I'm Popeye The Sailor Man

I would say there is an awful lot of propaganda today, but there was some of that when I was younger, too.  Take for instance, Popeye the Sailor Man.  We'd watch cartoons and it blew my mind how Popeye's success was tied to... spinach!  When he needed strength or to help Olive Oil, he'd pull out a can of spinach, squeeze it, and the spinach would go into his pipe.  Soon, with bulging forearms, he was able to handle anything.  Spinach gave him strength and who wouldn't want to be like Popeye?  He didn't have to work out or be particularly healthy.  He just had to eat spinach at critical times to get the results he needed.

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As a child I remember this can in our pantry...

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Also Del Monte had cans of spinach.  Mom had some of this in the pantry.  Of course spinach is healthy, but canned spinach is not the way you want to eat it.  You want to eat it fresh out of the garden. We grow an heirloom French variety, Monstrueux de Viroflay.  The leaves are big and bright green.  You just know its healthy for you.

For supper the other night, Tricia asked me to pick a pound of spinach.  The spinach leaves were big and thick with almost a leather-like feel to them.  The wife was going to make Cream of Spinach soup.  It's a simple dish, with fresh ingredients: Spinach, onion, garlic, broth, and cream.  You can see old Rosie in the background.  I fed her some spinach so she wouldn't feel left out.

The spinach wasn't picked for 10 minutes before it was processed and cooking in a dutch oven on the stovetop.  What a brilliant green color it is!

We've go lots more spinach to harvest.  Tricia pulled out a recipe for Creamed Spinach.  Perhaps we'll have this soon!  Ruth's Chris Steakhouse has this as a side dish.  It is rich, cheesy, and delicious.  I also found a recipe for spinach and cream cheese crepes.  We've never cooked that and the recipe looks really good.  If spinach does make you stronger, we'll be beneficiaries of that strength because we have lots of spinach to eat.  None of it will be coming from a can!

Growing a New Variety - Galilee Spinach

I remember watching "Popeye the Sailorman" cartoons growing up.  Things would go bad and then Popeye would get mad, grab a can of spinach, squeeze the can, causing the spinach to go into the air then down into his pipe.  He would immediately grow huge muscles and take care of whatever business he needed to take care of.

Moms everywhere used this as an enticement to make you "eat your vegetables."  Mine did.  "Eat some spinach and you'll grow muscles like Popeye's."  Except eating spinach from a can was not good (to me).  At all.  Not to mention, if I managed to force down a forkful of spinach, my muscles did not grow.  There was really no incentive at all to eat spinach.  EXCEPT...

As an adult gardener, I tried it again.  And I liked it!!  I've tried growing several varieties and I've settled on one that we really like.  It is an heirloom called Galilee Spinach.  It is from Israel.  It is suited for warmer climates.  It grows well in our area.  The leaves are pointed.  They are lush and grow quickly.

A few weeks ago we picked a bunch and made a Cream of Spinach Soup.  Spinach is great just raw in salads, too.

We tried some sautéed in butter.  While not the most aesthetic-looking dish, it was certainly delicious.

I see that we have a few beginning to put some seed heads on.  I'll try to save the seeds off of some of these for next year's crop.  Popeye would be proud of me!