“Popeye ate that?!”

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When I was a kid, I loved watching Popeye squeeze the spinach out of a can, gobble it up, then grow muscles. Because I wanted to be strong like Popeye, I asked my Mom if I could have spinach some time since I’ve never tasted it. In my mind, I was thinking that spinach was very tasty since Popeye seemed to enjoy munching on it.

And when that fateful dinner came, my Mom put a plate of dark green vegetables in front of me. I remember the dish being a bit runny and the greens looked slimey — not appetizing at all. “What’s that?” I asked. “That’s your spinach!”, Mama said. A single thought ran through my mind, “Popeye ate that?!” After a taste of the slimey vegetable, I figured I could be strong in other ways. Goodbye spinach.

Fast forward around twenty years later.

Spinach in a bag! This is now one of my favorite helpers — spinach in a bag. The spinach dish I cook is very simple and easy to follow — saute lots of garlic in oil, pour in the spinach, sprinkle with nutmeg powder, some salt and pepper to taste, sometimes I add a bit more garlic powder, stir around in the pan and voila! Yummy sauteed spinach. One bag is just right for me and H.
Sauteed Spinach And here’s what the dish looks like. It tastes better than it looks, promise. It’s not a dry dish but it’s not runny either. Cook it till the leaves wilt but not turn to mush (which was my spinach case 20 years ago). I like having my Sauteed Spinach with Sardines in Tomato Sauce or even plain ol’ vienna sausage.

Spinach is good for your health! Read the benefits of spinach here.

16 Comments on “Popeye ate that?!”

  1. denden
    June 10, 2005 at 7:25 pm (19 years ago)

    i love spinach. i eat it fresh (in a salad), and i put it in ginisang monggo instead sili leaves. :)

    Reply
  2. MrsPartyGirl
    June 10, 2005 at 10:28 pm (19 years ago)

    luv spinach too. na-goyo din ako ni popeye! :) pero i buy it in bunches naman instead of in a bag. im happy to say that my daughter luvs it, too! (ewan ko lang if its because my daughter eats anything in front of her, haha!) anyway, i use it on monggo and tinola (instead of sili leaves, like denden) and, since walang kangkong where i am, on sinigang and as fried appetizers. also, im trying to copy the spinach & artichoke bread dip sa italiannis, i have yet to be successful, hehe. :)

    Reply
  3. Jeanny
    June 10, 2005 at 11:14 pm (19 years ago)

    Hmmm…does it taste good ba? Im not into eating spinach kasi eh. The only leafy veggies that I eat are pechay, kangkong, camote tops and… wala na. Pro cge since sinabi na it’s healthy and yummee, I try this one soon 😀

    Reply
  4. maiji
    June 11, 2005 at 1:41 am (19 years ago)

    i like to use fresh spinach when i make spinach and artichoke dip… i like it with salad too!

    i should try your recipe soon :)

    Reply
  5. D@phn3 L@ur@
    June 11, 2005 at 2:11 am (19 years ago)

    I love spinach too in one of my travels I tasted this delectable spinach soup and spinach ravioli i can still taste them in my sleep. Yummy Have a nice independence day weekend! :)

    Reply
  6. Christine
    June 11, 2005 at 5:23 am (19 years ago)

    i love spinach! bea loves it too! that’s what i use for my sinigang! yummy!

    Reply
  7. Junnie
    June 11, 2005 at 2:34 pm (19 years ago)

    i eat spinach only when it is crunchy, i think we have spinach snacks back there right??? ayoko kasing magkaroon ng irregularly-shaped biceps tulad ni popeye e.

    Reply
  8. husticia
    June 11, 2005 at 5:02 pm (19 years ago)

    haha exactly what my mom told us to convince us to eat it. pero wait, ‘alugbati’ is tagalog for spinach right? (well, that’s what i always thought) hehe

    i love sauteeing it with monggo naman.

    Reply
  9. Paparazzi
    June 11, 2005 at 7:26 pm (19 years ago)

    Spinach? I only eat it when Brutus is around!

    Am back after a long absence. And I thank spinach for giving me the needed strength. Happy weekend, Toni! : )

    Reply
  10. D.T.
    June 12, 2005 at 2:58 am (19 years ago)

    Yuck…spinach is spinach and that in itself is gross. I too once thought that what Popeye praised so highly was good…but it wasnt. I’ve had spinach cooked in every way (my mom once tried to mix it with a salad) and to this day I cant stand the taste of it. And its weird cuz spinach really doesnt have a taste, you know? It’s like water, but I swear, I can still “taste” it. But I can honestly say, I have not yet tried your recipe…maybe yours will be one to break the spell?

    Reply
  11. eye
    June 12, 2005 at 7:42 am (19 years ago)

    toni, thanks for sharing your recipe, i’m sure the nutmeg adds a unique flavor. mai-try nga.

    and oh, i love sbarro’s spinach lasagna!

    mrspartygirl, the spinach and artichoke bread dip in italinanni’s is indeed heavenly! share your recipe pag na-discover mo na ah 😉

    Reply
  12. annabanana
    June 13, 2005 at 7:58 pm (19 years ago)

    i remember, the only way i could eat spinach when i was a kid, was when my mama uses it in sinigang instead of kangkong. here in korea, it is considered as a very important veggie, most of their “namuls” (blanched veggies with seasoning) are green leafy vegetables, spinach is a korean favorite. do you know that greek food that uses lots of spinach? parang pie eh, with lots of mozarella…

    Reply
  13. Linnor
    June 13, 2005 at 10:15 pm (19 years ago)

    let me see… larry’s bar and cafe adriatico serve crunchy spinach right? then i might have already tried it. it’s not that bad.

    Reply
  14. Toni
    June 14, 2005 at 2:33 pm (19 years ago)

    denden: Yeah! Ginisang monggo! Yummmm!

    MrsPartyGirl : I just had that spinach and artichoke dip last Sunday. Yum. So rich though!

    Jeanny : I love steamed spinach. Now that tastes good!

    maiji : And you should post your spinach and artichoke dip recipe!

    Daphne Laura : Spinach ravioli… now there’s a recipe I’d like to learn!

    Christine Oo nga ‘no pwede rin sa Sinigang!

    Junnie : Hahaha gandang reason naman niyan! Or is that more of an excuse? ;P

    justice : Naku mahina ako sa mga transalation. Hehehe.

    Paparazzi : Welcome back! :)

    D.T.: Well let me know if I did break the spell for you!

    eye : Yeah! I got that nutmet tip from Rachael Ray!

    annabanana : That mozzarella and spinach dish sounds yummy!

    Linnor : Ako naman di ko type ang crunchy spinach! Hehehe.

    Reply
  15. Anonymous
    June 19, 2005 at 10:33 pm (19 years ago)

    Hi Toni,

    Thought I’d share a spinach dish that I got from our local restaurant here in Sacramento. This dish is an absolute favorit here in this household.

    Chicken Capellini Piquante

    Recipe by Florentine restaurant (now Strings restaurant)

    ¼ cup garlic, minced
    ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

    4 chicken breast, pounded to an even thickness
    1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
    Dash of sea salt or kosher
    Dash of black pepper

    ½ package angel hair pasta

    Pinch of red pepper flakes
    Generous handful of fresh spinach leaves
    Dash of sea salt
    Dash of black pepper

    Combine garlic and olive oil and let sit for an hour in sauté pan. Set aside.

    Slowly heat up sauté pan and brown garlic. Add red pepper flakes and sauté for 10 seconds. Turn off heat making sure garlic does not stick together. Let oil cool for a bit but not completely. Grab a generous handful of spinach leaves and toss to coat with oil. Drain hot pasta and add to spinach, the heat will wilt the leaves further, toss.

    Marinate chicken breast with olive oil, salt and black pepper for a couple of hours. Grill and set aside.

    Boil water and cook pasta and let sit in hot pasta water till ready to toss.

    To serve: Slice chicken breast (best to do this at the last moment that way chicken stays moist) at an angle and set aside. Place pasta on platter and carefully place spinach leaves around the pasta and top with chicken breast. Serves four.

    Jean

    Reply
  16. Anonymous
    June 20, 2005 at 12:26 pm (19 years ago)

    Opps! Sorry Toni for the mistakes…. I’ve been trying to iron out the recipes that I’ve collected and have not had the time to correct the instructions. I hope you can understand the sequence to this recipe. It maybe simple but trust me it is an excellent recipe! When the manager of the restaurant sent me the recipe that I requested it was vague.

    The correction is: Leave raw garlic in olive oil… Grill chicken breast. Set aside. Then cook pasta till done. Saute garlic. Cool a bit making sure garlic is separated. Add spinach leaves to wilt. Add pasta and toss. Serve as usual.

    Jean (being anal)

    Reply

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