P.I.T.A. (with radishes, chard, and chickpeas)

Plus a primer on acronyms, backronyms, anacronyms, etc.

I love a good acronym. PITA can mean “pain in the ass.” Benelux can mean “Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg. CHIPS can mean Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors.

Most specifically, an acronym is abbreviation in which the letters are pronounced like a new word. That means that SCUBA (Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus) and laser (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) are both acronyms, but USA, DEA, and IRA are not.

True Acronyms, Initialisms and Backronyms

Some schools of thought believe that initialisms (words where the first letters are each pronounced separately, like USA, IRA, LA) should be separate from “true” acronyms, such as FICA and RADAR (radio detection and ranging) but over time the definitions are bleeding together.

Some words have been acronyms for so long that we’ve forgotten, like scuba, radar, and laser. These are called “anacronyms,” as in anachronistic acronyms.

We also have backronyms, which our Federal government is so fond of. This is when a word is back-engineered to be an acronym but wasn’t inherently, such as TEAM- “Together Everyone Achieves More,” or USA PATRIOT Act- “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act” (a real mouthful).

Hybrid Acronyms, Syllabic Acronyms and RAS Syndrome

To top that off, hybrid acronyms, like JPEG or CD-ROM muddle things even further with some letters pronounced on their own and the rest mushing together into one word. Syllabic acronyms take parts of words and make them shorter, like sitcom (situational comedy), FedEx (Federal Express), or Lo-Fi (low fidelity).

Last, and probably most fun, is RAS Syndrome- Redundant Acronym Syndrome Syndrome. Some examples of this are PIN number- personal identification number number, ATM machine- automatic teller machine machine, and SAT test- Scholastic Aptitude Test test.

Pitas with Radishes, Swiss Chard, and Chickpeas

Makes 2 well filled pitas. This pita is punchy and bitter thanks to browned swiss chard and roasted radishes. If you’re not a peppery greens person, this may not be the pita for you.

Ingredients

• 1.5 c. chickpeas (or 1 can, drained and rinsed)

• 1 c. raw radishes

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• Salt and pepper

• 1 tsp dried dill

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1/2 red onion

• 1.5 c. swiss chard

• Pat of butter

• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar

• 2 pitas

• Optional- 1/3 c. feta

• Optional- top with tzatziki or hummus

Process

Set the oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (I know I always tell you to do this- you don’t really have to. My baking sheets don’t fit in my dishwasher and it’s easier to handwash them if I use parchment paper. You do you.)

Rinse the chickpeas if using canned, and set aside. Wash your radishes, slice off the tops and the bottoms, and cut in half. Toss both the radishes in oil, salt, pepper, and dill. Spread evenly on the baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice the red onion into thin slices.

At the 10 minute mark, flip everything on the baking sheet and add the red onions. Roast for another 10 minutes and pull out of the oven.

For the swiss chard, rinse and pat dry. In a pan on medium, melt the butter and add the swiss chard.

Let sit on medium for 3-4 minutes on each side; When you get some nice browning, add salt, pepper, and a bit of red wine vinegar. You don’t have to measure, but I said around 2 tbsp. Cook off the red wine vinegar until there is no more liquid, and turn off heat.

Combine everything in a big bowl (add feta now if you’re using it) and stuff into pitas. I like to top with tzatziki or hummus. Enjoy!