Swiss Chard Surprise

I recently bought a HUGE bag of Swiss chard at a local Amish farm for $1.50. She picked it right out of her garden and I took it home, all happy happy. Last night I cooked with it - I roasted some chickpeas in olive oil, then sauteed the chard with onion, garlic, etc., then added the chickpeas. I took a bite and went, "Oh man, this is SOOOO good!" I ate a few more bites, then happened to look down and notice a big ugly bug on my plate, cooked and dead.

What the hell do you do? The food was unbelievably delicious. I stopped in mid-chew and managed to swallow what was in my mouth. I set my plate on the counter and went outside to ponder my dilemma. Do I throw the whole pan out? The part of me that sometimes didn't have any food to eat as a child screamed NO. Pick out the bug and go on. It won't kill you. The other part of me was gagging. The worst part is that it was an ugly bug. It's stupid, I know, but if it would've been a cute little bug, it wouldn't have bothered me as much. But this sucker had pincers, for heaven's sake. *shudders*

I went back into the house and saw that Marley had knocked my plate off the counter. I cleaned up the mess. Then I got myself a new plate of food, and after inspecting it VERY closely, I ate it. But I did not enjoy it.

The thing is, I washed that chard before I cooked it. It's not the first time I have brought home a little creature from that farm. We have had caterpillars in our carrots, and the other day we had a little green worm from the broccoli. It's a small price to pay for fresh, chemical-free, delicious produce. But I have never cooked any of them.

I have more Swiss chard in the refrigerator, but I have kind of lost my appetite for the stuff.