Gardening Tips from the Culinary View
Did You Know…
Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) cultivation began about 2000 years ago in the middle east and reached Europe much later around the 1100’s. Spinach is in the amaranth family and is related to Swiss chard, beets, lambs quarters, the grain amaranths and the ornamental cockscomb. The leafy greens also used to be known as the goose foot family because supposedly the leaves somewhat resembled a gooses foot – takes a bit of imagination to see that. The US is the world’s second largest producer of spinach and most of the spinach we consume is produced domestically.panerai replica uk
Types of Spinach
Spinach types are generally classified by the amount of “crinkling” the leaves have from savoy to semi savoy to flat or smooth leaf. The savoy types are often preferred for the fresh market while the flat leaf varieties are especially important for the canned and frozen market because they are easier to clean. Spinach is a low growing plant and tends to get a fair amount of grit on the leaves. Varieties suggested by Master Gardeners our area include Bloomsdale – an old savoy type, Melody- an AAS winner savoy type with better disease resistance, Space – a smooth variety with resistance to bolting and Tyee – a semi savoy type with good resistance to bolting. In our garden, we have also had good success with the savoy variety Hybrid No. 7. If you like really large spinach leaves, we’ve harvested leaves over a foot long from the variety Giant Nobel.replica breitling watches
When to Plant
Spinach is a cool season plant that we most often direct seed into the garden. For best germination, soil temperatures should be in the range of mid 40’s to low 70’s. Fall plantings are usually from late September to late October depending on when the summer heat finally fades. Spring planting timing is 6 weeks before the average last freeze date so about mid-February in our area. Spinach is quite cold hardy and can tolerate temperatures in the teens once established. Most years our fall planted spinach will continue to produce right through the winter and into the early spring. Warm weather in the spring induces the plants to flower – AKA “bolt” – and the quality and quantity of the leaves diminishes rapidly signaling the end of the season. Spring plantings must be made early enough to mature the plants before warm spring weather induces bolting. Overall, our fall plantings have been more reliable and productive than our spring plantings. This is my wife’s favorite leafy green, so I grow about 200 plants which give us plenty and some to share.
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Harvest and Storage
Spinach leaves can be harvested anytime the size is appropriate for the intended use – i.e. small leaves for salads and larger leaves for cooking. The leaves are pinched or snipped off near the crown of the plant taking care not to damage the new developing leaves. We harvest spinach leaves every 3 to 5 days depending on the weather throughout the cool season. Once warm weather arrives and before the plants bolt, we pull the entire plant and harvest all the leaves that are good sized. Spinach can be stored in the refrigerator for a week to 10 days in a sealed plastic bag with paper towels to absorb excess moisture. Spinach can also be frozen, canned and dried for longer term storage. cartier replica watches
By: Michael Vidrine
Spinach Pinwheels
Course Appetizer
Prep Time 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes Cook Time 20 minutes minutes Total Time 2 hours hours 35 minutes minutes
Servings 24 servingsbuy replica Rolex submariner
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 1 small sweet onion diced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp fresh dill minced
- 1/4 tsp red chili flakes optional
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup goat cheese softened
- 3 tbsp Messina Hof Lepard Vineyard Chenin Blanc
- 8 oz spinach
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 sheets puff pastry
- 1 cup Swiss cheese shredded and divided
- 1 egg beaten
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 425°F.
- Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat, then add onions. Sautee the onions until golden brown.
- Add spinach and cook until wilted and the water has evaporated. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whip cream cheese, goat cheese, spinach, caramelized onions and spinach, dill, salt, chili flakes, wine, and garlic powder.
- Spread out the puff pastry sheets, then spread half the cream cheese spinach mixture evenly over both puff pastry sheets. Make sure mixture is spread to the edges, especially the top edge of the puff pastry sheet.
- Sprinkle the shredded cheese all over the top of cream cheese spinach mixture, evenly.
- Roll over the bottom of the puff pastry sheet and keep rolling until a log is formed.
- Seal the log closed by pressing down on the seams of the puff pastry sheet.
- Allow to rest in the fridge for 2 hours in order to firm up.
- Once firm, remove from the cooler and using a sharp knife, slice log into 12 pieces of pinwheels.
- Place pinwheels at least 2 inches apart on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the top with beaten egg.
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove pinwheels from oven and let them cool for a few minutes. Serve warm.
Wine Pairing for Dishes with Spinach
Wine Pairing with Spinach
5 tips for Wine Pairings with Spinach:
- Dark, leafy greens are easily interchanged in recipes.
- Spinach has a delicate earthy flavor with a sweet finish. It is versatile to be used with red or white wines depending on other ingredients.
- Cooking spinach softens any bitterness and brings out more earthy flavors. Adding additional heavier earthy elements, such as mushrooms and bacon, allow for pairings with heavier and more full-bodied wines like Cabernet Franc or Bonarrigo Red.
- Different seasonings and spices can also be used in the dish with different flavor directions. Eaten raw in salads with dressings then whites are better. The trick is to pair the wine to the salad dressing.
- Recommended wines:
