Ode to Spinach (with recipes!)

On today’s edition of “Where can I put spinach?” I find myself eating a leftover Memorial-Day-cookout hotdog on a bed of spinach in a bun. Fact is, when you live alone and cook mostly for yourself, buying a bag of spinach means you have a lot of the stuff. Thankfully, it’s versatile enough to eat with almost anything. Many a successful meal has started with a considering glance at the bag of spinach in my fridge and impulsively throwing it in with what I’m cooking. (Stir fry? Yep. Pasta bake? Sure. Crabcake? Why not.)

The funny thing is, 5 years ago I rarely ate spinach (not including spinach artichoke dip, for which I have a profound weakness) and now it’s one of my staple veggies. It goes on my tuna sandwiches, in scrambled eggs over toast, makes up the bulk of my salads, lets me pretend I’m still a grownup by adding it to grilled cheese, and even stars in pasta when I’m feeling ambitious and make my own.

 

This is also an interesting look at the notion of taste buds changing. In theory, I knew that. That taste buds change and adapt to the foods they commonly receive. It’s interesting to see it in practice. Where I’d never have previously included spinach, now it goes without a second thought. Patterns and habits. I figured if I keep introducing more good ones, some will have to stick.

Anyway. The recipes!

Delicious (and easy!) spinach pasta recipe here: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/homemade-spinach-lasagna-noodles-10000000222031/

I haven’t tried this one, but I want to because it uses more spinach: http://zoebakes.com/2009/04/01/omg-this-lasagne-is-good-homemade-spinach-pasta-for-the-march-daring-baker-challenge/

I don’t have a pasta maker. I roll out the dough, fill it with stuff, and make misshapen blob ravioli. If you have a pasta maker, you’ll probably have prettier results, but if you don’t, I promise it will still taste good. Try it with spinach-ricotta filling for the full Popeye effect.

Spinach squares? Yes please! (Recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/spinach-brownies/)

Let’s not pretend this is super healthy, because while it’s chock-full of spinach, it’s also chock-full of cheese. (So while it’s not the most virtuous thing on your plate, it’s the MOST AWESOME.) The consistent mantra you will see from me, informed by my own experimenting and nutritional reading (for fun, only, at this point) is: there are no “good” foods, there are no “bad” foods. There are regular foods and occasional foods.

These little guys are always tremendously popular at potlucks and picnics. Bonus, they’re a snap to whip up. I like them room temp, others swear by them warm.

Who’s got a good spinach recipe to share? I’m always in need of things to do with it!

– J