Spinach

LEAFY GREEN AND FLOWERING VEGETABLES

Arrange vegetables loosely in crisper bin of refrigerator or store in cloth bags on the bottom shelf of the fridge. Store chopped vegetables in pint or quart jars or other sealed containers. Use greens before they wilt, within 4 to 5 days of purchase. Use cooked greens within 3 days or freeze.

To freeze greens, blanch for 2 minutes, then chill and drain well. You can remove most of the moisture by putting the greens in a strainer and pressing against them with a spoon.

(Cook’s Bible 13 Common Veg) Greens, which include kale, collard greens, mustard greens, broccoli rabe, or other tough greens such as turnip greens, should be brightly colored and have fresh, crisp leaves with no wilting. Greens need to be stemmed and coarsely chopped and then boiled for about 5 minutes before further cooking. Then the wet greens are sautéed about 5 minutes more. The two step process removes some of the bitterness and helps to soften the leaves.

SPINACH Bitter, Astringent Light, Dry

1 pound raw = 16 chopped, packed cups

2 pounds loose or 2 (10-ounce) bags = 1 1/2 cups cooked and chopped

10 oz pkg spinach = 1 1/2 cups

(Cook’s Bible 13 Common Veg) Spinach is easily prepared and cooked. To stem, simply grab a bunch of leaves, roughly align the stems, and then trim with a chef’s knife. I do not remove the entire stem, just woody or deteriorated sections. Do not bother trimming each leaf individually. To precook spinach, simply place washed drained leaves into a hot, deep skillet or pot, cover, and cook for about 2 minutes. They will be steamed. To use spinach as a filling, steam the leaves and then chop. Next place chopped spinach in a kitchen towel and twist hard to remove excess moisture.

Also See:

• Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinach
• The Cook's Thesaurus: http://www.foodsubs.com/Greenckg.html

IngredientCategory?