Ripe, by Cheryl Sternman Rule, features recipes for fruits and vegetables sorted by color. This cookbook could be a coffee table book as it is beautiful to look at. The chapters are as follows:

• Red
• Orange
• Yellow
• Green
• Purple and Blue
• White

There are recipes of every type for any time of day from breakfast to dessert. For each fruit and vegetable there is a description with tips for prep and storage, along with ideas for different ways of preparing them. This section leaves room for your creativity.

Here is a nice recipe to try:

Polenta-Stuffed Chard with Bubbly Parmesan

• Kosher salt
• 3/4 cup dry polenta (coarse cornmeal)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup packed grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• Pepper
• 1 1/4 cups your favorite marinara or tomato sauce, divided
• 8 very large leaves Swiss chard, swished in cool water

Coat a 9 1/2-inch square pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment.

In a medium saucepan, bring 3 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil. Whisk in the polenta and reduce the heat to a gentle gurgle. Cook until thick, 10 to 15 minutes at room temperature, then refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hours. (After 1 hour, cover with plastic wrap.) Unmold and cut into eight 4 x 2-inch rectangles. Wipe the baking pan dry and spread 1/2 cup of the marinara along the bottom.

Preheat the oven to 400 F and bring a kettle of water to a boil. Have several layers of paper towels on hand.

Make a narrow, upside down V-shaped cut about halfway down each chard leaf to remove the thick central steam. Place the leaves in a large bowel and cover with boiling water. Let soften for 6 minutes. Remove to the paper towels and pat very dry.

To form the rolls, lay 1 chard leaf on a cutting board. Lay 1 polenta rectangle horizontally along the bottom of the leaf and spoon 1 teaspoon of marinara on top. Roll the leaf upwards burritolike, encasing the polenta, and transfer to the baking pan seam side down. Repeat, nestling the rolls next to one other. Spoon the remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 10 minutes, then slip under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes to brown the cheese. Serve hot.

Serves 4

I changed up the original recipe a bit by adding chard to punch up the nutritional value of this dish. It’s a satisfying Italian supper from Woman’s Day Magazine.

• 8 ounce(s) uncooked ziti rigati pasta
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
• 2  cubanelle peppers, chopped (optional, I didn’t use)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 bunch Swiss chard, washed well, dryed, ribs removed and chopped
• 12 ounce(s) (4 links) spicy or sweet Italian sausage (I used chicken sausage)
• 1 cup(s) part-skim ricotta
• 1 1/2 cup(s) shredded part-skim mozzarella (divided)
• 1/4 cup(s) grated Parmesan (divided)
• 1/4 cup(s) chopped parsley
• 2 cup(s) (from a 24- or 26-oz jar) marinara sauce (divided)

Heat oven to 400ºF. Cook pasta in a large pot of lightly salted water as package directs for al dente or firm texture.

Meanwhile, heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add peppers, onion, chard and sausage; cook 6 minutes or until sausage is browned. Remove from heat; cut sausage into 1⁄4-in. slices.

Mix ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, 3 Tbsp Parmesan and the parsley in large bowl. Drain pasta; toss with cheese mixture, sausage mixture and 1 cup marinara sauce.

Pour pasta mixture into a 3-qt shallow baking dish. Spoon remaining sauce on top; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Serves 6

For those days before summer when there is a chill in the air, nothing is better than soup. This recipe is from The Ultimate Soup Cookbook.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 leek, white part only, cleaned well, cut into thin strips
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 slices prosciutto, trimmed of fat and cut into thin strips or chopped
• 5 1/2 ounces Swiss chard, spinach, spring greens, or a mixture, finely shredded
• 3 small ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded, and diced
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• Pinch of crushed dried red chiles (optional)
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 15 ounce can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add leek and onion and sauté 5 minutes or until slightly softened. Add carrot, garlic, fennel seed, parsley, and prosciutto and sauté 5 minutes.

Stir in greens and tomatoes and cook, covered, 2 minutes or until slightly softened. Add stock and chiles, if desired, beans and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes or until greens are just tender.

Ladle soup into a bowl and top with the Parmesan cheese.

Serves 4-6

A nice bean soup that gets its tasty flavor from sun-dried tomato pesto. I like to mix bean varieties so I used one can of chickpeas and one can of kidney beans. This recipe was featured in Food & Wine magazine.

• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• one 2-inch Parmigiano-Reggiano rind
• Two 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained (or 1 can chickpeas and 1 can kidney beans)
• 1 bunch Swiss chard (3/4 pound), stems discarded and leaves cut into 1-inch ribbons
• 1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons store-bought sun-dried-tomato pesto
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

In a medium soup pot, bring the broth to a simmer with the cheese rind and the chickpeas. Cook over low heat until the broth is flavorful, about 10 minutes; discard the rind. Add the Swiss chard and simmer until wilted, about 4 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 cup of the sun-dried-tomato pesto. Season the soup with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with the grated cheese. Garnish each bowl with a dollop of the remaining pesto and serve.

Serves 4

This is a simple and really delicious way to prepare Swiss Chard. It’s a great side for many different dishes. I found the recipe on the Food Network site.

• 3 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• 5 Cloves Garlic, sliced thin
• 1 Bunch Swiss Chard, washed, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• Sea Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper

In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté until pale golden color, about 1 minute. Add Swiss Chard and sauté until soft, but still a little crisp, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 2 to 4

A light tasty dish featuring Red Chard.  Inspired from a recipe in Greens, A Country Garden Cookbook.

• 10 ounces dried pasta (I like whole wheat)
• 2 bunches red chard
• 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces pancetta (8 to 10 slices), cut into pieces (you can use Canadian bacon in a pinch)
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Wash, dry and remove the stalks from the chard. Stack the leaves and cut crosswise into ribbons.

Boil a large pot of salted water for the pasta.

In a small pan over medium heat, toast the bread crumbs in the EVOO with the salt. Set aside.

In a large pan, sauté the pancetta over medium heat in 1 teaspoon of the olive oil and cook until golden and crispy. Drain the pancetta on paper towels, and wipe out the pan. In the same pan, add the rest of the olive oil and add the onions. As soon as the onions have softened, add the salt, garlic, and red pepper flakes and continue cooking for another 2 to 3 minutes.

Briefly blanch the chopped red chard in the salted boiling pasta water. Drain well and add to the onions. Remove from the heat and add the vinegar and salt to taste.

Cook the pasta until al dente (follow directions on package), stirring occasionally to separate the stands, and toss with the greens. Serve sprinkled with the toasted crumbs.

Serves 4

This is a very tasty dish with lots of health benefits from the salmon, tomatoes and chard. It is based on a recipe from Ellie Krieger on Food Network. If you have extra sauce leftover, it’s great to use over veggies, eggs or pasta.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (14-ounce) can low-sodium diced tomatoes
• 1 (12-ounce) can low-sodium tomato sauce
• 1 (7-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained, rinsed and thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 8 cups (loosely packed) Swiss chard, washed well, tough center stems removed, coarsely chopped
• 4 (approx. 6 oz. each) skinless salmon fillets
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook until golden, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juice, tomato sauce, red peppers, cumin, coriander and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes until sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat.

Place the chard over the bottom of a 9 x13-inch glass baking dish. Season fish fillets with remaining salt and pepper and place in on top of chard. Spoon sauce over the fish and bake, covered, until fish is just cooked, about 15 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Serves 4

Finally, there is a chill in the air. Soups are a great way to warm up. This one features lots of veggies. The recipe is adapted from one found on the My Melange blog.

• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 2  carrots, chopped
• 3  stalks of celery, chopped
• 1  small white onion, chopped
• 1  clove of garlic, minced
• 3  tomatoes, chopped
• 1  15oz. can of white beans, rinsed and drained
• 4  red swiss chard leaves, roughly chopped
• 1  bay leaf
• 1  heel of parmigiano reggiano cheese
• fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 vegetable bouillon cube dissolved in 4 cups boiling water
• salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Saute onions until translucent. Add carrots and celery, cook until softened. Add garlic, cook for another minute. Add tomatoes, beans, thyme, salt and pepper. Pour the 4 cups of bullion infused water to the pot, add the bay leaf and heel of parmigiano reggiano to the pot, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Add chard, cover and let simmer for 5 minutes, just until the chard is wilted.

Serves 6

Choose a winter flavored ravioli, I used a fresh (but store-bought) cheese ravioli  but a butternut ravioli would be delicious as well. I sometimes precook the raviolis and keep them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet until I am ready to use them - this helps prevent the raviolis from melding into one another after cooking. I used a butternut squash version of the potato “croutons” shown here. Substitute butternut squash for the potatoes, you can make them a day ahead but they loose some of their structure overnight. The flavors is still great, but you’ll loose a couple points for eye-appeal. I sometimes do a big batch of the onions and keep them in a jar in the refrigerator to use in recipes like this one.

• 3/4 lbs. raviolis (see headnotes)
• 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• fine grain sea salt
• 2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch swiss chard, deveined and cut into 1/2 inch ribbons
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
• 1 cup butternut squash “croutons”
• zest of one lemon
• 1/4 cup chives, minced

Into an extra-large pot of well-salted boiling water add the raviolis. After a few minutes, when the raviolis float and are cooked through, drain them and toss with one tablespoon of the olive oil. this prevents them from sticking together. Set aside.

To caramelize the onions, heat another tablespoon of the olive oil in a large thick-bottomed skillet with a pinch of salt. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions collapse and turn deep brown in color. You can do this ahead of time (or just before serving) - whatever you prefer. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Just before serving heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, again in a big skillet over high heat. Add the raviolis. Stir in the onions, and then the chard. Wait until the chard begins to wilt, then stir in most of the cheese and most of the hazelnuts. Gently fold in the butternut squash and lemon zest. Remove from heat.

Serve on a big platter garnished with chives and remaining hazelnuts and Parmesan.

Serves 6

CALORIES 330 (48% from fat); FAT 18.3 (sat 5.45g, mono 10g, poly 1.75g); IRON 2.48mg; CHOLESTEROL 89.5mg; CALCIUM 236mg; CARBOHYDRATE 30.7g; SODIUM 806mg; PROTEIN 12.9g; FIBER 2.56g

Source:  www.101cookbooks.com