Kale Chips, Day Lily Tempura, Pea and Swiss Chard Timbale

I had turned my car around, but not for the wild day lilies. Instead, a beach chair caught my attention; mine had ripped. Yet, when the chair had no "free" sign on it, I decided to walk a little farther to a patch of woods where I had noticed some common day lily buds poking out from tall grass along the road's edge. I plucked a handful and headed home. I was feeling confident, having already cooked kale chips for my son and his two friends earlier in the day-- and they loved them. The approval of a three-year-old is better than the approval of any food critic. With that encouragement, I decided to further my culinary adventure and cook day lily tempura with pea and Swiss chard timbale.
Sounds fancy, but it's not. Here are the recipes:


Kale Chips 

1. Cut the leaves from the stems of the kale. I love kale stems, but in chips they're too chewy.
2. Chop the leaves into chip-sized pieces.
3. I like to get the oven pretty hot, at 425 degrees. Preheat.
4. Spread chips on cookie sheets; you'll most likely need more than one. I usually cook a few batches.
5. Drizzle some oil over them. I use Canola.
6. Cook until the edges of the kale brown.
7. Sprinkle some salt over the top, mix them up a bit, and serve.

Day Lily Tempura

These are common day lilies. I usually see these growing along the sides of roads. Pick a few buds, before they blossom.

1. Make an egg batter. I season mine with a little Parmesan cheese and pepper.
2. Put some flour in a bowl, mixing in dried oregano.
3. Dip the lilies in eggs and then flour and fry.
5. Once they're golden brown, take them out and pat them down with some paper towels.
6. I sprinkle them with a little salt and drizzle a little lemon juice on top.

Pea and Swiss chard timbale
A timbale is a dish made in a mold. We'll make a breadcrumb mold for this dish.

1. I used sugar snap peas, and just chopped them up.
2. Chop up the chard. Use the stems, too.

3. Saute the stems first in a little hot oil, a tablespoon or so. They'll need a little more time to soften. You can saute them with a little garlic or onion if you like.
4. Drop in the peas, and saute for a few minutes.
5. Last drop in the chard leaves, cover the top and place the burner on medium. Let the chard cook down to about half its original size.

7. While that cooks down, butter the bottom and sides of a somewhat deep loaf pan. Cover the butter with breadcrumbs. I buy the seasoned type. If your breadcrumbs are not , mix in some dried oregano, basil, and whatever else you like. Experiment.
8. The pan should be coated with breadcrumbs; this will become your mold.
9. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, crack two eggs and a mix of herbs, finely chopped. I picked basil, oregano, mint, chives, some herb whose name I do not know (it's really peppery), and some garlic leaves. Mix this up with eggs.

10. Drain excess water out of the peas and chard and then drop them into the herb mixture.
11. Last, drop everything over the breadcrumbs in the loaf pan. I like to sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese over the top.
12. Cook for about an hour. Once done, flip the loaf onto a plate, praying the mold holds. (I'm serious; the prayer part is vital here.)

Here's the final dish. It doesn't look pretty, but it tasted damn good.

Pea and Swiss chard timbale with lily tempura.