Chard Carbonara

After a few months of moving and settling in, it's good to find a new C.S.A. and get back into the swing of basing my menus around the vegetables and fruits, not whatever carb is most handy. My new farm prepares the same box for everybody, and it's much bigger than my last place, but it only comes every other week.

With the dropping economy and my own tight budget from moving across the country and refurnishing an apartment, I'm trying to minimize buying other ingredients, and instead use up what's in my fridge and pantry. Dairy and eggs come from local farms, I always have garlic, onions & ginger on hand along with select spices, and I buy minimal pasta, rice and dried beans at the Co-op.

I'm also getting used to cooking for one, which isn't the same as cutting cooking for two in half. My normal preparation that would be enough for two for dinner and leftovers for lunch the next day, is now enough to feed me all week. That gets boring quickly, so I'm playing with using things that do better in small amounts. Along the same lines, I hate to spend an hour making something that'll take me 15 minutes to eat by myself. All of this brings me to today's creation:

Chard Carbonara
1 tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small bunch chard, chopped
2 eggs
1/4 cup parmesan
salt to taste
pinch crushed red pepper (optional)
1-2 oz whole wheat spaghetti

Bring pot of water to a boil. Add spaghetti and cook according to directions.
Melt butter in the bottom of a medium skillet over medium to medium high heat. Add garlic, and cook until lightly browned. Throw in chard, season with salt and pepper, and sautee until wilted. Add cooked noodles, eggs and parmesan. Toss in pan with tongs to distribute egg and cheese through noodles until the egg is cooked through.

Serves 2.