farm crops: spinach
info: Spinach is a leafy green vegatable with a smooth texture & robust flavor. An excellent source of vitamins A, C, and K, as well as iron, calcium, and magnesium. storage: Wrap loosely in paper towels and store in the refrigerator crisper drawer for 4-5 days.
preparation: Wash well in cold water. Trim roots & thick stems. Chop/tear to desired size/consistency.
Eat spinach raw in salads & sandwiches. To cook: saute, steam, boil or stir-fry. Also goes well in soups & dressings.
recipes:
from Origin & History of Spinach
The diffusion of spinach into the Mediterranean was almost certainly the result of Arab ingenuity. Spinach, which does not grow well in hot weather, was successfully cultivated in the hot and arid Mediterranean climate by Arab agronomists through the use of sophisticated irrigation techniques probably as early as the eighth century A.D. The first references to spinach are from Sasanian Persia (about 226-640 A.D.) and we know that in 647 it was taken from Nepal to China where it was, and still is, known as the "Persian green." The first written evidence of spinach in the Mediterranean are in three tenth-century works, the medical work by al-Razi (known as Rhazes in the West) and in two agricultural treatises, one by Ibn Wahshiya and the other by Qustus al-Rumi. Spinach became a popular vegetable in the Arab Mediterranean and arrived in Spain by the latter part of the twelfth century where the great Arab agronomist Ibn al-'Awwam called it the "captain of leafy greens." ...read more