USE WHAT YOU HAVE

There are all kinds of recipes that call for spinach

There are all kinds of recipes that call for spinach

I was intending to stick to my plan of cutting back on grocery expenditures, I wasn’t going to pick up much at the Farmers’ Market last weekend.

There were all kinds of fresh greens to choose from, and irresistible nosegays of radishes in two shades of red; I bought vegetables as I’d planned to.

I could have walked right by the fish booth if Derek hadn’t had a tray of the freshest, loveliest halibut in his cooler. It wasn’t on my list, and it wasn’t in my budget, but it was too much to withstand. I impulsively chose a nice big steak. It was delicious, though, and I have no regrets. There’s even a rationale that makes it OK: I have often paid pocket change for a small piece of haddock fillet that was more than enough to make fish tacos for two, so surely it balances out in the end. Besides, it wasn’t my fault; I blame Derek for putting temptation in front of me!

The halibut is long gone, and this week I am going to make sure that the produce I bought, and by extension, the money I spent on it, is not wasted.

Spinach, with its thin leaves, has a relatively short shelf life, and I have already used what I bought on Saturday. How many times have I rinsed the goopy residue of leaves that are breaking down from the ones that are still good? It is something that needs to be used while it’s fresh and still appetizing, to avoid wasting food and time.

There are all kinds of recipes that call for spinach – spanakopita, vegetable lasagna, strawberry salad and curries. It’s also useful to know a few quick and easy ways to use the bits of spinach that are left after making these recipes.

Here are some: chop the leaves coarsely and cook with scrambled eggs or use as omelet filling; add shredded leaves to tomato sauce for pasta; toss with hot cooked pasta, along with olive oil, grated parmesan, chopped green onions, minced garlic, salt and pepper; sauté with chopped bacon and minced garlic; add to clear soups; mix with other salad greens, a few slices of oranges or grapefruit and toss with poppy seed dressing; puree with fruits and a few ice cubes for a green smoothie.

Fresh herbs pose a similar challenge. After using a few sprigs for whatever recipe I was following, I have, far too often, let the rest languish in the fridge until it was too far-gone to use. Some keep better than others. Basil is quite temperature sensitive and does better in the crisper than the colder part of the refrigerator; it still doesn’t keep long. I haven’t found a way to keep cilantro fresh for more than a few days. On the other hand, parsley, both Italian and curly, keeps reasonably well either wrapped in paper towel inside a plastic bag in the crisper, or in as a bouquet in a glass of cold water.

In order to use some parsley that I had left over from another week, I took home some fresh mint to use with it in taboulleh. Here is my recipe.