I almost never eat spinach, but the other day I was in Noah’s Bagels and REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted a spinach mushroom and swiss egg mit bagel. You never know what you have till it’s gone.
Word. Spinach is my main dietary staple. Down with iceberg lettuce!* * Unless you’re eating a wedge with cracked pepper and basalmic vinegar. That’s okay.
It’s gotten to the point where I’m asking friends to check the farmer’s markets to see if there’s any available there and pick it up for me. Yes, I have a spinach dealer.
Word to the vegetable-dependent: Frozen spinach should still be available. And it’s safe; the blanching that precedes the freezing would kill any nasty little bugs. (It also stops the action of enzymes that would otherwise break down nutrients–the reason why frozen veggies can, in some cases, be more nutritious than fresh ones. Little-known fact.)
Here’s what I find funny: It was one batch, of one brand, from one supplier. Therefore we must BAN IT! And yet guns get a free pass.
1 bunch Swiss chard 1 clove minced garlic olive oil salt/pepper Saute chard in olive oil in a saucepan until dark green (5-7 minutes or so, maybe). Add garlic a couple minutes in. Finally, add about 1/2 cup of water, cover and let simmer for 3 minutes, drain, salt/pepper, enjoy.
I want a spinach dealer! I’m in withdrawal. I love spinach because it’s so versatile. You can chuck it into anything from salads to omelettes, plus it’s the chief ingredient of my favorite curry. The bagged stuff was awesome because hooray, no more triple-washing (and still finding grit in the leaves, if you were me). Yes, I definitely need a spinach dealer.
I thought it was back on the market? i erm have bought and ingested already-cooked creamed spinach several times since that incident. thus far: not dead. dunno where THEY got it.
Yeah, but jt, what about those of us who don’t like that texture thing chard and kale do? Seriously, I miss spinach. I didn’t think I ate it much, and I forced myself to acquire the taste in the first place, but I got into the habit of eating raw spinach in good quantity, and–god, if only my mother could hear this–I really don’t much like going without, now. It’s just so good for me. If they ban broccoli, I’m takin’ someone out.
Frozen spinach doesn’t do it for me; I thought I hated spinach when I’d only tried the frozen kind. And it just won’t do for salads. belledame222, the already cooked and creamed stuff was never off the market. The fresh stuff is gone. The FDA RSS feed has been posting daily updates on the spinach situation, all of which can be found here.
I too am deeply upset. I never eat iceburg lettuce because it has no nutritional value; I always use fresh spinach instead in salads and on sandwiches. Why can’t they just tell us which brand is tainted instead of all this secrecy? I think it must be an iceburg conspiracy. And seriously, Auguste has a point about guns vs spinach. I’ll take my chances with an assailant/drunk douchebag armed with spinach any day.
Did you know that, even if you live in an apartment, you too can grow spinach? All you need is a planter box, some dirt, the seeds, and access to either a sunny window or an outdoor patio. We’ve officially given up on buying it, and have started a box full of spinach seeds right next to the cactus plants.
Why can’t they just tell us which brand is tainted instead of all this secrecy? I could swear I read somewhere it was Dole.
From the FDA’s last update: FDA is working closely with CDC and the state of California. FDA has determined that the spinach implicated in the outbreak was grown in three California counties: Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Clara. Spinach grown in the rest of the United States has not been implicated in the current E. coli O157:H7 outbreak. The public can be confident that spinach grown in the non-implicated areas can be consumed. Consumers are advised not to purchase or consume fresh spinach if they cannot verify that it was grown in areas other than the three California counties implicated in the outbreak. also: The Pennsylvania Department of Health has confirmed that the strain of E. coli O157:H7 connected with the outbreak has been isolated from a bag of Dole baby spinach in that state. Lots of other products recalled, so I don’t know that it was only Dole brand; it may be that the contaminated spinach got sold to several companies. But if you have a farmer’s market that”s local to you that sells spinach, and if you aren’t in one of those three California counties, you may be able to find spinach that’s back on the market again and safe.
I miss spinach too! It has a lot of Iron and with my iron-defiency anemia, I’ve learned to love fresh spinach (can’t stand canned or frozen.. what do they do, add vinager or something?)
I love and miss spinach, but jt is right, Swiss chard is a perfectly lovely substitute. Chard is a bit more bitter than spinach, so sprinkle with lemon juice to improve the flavor. My favorite recipe: Steam the chard Take out before it’s finished cooking Lay on a plate or baking dish sprinkle with lemon juice sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese sprinkle with bread crumbs (yeah, okay, the order is important) Microwave for 2 minutes or toaster oven or whatever. Yum. Nice bonus for the chard is it has these thick stems. Slice away the stems and cook separately; two veggies for the price of one. Chard stems: a little butter or olilve oyl a little balsamic vinegar a little sweet vermouth 15 minutes, low-medium heat.
I forgot and ordered spinach ravioli in a restaurant, and then promptly got spanked for it, both by my tablemates (“what, you want to die?”) and by the restaurant (“We’re not allowed to serve any spinach any more until the dogs are called off”). Bleah.