Better Than Popeye’s Spinach

It’s National Spinach Day. Everybody knows that no one loves Spinach more than Popeye. Spinach was his secret weapon, giving him super-human strength just when he needed it. Iron makes the body strong, and nothing contained more iron than spinach, right up until 1937.

Did spinach change? Did we find something with even more iron? No, and no. In 1870 a German chemist; Erich von Wolf, was able to correctly ascertain the amount of iron contained in leafy green spinach. Spinach contains 3.5 milligrams of iron per 100-gram serving. Unfortunately, although von Wolf correctly figured out how much iron was in spinach, when transcribing his notes, he made one tiny mistake. He forgot to place the decimal point. Instead of 3.5 milligrams, von Wolf announced to the world that spinach contained 35 milligrams of iron. It was a super-food. His mistake would not be corrected for another 67 years.

Popeye was the brainchild of illustrator E.C. Seegar. In 1919 he was asked to create a cartoon for the New York Journal. Through Thimble Theater; Seegar introduced New Yorkers to Olive Oyl, her brother Castor Oyl and Olive’s boyfriend Harold Hamgravy. Over the next ten years the strip grew in popularity. Popeye was created as part of a story line, when Seegar needed a sailor for just a single story line. That was it, Popeye should have come on the scene, done his bit and disappeared into comic strip obscurity never to be seen again. This was 1929, and America needed a hero, so Popeye not only returned, but became the lead character. By 1933 Popeye was featured as the leading man for a series of animated cartoons shown in theaters. His fondness and super strength from spinach was not the main focus of the cartoon strip, but the animation studio recognized the iconic aspect of Popeye’s spinach transformation, insisting it be featured in every cartoon. The world believed that a can of spinach could save the day. Although the mistake was corrected by 1937, no one really cared. Boys who refused to eat their vegetables wanted to get big and strong like Popeye. Now you know more about Popeye than you ever wanted to, right?

Maybe it’s because I was a girl when Popeye transitioned from the theater short reels to television, but not once did I feel the need to pop open a can of spinach and then punch someone in the noses. Believe me, I’ve met many a character that I would have loved to take a swing at, but I was a girl – a lady, and we didn’t fight our own battles. No, like Olive Oyl, I knew just how to bat my big brown eyes and get someone else to do the nose-punching for me.

That doesn’t mean I don’t eat my spinach. I do – especially as part of the cheesy layer of Lasagna.

Ricotta Spinach Lasagna
16 oz Chopped Spinach
16 oz Ricotta cheese
1-1/2 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
9 Lasagna Noodle Sheets
2 lbs Italian Sausage
1 (24 o) jar Tomato Pasta Sauce
2 cups shredded Mozzarella Cheese
2 cups grated Parmesan Cheese

Thaw chopped spinach. Squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible, set aside.

In a bowl mix Ricotta Cheese with Italian Seasoning. Add spinach, mix well and set aside until ready to use.

Note: Ricotta-Spinach can be made a day in advance. Simply cover and refrigerate.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a full rolling boil. Add Lasagna Noodles, cool al dente; about 12 minutes. Drain and lay out flat.

Note: Pasta can also be cooked a day in advance. Place flat in a zip-lock bag and store in the refrigerator.

In a large cast iron skillet cook Italian Sausage, breaking into small pieces as it browns. Drain well, return sausage to the skillet. Add pasta sauce, lower heat to a simmer and let flavors develop for 20 minutes.

To Assemble:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a Lasagna Casserole Dish with cooking spray. Place a layer of Lasagna Noodles in the bottom of the prepared dish. Spoon Ricotta-Spinach mixture over the noodles, spread out evenly. Top with another layer of noodles. Press lightly on the noodles to help smooth out the Ricotta-Spinach layer. Spoon meat sauce over the second layer of Lasagna Noodles. Lay the meat sauce on thick. Top with a final layer of Lasagna Noodles. Scatter Mozzarella cheese over the noodles, followed by a sprinkling of Parmesan.

Place Lasagna in the heated oven and let bake for 25 minutes or until warmed through and the top cheeses have browned nicely. Remove from oven; let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Serve with a simple salad and a nice bottle of wine.

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Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;
You have the words of everlasting life.