rainbow chard

one of my coworkers at the library is taking a gardening class this semester and yesterday advised me that her class was selling the product over at the undergrad campus. i snuck over there during my lunch break and picked out a bouquet of rainbow chard. I had read about this mythical vegetable in "animal, vegetable, miracle" by barbara kingsolver and was eager to try it. unfortunately, safeway and the likes only sell regular chard, and not its multicolored cousin.

isn't it beautiful? it actually grows like this naturally, no artificial dyes or whatever it takes to make those blue tinged carnations.

i'm trying to figure out if they grow with multicolored stems or if they just come one color per plant. my bouquet had stems from every color.

at any rate, they're really beautiful and tasty too, as i discovered last night. they are also very high in nutrients:

Swiss chard is packed with
nutrition. It is an excellent
source of vitamins C, E, and K,
carotenes, chlorophyll, and fiber.
It is also an excellent source of
several minerals including
potassium, magnesium, iron, and
manganese. Swiss chard is also
a good source of many other
nutrients including vitamin B6,
protein, calcium, thiamine,
selenium, zinc, niacin, and folic
acid.

Swiss chard is one of the most
powerful anti-cancer foods due to its combination of traditional nutrients; phytochemicals, chlorophyll, other plant pigments, and soluble fiber. The generous amount of vitamin K that is contained in Swiss chard, is especially beneficial in the maintenance of bone health.

from: http://www.everynutrient.com/healthbenefitsofchard.html

I would describe the texture of it to be like spinach in the leaves, but thin celery at the stem. i think it's pretty tasty and there's something fun about eating a hot pink vegetable.

so there you have it: pretty, tasty, and chock full of nutrients. what more could you ask for. the obama of vegetables!