Spinach on the side

I ALWAYS make salad. Dinner isn't complete without a salad, much to my kids chagrin. Which is why, I often make Salad Shakes in my fabulous Vita Mix; but I also to have a green side WITH the protein. It just feels more complete. And I adore baby spinach. One of my favorite dishes is lightly wilted spinch with garlic and soy sauce cooked in melted butter, however I can't make that because of
Alan. He can't do the butter. If you are ever at Sushi on Bloor, try their spinach dish. It rocks. My sister and I always share it.

The other night I wanted spinach, so I improvised a dish I have never made before. I threw in all kinds of bits and bobs I had left over, and it came out AWESOME.

In a large soup pot, add a bit of EVOO to coat the pan, and about a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil. Never add more than that, because it will over power the dish and taste awful.

Chop up some onions, garlic, any kinds of mushrooms you have (I used 3 old, somewhat dried up shitake mushrooms I found in my fridge and a huge handful of enoki mushrooms), and shred some cabbage. I used red cabbage and savoy cabbage, but any kinds will do. On a medium high heat, sweat out your onions. After they have cooked a bit, add the minced up shitakes. If you don't have shitakes, use regular or portobellas or whatever you have. I mince them small enough that you can't tell what they are. Ethan (my youngest) dislikes mushrooms on principle, and if he sees them he won't eat the dish. If he doesn't know they are there, he likes it fine.

I added the enokis after the shitakes were about cooked. You can add them whenever, but they cook fairly fast. Grate some frozen ginger into it, add a generous splash of soy or braggs and throw in the shredded cabbage. Toss it around a little bit.

Ignore my chipping nail polish.

Toss it around just to lightly wilt the cabbage. I like it crispy. It gives this dish a bit of crunch.

Toss in LOTS of spinach. It wilts down to practically nothing. At this point, I usually turn the heat off after I have tossed it a couple times, cover the pot and let it rest while I finish off the last few things for dinner. By the time I am done getting everything else on the table, the spinach is done. If it still needs a bit more, I turn the heat back on and steam it for another minute or so.

When it is ready, I put it all in a bowl and sprinkle a small handful of sesame seeds and some strips of seaweed (nori) on it. Seriously, its delicious.

My kids even like this! ...As long as Ethan doesn't see the mushrooms!

It is also delicious as leftovers, or on a bed of rice.