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Quick & EasyBy Beverly Barbour
The Dirt On SpinachTime was when spinach just wasn't worth the trouble, even if it is a great source of iron and vitamin A. Trying to get the dirt out of those curly, heavy, leaves was not my favorite sport, much as I loved my Mom's Hot Spinach Salad. Your mother probably made it too...and if you have any German ancestors in the family, take the work "probably' out of that sentence. My mother made her dressing for fresh, leafy garden lettuce and for spinach by cooking bacon until is was crisp. Lifting the strips from the pan and letting them cool on paper towels. Then she would mix a little sugar and pepper in with a bit of water and stir that together with some cider vinegar into the hot bacon fat. She would pour this over the torn lettuce or spinach leaves, sprinkle sliced scallions and crumbled bacon over the salad and rush it to the table hot. The leaves would wilt a bit, of course, but it was delicious with pork, beef, cold meats or just with eggs to flesh out a meatless meal. Today they seem to have pressed all of the wrinkles out of the spinach leaves before they package them. There are no more thick, curly, chewy leaves - I guess we're buying babies. They're good, too, but I do miss the texture and the flavor of those dirty, gritty, curly leaves we used to run through three washes and then towel dry before the went into the salad bowl. My good friend, Mary Helland, Devils Lake, ND, writes. "We have been eating garden spinach this year and we'll never go back to regular lettuce. Bacon, spinach, tomato sandwiches are really good." Here is her favorite spinach salad. It's a lot like my Mom's but a bit more delicate. MARY'S GOOD SPINACH SALADMary uses no bacon fat in her dressing and lemon juice together with vinegar. 5 slices bacon, diced and fried crisp Pour of the fat from cooking the bacon. Make the dressing in the fry pan by combining sugar, vinegar, lemon and salt. Pour warm over the torn spinach leaves and garnish with bacon bits and chopped egg. Makes 2 to 4 servings. Helen Magid of La Crescenta, CA says "This salad was a mix-and-match evolution with the help of my six year old son. "Jake, who loves spinach, also loves kumquats and insisted that his mother use kumquats from the tree in their front yard. Her solution became his favorite salad. SPINACH-CITRUS SALADIf you aren't lucky enough to have a kumquat tree in your yard just add orange sections or orange slices. 1/4 cup pecan halves In a frying pan over medium-low heat, stir pecans often until toasted, about 5 minutes. Pour from pan into a wide bowl. Thinly slice kumquats crosswise and remove seeds (do the same if orange sections are used). Place in bowl with pecans and add spinach, parsley and cheese. Add dressing to salad and mix. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 4 to 6 servings. Helen Seiler of Colwich, KS, came up with another twist on the bacon/spinach marriage. It's just as quick and easy as the other salads. SPINACH SALAD WITH AN EXOTIC TOUCHBean sprouts and water chestnuts add a hint of the orient to the spinach/bacon combo. There may be dressing left to use another time. 1 pound fresh spinach Place spinach leaves in bowl and toss with bean sprouts, water chestnuts, onion, eggs and bacon. Combine dressing ingredients and shake to mix well. Toss to lightly coat the leaves. Serve immediately. Makes 6 to 8 servings. SPINACH, WHETHER COOKED OR RAW, TAKES KINDLY TO VINEGAR AND BACON
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