Articles by Nina Adams

So I have another recipe for you…

Spanakopita (spinach/cheese pie) has always been a favorite in my family. The flaky filo dough and creamy interior was always a crowd pleaser. I picked up a bunch of   monster spinach leaves at the farmer’s market and was inspired to make this dish. The original spanakopita recipe is loaded with animal fat and the philo dough is highly refined. Whenever I “healthify” a recipe, which normally means reducing the fat content, I try and add more flavor in the form of spices or fresh herbs. While ordinary spanakopita recipes are quite basic and usually only call for one herb, I chose to include both dill and parsley, mixed with the spinach and cashew cream. Instead of the philo dough, I used a spelt tortilla. These spanakopita rolls are easy to prepare and could be served as finger food cut into smaller pieces with a tooth pick. Because there is no flaky dough in this recipe I chose to include a cream sauce which helps moisten the crispy, baked tortilla.

Spanakopita Rolls:

1 lb spinach

1/4 c pine nuts

1/2 c chopped fresh dill

1/2 c chopped green onion

1/4 c chopped parsley

1 clove garlic chopped

juice of 1/2  lemon

6 oz. firm tofu squeezed, crumbled

3 T blended cashews

pinch of ground nutmeg

2 tortillas (spelt, brown rice, ezekiel)

Sauce:

1/3 c soaked cashews

3 T chopped fresh parsley

1 T yellow mustard

Juice of one orange

Juice of 1/2 lemon

enough water to blend  (cup)

Directions:

Cook the spinach and crumbled tofu until the spinach is wilted, add the rest of the ingredients including herbs and mix thoroughly. Lay the tortillas flat and spread the spinach mixture between the two tortillas. Roll them up and slice them in half. With two tooth picks, pierce the rolls so they stay closed. Bake rolls on cookie sheet at 350 for 10-15 minutes or until crispy.

For the sauce:

Blend the soaked cashews with the water, orange juice and lemon juice and reserve three tablespoons for the spinach mixture. Then add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.

It is no secret that Central America grows some of the best pineapple. When I was living in Panama, we had pineapple every morning which was picked completely yellow and the flesh was incredibly sweet and juicy (unlike the green ones commonly found in North America).

This kind of pineapple tastes so different then the ones you buy in a store and are really a special treat! I would make just about pineapple anything, smoothies, sorbet, salsa! An apple a day? It was a pineapple a day for me… and of course a couple more pineapples for  the rest of the fam. You can imagine just how many we got through in a day! Once a week, we went to a special open produce market where farmers would come drop off their goods and stores would buy their produce. We could get a pineapple that size for about $1.00 each. (we often bought 15 at a time).

My dad has been drinking the same pineapple juice concoction every morning for about 6 years… yes, he loves it that much (I’ll admit it, it is really good :-D). It is a special ratio of fresh, ripe pineapple, fresh squeezed orange juice, strawberries and the secret ingredient (if available) passion fruit!

Passion fruit has the best flavor. The fruit has such a lovely perfume. I can only describe the taste as a “tropical bubble gum lemonade”(hehe :-D). It is definitely unique!Passion fruit in North America is a bit hard to come by and expensive. We could get them for about 25 cents each in Panama, here they are $1.50.

To check for ripeness, the fruit should have a sweet perfume and the skin should be wrinkly. The interior contains a sweet and tangy yellow pulp which encases edible seeds. Some people strain the seeds, but I usually just blend them up! Don’t worry if you can not find these fruits though, the juice is delicious without it!

Piña Passion Juice:

1/2 chopped pineapple

16 ounces fresh squeezed orange juice

6 frozen or fresh strawberries

1 passion fruit (pulp and seeds)

A”ripe” pineapple in North America.

When choosing a pineapple, check for a sweet smell near the base. Generally, the yellower the better, just make sure the pineapple is not soft, if it gives to pressure, it means it is starting to rot.

First cut the top off of the pineapple and then cut off the skin.

next cut the “meat” off, around the core

Cut the core off and  or throw it away ;)!

Put everything into the blender and blend. Serve immediately as the juice separates after sitting.

Breakfast?

Now… that size is more like it