Cause I Eats Me Spinach! Beating the Gritty Spinach Blues.

We all know how much Popeye loves his spinach and some how that canned substance gave him super muscles to take on any foe.

But perhaps you're not feeling the love so much, especially when it comes to fresh spinach.  Do you have...the gritty spinach blues?  *gasp*

We've all been there, you order a lovely, fresh spinach salad and your first bite is like a day at the beach.  No, not because it's that transportive that you feel as if you've landed in the tropics.  Nope, you've now got a mouth full of sand and you feel like you're eating that beach.  Earthy flavors are great, just not when you feel like you're actually munching on parts of terra firma.  So how to you beat the gritty spinach blues?  You send that spinach to the pool!

Okay, you won't actually toss your fresh spinach into the pool, the other swimmers would likely mind and I don't think chlorine is the right pairing for this leafy green.  You'll turn your sink into a mini spinach pool.  Put down your salad spinner and back away from the colander, trust me.  The grit that sits on spinach is super grit, it won't fall off just by running water over it or spinning it to death, it will cling on like it's life depended on it.  But, super grit apparently likes deep sea diving.  So, stop up your sink, fill it with water, and toss in your loose spinach.  Give the spinach a swish around every few minutes, and let it just hang out in the water for about 5 minutes.  During that time, all of the grit will magically plummet itself to the bottom of your sink.  So you can skim the spinach off the top (it's just like cleaning the pool!), and then unplug the drain to let that grit wash far far away.  And voilà...clean, grit-free spinach!  So toss up a salad with some warm bacon dressing or saute it up with some garlic and a touch of olive oil for a simple side dish.  Kiss that grit goodbye!