Fertile Green
Certain generations still think of, and joke about, a certain iconic cartoon guy when spinach is discussed.
He was strong to the finish because he ate his spinach.
As a staple ingredient in Chef Becky’s larder, spinach plays an important role. Let’s dive in!
Wintry Leaf
Spinach is, interestingly, a winter vegetable! When all in winter seems snowlocked, bleak, and cold, spinach is actually under the snow, doing its thing.
It is one of a few hearty “over-wintered” vegetables that, while dormant, keep soil cycling in the hard winter months and provide ground cover. Chef Becky has also used it as a dye ingredient for her upcoming Easter plans. “The spinach-as-dye is so perfect with how we try to do things at Bex,” the Chef says enthusiastically. “Squeezing as much use and value from an ingredient – especially with unrelenting inflation for years recently – and having as little landfill waste as possible, is the goal.”
Nutrition Powerhouse
We use critical thinking and take nutrition advice with a grain of salt, thus we don’t believe every food claim that comes down the pike, but spinach is a “superfood.” Raw spinach is 91% water, but recall that many people go around dehydrated, and many health complaints – even five-alarm stuff like heart palpitations – are traceable back to not having had enough water. For those who don’t like drinking water, water-packed foods are there! Spinach is also high in iron; recent research suggests that Long Covid depletes iron levels.
“Spinch”
A funny and well-liked video that went ‘round the internet showed a collage of pictures of misspelled words in restaurant/culinary settings. Spinach became “spinch.” Sometimes loathed by children (and sometimes loved), spinach isn’t the most exciting vegetable on its own, but it can really add to dishes. “Very versatile,” Chef Becky notes. “Spinach can go into a salad, on sandwiches, turned into a pesto, made into dye, and so on.” As March is National Nutrition Month, add some spinach to your routine.
Scratch that itch and eat your spinach!
