Last weekend, the farmer down the road had a bumper crop of spinach and offered to leave me some for dinner that night. I arrived home later in the afternoon to find a harvest tub (the size of a standard picnic cooler) on my doorstep, overflowing with just-picked spinach. I immediately abandoned the idea of grilling chicken so that I could devote my time to the spinach.
Instead, I baked the chicken pieces in a tasty dressing of lemon juice,
chicken broth, olive oil, garlic, and a little soy sauce and then set about washing the spinach. As luck would have it, the leaves were pretty free of grime and grit and so a good soaking in the sink was all they needed. I cooked up some chopped garlic and olive oil in a large sauté pan, added a little chicken broth, and then, over medium heat, cooked about half of the spinach. I can’t deny I got pretty tired of standing at the stove, watching the leaves wilt — my family and our friends were on the porch laughing and visiting — but the final result was totally worth it. It was the best spinach I had ever eaten and certainly ever cooked. I guess what they say is true: nothing beats fresh-from-the-farm produce!
