Tags
Boise ID, cooking, greens, healthy cooking, Janie Burns, lamb, locavore, Malabar spinach, Meadowlark Farms, meatballs, organic, pork, Spinach
“I have no regular spinach this morning,” said the young man at the Purple Sage Farms produce stand at the Boise Farmer’s Market. “But, I do have Malabar spinach, if you’re interested,” he added quickly, directing my gaze to plastic bags, each filled with a stack of enormous green leaves.
I was fascinated. They looked like some overgrown tropical thing, not like something that could thrive in this hot, dry climate. “Oh, they’re going nuts in my greenhouse,” he assured me. “They grow right up the wall supports!” he exclaimed, raising his arms in a mock gesture to grasp Jack’s beanstalk.
I’m a sucker for new things, so I bought a bag and placed it on the bottom shelf of my fridge where it intimidated me for a few days. He’d said I could cut it up into a salad or steam it like chard or spinach. He also recommended using it as a wrap. A little Malabar goes a long way in salad. It’s a substantial green with a fairly strong flavor. I worried that I’d never get through an 8 ounce bag of this stuff. Then I remembered the delicious ginger-lemongrass meatballs I’d made a few nights earlier and corralled in a Ziplog bag in the freezer. Then I looked at the chili-garlic sauce in the door of the fridge. Hmmm.
I am now hooked! Malabar spinach makes wraps totally guilt-free!
This is a full-sized dinner plate, by the way.
The meatballs were made with lamb from my lamb lady, Janie Burns at Meadowlark Farms, mixed with pork from Homestead meats, and a little magic from my kitchen.
https://rangewriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/img_1133.jpg
Hmmmm, never heard of it. If someone had told me “you have to try malabar spinach” I would have thought they were pulling my leg. But now I know it is real!
LikeLike
I couldn’t have faked the photo. 😉 Of course, a spinach hater would probably run the other way from these intimidating leaves.
LikeLike
Great idea. I like the presentation of the wraps and meatballs. Take care, BTG
LikeLike
Thanks, BTG.
Sent from my iPhone
LikeLike
Wonderful – That looks like an awesome meal. You’ve given me some great ideas.
LikeLike
I saw a few packages at the Co-op, too. 😉
LikeLike
I wonder if it’ll grow here in Nova Scotia? I love the idea of the spinich wrap. OK. I just popped over to ask Ms. Google and she says it’s a perennial vine ! But I suspect I’d have to build a heated greenhouse.
LikeLike
Yes, it just might not get warm enough where you are. I think it’s grown in a greenhouse here, mostly because it’s too hot and dry in these parts.
LikeLike
I put the word out on Face Book to see if anyone grows and sells it here. It’s great having a leafy green alternative for a wrap – especially when it is full of nutrition!
LikeLike
I think it’s grown in a greenhouse here. Otherwise it would be too dry. Let me know if you find a source. 😉
LikeLike
Wow, Rangewriter. And here I was going to a peanut butter and mayo sandwich for dinner. Your lamb meatballs and Malabar spinach fixin’s sure put the breaks on that! Thanks.
LikeLike
Bump it up, my great wahoo!
LikeLike
It seems like you are doing lots of experiments with your food these days. Nice ideas you have shared here. 🙂
LikeLike
I do love to experiment with food, Arindam. And last week I finally had a Tandoori and Muglai curry fix. Yum!
LikeLike
Ha ha!! 😉 Awesome!! Then if ever we get a chance to have a lunch or dinner together, we do not have to worry about the menu if Tandoori and Muglai curry is available. 🙂
LikeLike
Indeed!
LikeLike
Hey there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be ok. I’m absolutely enjoying your blog and look forward to new posts.
LikeLike
That looks yummy – even unwrapped. Especially unwrapped, I guess. I admire your adventurousness, when it comes to cooking I tend to stick to my childhood meals…
LikeLike
I love trying new things. The problem is, I can rarely recreate anything because I rarely fix anything the same way…I abhor recipes…which means I don’t bake. If you loved your childhood meals, why wouldn’t you stick to those? 😉
LikeLike
Seems like malabar spinach is something I should try out as well. Looks really good! Never even heard about it before.
LikeLike
Good luck finding it. I only know the one little local farm that grows it here. And I think they have to grow it in a greenhouse. It’s so blazing hot and dry here, nearly everything needs a little help, except potatoes and onions. 😉
LikeLike
This was one of the ‘links’ at the end of one of your posts.. oh yes, how well i remember growing malabar spinach in the 1980’s in mississippi.. it tolerated the heat much better than normal spinach.. it was lovely grown on a fence/trellis, and had such a great texture, etc…. i’ve recommended it to others but they never follow through and plant it.. it’s their loss!
ah, right now my closest substitute would be red hibiscus flowers.. they are very delicate and silky.. high in iron, and they are great as a salad… unfortunately they wouldn’t work well as a wrap!
hope all’s going well; i’m at a cyber and not caught up but need to close and get home…. will be offline til next week…
lisa
LikeLike
Ha! The link must have been dear Janie from Meadowlark Farm, whom I mentioned in a recent post. Hibiscus flowers. Hmm. I’ve eaten squash flowers, but Hibiscus is a little too foreign and fragile for our hot, dry climate, I think. I’ll have to look for that on a menu when I’m traveling.
Have a great week.
LikeLike