Brawny spinach a mealtime wonder, boasting essential nutrients and subtle flavor

The first section is intended as a one-time-only introduction. It needs to be screened

You know how it is – cruising the booths at the local farmers market, making eyes at the produce, longing to take a chance on arugula or fennel, but fearful to commit your time, money or refrigerator space to something unfamiliar. And green.

Well, we’re here to help. Like a dating service for veggiephobes, Meet Market is an occasional piece conceived to match you with your perfect produce. Sure, lettuce, like Hugh Grant, is easy. We’d like to introduce you to the Orlando Blooms of the garden world – something a little deeper, a little more mysterious.

Clueless about kohlrabi? Has radicchio left you bitter? Don’t know how to dress a yellow cuke? We know. We’ve been there. And we’ve tossed bushels of slimy, wilted, unrecognizable produce onto the compost heap to prove it.

Like love, summer is fleeting and sweet. Revel in it. Drink it in. Eat. Don’t let it pass you by. Worse yet, don’t let something so good turn so bad – especially in your refrigerator.

Meet spinach. Strong. Leafy. Rich (in iron, that is). Equally handsome in salads and lasagna, this brawny green is a mealtime wonder. Just ask Popeye: “I’m strong to the “finich” ’cause I eats me spinach.” Grammar and spelling aside, would you argue with the sailor man?

For years, spinach was the lothario of the dinner world, not because it got around, but because moms across the country served it in a very unsavory way – stewed and tarted up with vinegar. Can you say “yuck”?

My, how things have changed. Today, spinach is a star, not only for its health value (it’s loaded with Vitamins K and A, folate, magnesium, iron and 20 other essential nutrients), but for its subtle flavor. Pick up a bunch at the farmers market and toss it into a savory salad (this warm spinach salad is a springtime classic) or add it at the last minute to pasta dishes. Just be sure to wash it thoroughly – its reputation may have improved, but it’s still a little dirty.

Warm Spinach Salad

Makes 4 salads or 2 entr?e-size salads

1 bunch baby spinach (fresh tastes better, but bagged will do)

4 slices bacon

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 teaspoons prepared Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme

1 teaspoon minced onions

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup crumbled bleu cheese (optional)

2-3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped (optional)

Fry bacon until crisp and reserve 2 tablespoons drippings in pan. Wash, trim and dry spinach and divide among 4 plates (use 2 plates for a dinner-size salad). Top with crumbled bacon.

Whisk together vinegar, mustard, thyme, onions and sugar and combine with bacon drippings in pan. Cook over medium-low heat until bubbling.

Remove from heat and pour over spinach immediately. Top with eggs or bleu cheese, if desired.

Adapted from “The All New All Purpose Joy of Cooking” by Irma S. Rombauer, Ethan Becker and Marion Rombauer Becker.