Warming hearts and bellies

I thank Summer for the array vegetables--yes, vegetables -- that she brings.

This time of year, most bloggers dreamily describe the fruits of summer -- the delicate blackberries, the sunny strawberries, the crimson raspberries. They write of dainty tarts and fruity parfaits, foods that are perfect for blistering summer afternoons. I love the fruits of summer. When the thermometer tops 100 degrees outside my under-air-conditioned home, I live almost solely on blueberries and coconut ice cream bars.

But on cool, sometimes rainy summer mornings, it's summer's less fancy fare that I crave. If I wake up early enough on one of those mornings, before the heat of the day hits, I brew some coffee, start frying new potatoes with onions, and cut a few broad leaves of chard from the kitchen garden.

Potatoes and onions aren't particular to summer. They produce from summer late in the fall, last over the winter, and start back strong in the spring, but I still love them in the summer, on sleepy mornings when there's nothing to do but listen to Weekend Edition and cook breakfast.

A breakfast of potatoes, onions, and chard is about as fussy as a game of jacks. It requires a knife, a pan, some patience, and butter.

Eat your veggies (cooked in butter)

New potatoes with onions with chard
serves two

• two medium (or three small) new potatoes
• 1/2 small yellow onion
• 1 cup sliced chard
• 2 Tb. butter
  
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• pinch red pepper flakes
• tsp(ish) fresh thyme
• fresh coffee with cream
  

Begin melting a tablespoon of butter in a small frying pan while you dice the potatoes and onions into 1/2-inch cubes. Once the butter is melted, toss in the onions and potatoes, and let them simmer softly until they're cooked clean through. The onions should be a little crispy on the sides and mushy in the middle.

Add the second tablespoon of butter when the vegetables begin to dry out, and then toss in the red pepper flakes, salt, and thyme. Toss in the chard a minute before the potatoes are finished, and cook the mess a minute more until the chard is wilted. Serve with coffee, cream, and comfort.