fake out creamed spinach

i love creamed spinach.

but it's one of those side dishes we never had as kids.

which is probably a good thing for my mother, since the only vegetable i would eat as a child was corn.

yes, i was that kid.

so you can imagine what i thought of spinach.

it pretty much was the worst food i could imagine, second only to lima beans or brussel sprouts.
but those smelled worse than my gym socks so i probably would have picked spinach if my mother had tried to feed it to me.
luckily, mom always knew my limitations tastes, so corn regularly filled the veggie portion of my plate.

but then, oh yes, then i went to rays the steaks.
and i tried their creamed spinach.
wow.
it was of course served with the most perfect filet.
and a side of garlic whipped mashed potatoes.
so you would think i would not be focused on the spinach.
but really, it became a sauce to my steak and mashed taters.
each mouthwatering bite of beef got a hearty dip into the creamed spinach.

it pretty much changed my view of spinach forever.

on thursday i was thinking about dinner and somehow got to creamed spinach.
no reason why, i wasn't making steak or going to rays or anything in that realm.
my mind is generally just a big ball of weird that doesn't fire it's synapses very "normally."
to get to creamed spinach it went something like this on my four minute walk to the metro:

hmmm what should i have for dinner, nelson has class tonight, i could wait for him to get home for dinner, not sure if he ate a late snack, i am already hungry, if i wait for him i'll basically eat two dinners, maybe he wants something specific anyway, should i even bother waiting, oh we have tofu, and he likes tofu, i could save the tofu and make it with those chickpeas we have, you know the indian flavored ones he likes, not the cumin ones that he thought were ehhh, oh grey's anatomy is on tonight, gawd i need to stop watching that show, its so hein, it's really more hein that i watch private practice afterward, gawd, that show is even worse, hmmm i wonder if nelson will be late and maybe i can watch them without ridicule, oh maybe nelson could just pick up the bell on the way home, i need to stop eating all that processed crap, especially if tbey can't remember my damn fire sauce, jesus it's cold, look at these assholes running across the street, they're going to get hit, so if i make tofu what should i make with it, i think there's an old sweet potato i could salvage into fries, i should make green beans with that too since sweet potatoes really aren't a vegetable and my real age test says i should be eating more vegetables, oh wait i have spinach, i should try to make creamed spinach!

send me happy dale stat right?

anyway, on the super comfortable metro ride home i googled a few recipes to get the basic idea down.
i was starting with frozen spinach though.
which meant, i was already behind.
no matter, i could come up with a fake out recipe for sure.
after all, i had garlic

and the secret ingredient, nutmeg!

and the fake out star itself, greek yogurt!

all on my side to make creamed spinach without too much guilt.

to help me finish my veggies!
and lower my real age.

Recipe: Fake Out Creamed Spinach

Ingredients:

1.5 cups frozen spinach

2 garlic cloves, chopped finely

1 tsp olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 tbsp greek yogurt

Method:

-heat pan to low, add olive oil and chopped garlic cloves

-saute 3 minutes until soft, don't burn

-add frozen spinach, turn up heat to medium, cover 5 minutes

-stir and break apart spinach, add nutmeg, salt and pepper, cover, cook 3-5 minutes

-add greek yogurt, stir to combine, cover, cook 2 minutes

-eat and enjoy

i gobbled up this spinach before the tofu was even done.

so if i could spinach without the addition of rays perfection it must be good.