What Do You Do With YOUR Spinach?
I broke down and bought some spinach at the local farmers’ market this past weekend, because it’s one of the few vegetables actually available right now. I admitted the other day that I normally buy pre-washed spinach in the plastic bag, because I hate washing regular spinach, but this week I figured I’d better just suck it up and support my local farmer.
So tonight, I spent half my food prep time washing and prepping spinach leaves for my faux lasagna. Here’s how I did it: I filled a clean sink with cold water, cut the bottoms of the spinach stems off, and dumped the leaves into the water. Then I swished the leaves around, and most of the dirt/sand rinsed off and settled to the bottom of the sink. And then I picked it over, leaf by leaf, to make sure they were really clean, and patted them sort of dry with towels. Cloth towels. Oh, and I tore the rest of the stems off the leaves, because stems are yucky.
I guess that’s the slow food way. It’s not too bad. I didn’t totally hate it, and I even had it done before anyone else got home (husband was picking up the kids today).
Do you prepare your spinach differently? Do you eat spinach? Am I totally insane? Wait, don’t answer that one.
This post has 3 comments
May 20th, 2009
I am a big fan of the spinner thing, which I’m sure has a real name- it’s a clear plastic bowl with a mesh insert and a push-button on top which spins the mesh insert and gives the spinach a roller coaster ride. I do rinse it first, then usually give it a couple more rinses & rides in the spinner. I don’t pick it over after, and the spinner dries it well enough. The muddy water in the spinner’s bottom goes on the houseplants. And am in total agreement about the yuckiness of stems. When DH preps the salad it is both grittier and more stem-o-riffic than when I do.
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May 21st, 2009
I’ve never had a problem cleaning spinach but that is, perhaps, because there are far “yuckier” things to clean than spinach and I’ve done most of those.
Have you ever tried to clean and wash the corn husks before making tamales? They have the “beard-like” stuff that won’t wash off. It takes a long time and you have to touch that yucky beard-like stuff. Yuck!
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May 21st, 2009
Spinach salad. Hot vinegarette over the leaves, with chunks of chicken or teeny shrimp. And chow mein noodles. We call it Seaweed Salad, ’cause it looks like high tide.
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