What can I say; I just like the simple recipes. Most often when I come across a blog post about a recipe it feels like someone is trying too hard. That might come from us home cooks wanting to impress the potential haute cuisine aficionados out there. I’m not sure. It’s likely the reason I’m drawn to orangette. Molly has a tendency to make everything sound delicious, and such was the case last week when she posted about kale. Yes, the kale that is used as a salad bar garnish. The one that it seems very few people actually eat.

So this week I took her recipe, which is in turn based on a recipe from Zuni Café in San Francisco, and made my own changes. Most notable is the exclusion of kale, the subject matter of her post. It isn’t that I don’t want to eat kale, I’m sure I’ll make some this winter. The real reason was that I have a wife to cook for and I felt that something a little more familiar would be well suited to tonight’s dinner. Since swiss chard is an earthier version of spinach, and my wife does like spinach, I went that route.

One bite in and I discovered that my wife has no interest in eating such greeny goodness. At least not yet. She thinks that I can be placated by stating, “I’ll try it. I don’t have to like it.” Really? That sounds like a challenge to me. Perhaps I’ll remove all of our staples: broccoli, corn and potatoes. Those tried and true “safe” vegetables that just about everyone likes. The battle has begun in the house, and it’s about time some other veggies join in the fight.

The recipe for boiled swiss chard with a fried egg is simplicity itself. The earthy flavors of the chard, the richness of the yolk, the slight hint of heat from the pepper flakes, and the solid foundation of the bread combine to make a satisfyingly homey meal. And that is all you can hope for when coming across a recipe during daily perusal.

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