wish me luck!
Pineapple tomatillo; sweet for jams but still has a savory tartness!
My newest vegetable discovery was this CRAZY looking purple thing that the market I go to had labeled as “salad savory”, but that I’d never seen before and no one there had ever seen either. I ended up putting it all into smoothies, so I never got to taste it really…but next time I see it I’ll get it again and taste it this time!
My newest veggie I love is celery root and fennel they are both delicious and I can’t decide on one.
So excited to find your site! Great giveaway!
Jerusalem Artichokes!
My favorites right now are kale, avocado, and artichokes!
I’m really getting big into beets! I didn’t always like them but do lately.
My newest veggie discovery: Pea shoots!
Kohlrabi. I was surprised and pleased the one and only time I cooked it, and I’m looking forward to getting it again at the farmer’s market this year.
Oven roasted asparagus…OMG….YUM!!
Looks great! I’ll try it tonight!
I made this recipe exactly as written, except 1 cup veggie broth and 1 cup of water, and it was delicious!! We also grilled some fish and it was a fabulous dinner! My husband loved it too! I’ve been following recipe girl for quite some time, but this got me really excited about her cookbook.
So glad you made the dish and put your own spin on it. The cookbook is FULL of more great tastes. Good luck on the giveaway!
Asparagus… not anywhere near as bad as I thought! I really want to try kale.
Just discovered your blog….what fun!!! Thanks for doing the give-away. The book sounds great
And I would love a kitchen aide blender.
I tried kale for the first time the other day. I think I would have liked it more without the vinegar and with more garlic.
Asparagus! I used to hate it but now I am in LOVE.
I have recently started cooking more with kale.
Late to the game… BUT I just discovered I like raw string beans for a snack!
I recently discovered how yummy kale can be.
discovered leeks and looking forward to learning more ways to cook with them. So far made a side dish called creamy leeks. Very good.
Not a new discovery for me, but my toddler recently discovered mushrooms. She is obsessed. 🙂
Ramps! They’re delicious!
Yummm! Arugula ! it is amazing . i put it in salad in almost every meal i have
I love beets and have recently discovered using beet greens as the base of my salads. I love a beet green salad topped with roasted beets and quinoa.
Cauliflower as a starch replacement. I’ve eaten it raw and under cheese for years, but treating it as a replacement for mashed potatoes was a new idea – and yummy!
kohlrabi, and it’s wonderful!
I’ve been using cauliflower in everything lately!
markbymarkjacobs
バッグケイトスペード
iphoneケースケイト
ロンシャンパルミエ
ロンシャン心斎橋
katespade財布
ダンヒルライターガス漏れ
I made this recipe tonight. It is the bomb-digidy! I WILL make it again. I made no substitutions. It’s December in Kentucky and I still have Rainbow Chard and Kale in my garden! I’m so happy!
I will be making this and commenting because it sounds amazing, but because you and I seem to be food soul sisters with a shared love of cookbooks, you need to find the “Chubby vegetarian” cookbook by Justin fox Burks & Amy Lawrence. Oh my goodness!
This recipe look so fresh and tasty. i will try this, thanks Heidi for share this recipe
Hi, I Am Gemuk From Indonesia, Wow It’s Look Very Healthy, I can Try This Recipe On My Diet Food, Thanks a Lot Heidi
Made this last night and it was so good! Will make again for sure but planning to double the recipe so its enough for a dinner for two people. I didn’t see this was a ‘side’ so there wasn’t enough for 2 people as a main meal.
So glad you enjoyed the salad Nancy! Looks like I better add that this is a side! I like your idea of making it into a main! Go veg!