At the August 25th Market, Nancy Wirsing conducted a veggie cooking demonstration. Her dish was Zucchini, Eggplant, Pepper, Swiss Chard & Onion Steamed Stir Fry. The recipe and directions are reprinted in full below. You'll need a heavy-bottomed skillet with a tight fitting lid, a flat-bottomed spatula for stir-frying, measuring spoons, a medium mixing bowl, one chef's knife and one serrated knife, a cutting board, a rubber spatula and a damp sponge or paper towel.

Luckily, we all got samples. Nancy's dish was delicious, and we thought the true indicator was that the kids at the Market not only ate their entire first sample, but they came back for seconds! You'll want to keep your eyes peeled for Nancy’s new cookbook coming out soon. She is a truly talented chef and a passionate whole foods advocate. This week, catch Ann Schwader showing us how to make Spicy Fiesta Hummus.

Zucchini, Eggplant, Pepper, Swiss Chard & Onion Steamed Stir Fry

Ingredients: 1 medium zucchini, 1 small eggplant, 1/4 bell pepper, 8 medium chard leave, 1/2 yellow onion, extra virgin olive oil, dried sweet basil and oregano, 2-3 Tbs. tomato paste, and salt

First, you'll prepare the zucchini and eggplant. Heat your skillet over medium heat. Slice the ends from the zucchini, stand it upright on a flattened end, and cut it into 1/4-inch slices. Then cut the slices lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick strips, and cut the strips in 1/4-inch thick cubes. Slice the ends from the eggplant, halve it lengthwise and cut the halves crosswise into 1/4-inch thick pieces.

Turn up your skillet to medium-high heat. When a drop of water added to the skillet immediately dances and disappears, add 1 Tbs. of your oil, plus the chopped zucchini and eggplant. Also add 1/2 tsp. each of the dried sweet basil and oregano--first crushing them between your palms--and stir fry the vegetables for 1 minute until they are very hot. Reduce the heat to low, cover the skillet and steam the vegetables for 4 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the heat, mix in 1/3 tsp. salt, and use the rubber spatula to scrape the vegetables and any cooking juice into a medium mixing bowl. Wipe the skillet clean.

Next, to prepare the bell pepper, heat the skillet to medium again. Halve the pepper lengthwise and slice off the stem. Remove the seeds but not the pulp. slice each half lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick strips and cut the strips crosswise into 1/4-inch cubes. Turn the skillet to medium high, add another Tbs. of oil and the chopped pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the pepper, stirring occasionally for another 2 minutes. Add it to the eggplant and zucchini in the mixing bowl.

Prepare the chard the same way. Heat the skillet to medium. Stack the chard leaves, aligning the stems. Use the chef's knife to slice off the stems and chop into small pieces. Using the serrated knife, slice the stack of chard leaves lengthwise once and then crosswise at 1/4-inch intervals. Turn the skillet up to medium high heat, add 1 Tbs. of oil and the stems. Stir fry just the stems for 30-60 seconds, then add the leaves. Stir fry the leaves for 1 minute until the pieces shrink slightly and are very hot. Add 1 Tbs. hot water, cover the skillet, reduce the heat to low, and steam the chard for 4 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, stir in 1/4 tsp. salt and add the chard to the other vegetables.

Lastly, prepare the onion. Heat the skillet to medium. Halve the onion lengthwise and slice the ends off of both halves. Dice each half, first slicing it thinly lengthwise, then crosswise. Turn the skillet up to medium high, add 1 Tbs. oil, mix in the onion and finish with 1/2 tsp. each of dried sweet basil and oregano leaves (remembering to first crush them between your palms). Stir fry the onion for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium and let the onion cook, stirring occasionally, for about another 2 minutes. Optional: add 1/8-inch thick slice of minced ginger root to the onion while stir frying.

Now you get to assemble the dish! Mix 2-3 Tbs. of tomato paste into the onion that's still in the skillet and add all the cooked vegetables. Heat the vegetables, stirring them occasionally, for several minutes until hot. Serve immediately with low fat plain yogurt.

This week at the September 1st Market, Ann Schwader will be doing a demonstration on her Spicy Fiesta Hummus recipe. If you have an idea and would like to contribute to our Market Education Demonstrations or submit a guest blog post for the website, please call or email Kelsea Sutton at (605) 830-5039 or kelsea.sutton@gmail.com.