up close and personal: spinach

Working and living on a farm means having a front-row seat to transformations. Almost all we'll grow this season will transform from seed to complete fruit in just a few short months. I feel a lot like Ferris Bueller these days: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." In an effort to stop and look around then, an up, close, and personal look at the one crop on the farm that has made it into our dinners as of late. With small ado, I present, spinach. 
     
Our farmer  transplanted this spinach into the field about a month ago. It's about doubled in size since I arrived two weeks ago. Originating from Persia, spinach came to the United States during colonial times--and it's well adapted to growing in colder climates, making it a great early-season veggie. 

Here is spinach in its full-grown glory: our farmer over-wintered this crop, planting in late fall and covering the first greens throughout the winter, revealing these beauties in early spring. 

A sweatshirtful cooks down to a handful, but spinach makes up for its light weight by being packed full of vitamin A and D and iron. Be careful of consuming it merely for its calcium, though--spinach has tons of oxalic acid which prohibits the absorption of calcium!

and a song to sing to as you saute!