Dark, delicious, feathery and nutritious... if spinach were a man, you'd want to dance with him, then marry him. But what do you with spinach besides making the same old salad? Well, fresh spinach has a slight bitterness that can point up the sweetness of other vegetables, especially in the deeps of winter, when good corn and the like are hard to find. Pairing a little fresh produce with a frozen vegetable makes cooking easy and affordable, and gets the best from each item.

Or go the other way, and let spinach star, with smoky or creamy cheeses accentuating it's texture and herbal flavors. Here are a few easy ways to eat more delicious spinach.

Almost everyone loves garlic bread- and when you stuff it with spinach it's even better.

Spinach-stuffed Garlic bread

Take:

One loaf of prepared garlic bread,(thawed if frozen)open it, butter side up, onto a baking sheet. Set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large frying pan, saute

1 Tbsp olive oil

One 10-oz package of fresh spinach, rinsed, stemmed and patted dry

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ground coriander

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Cook over medium-low heat until garlic is soft and spinach is thoroughly wilted. Check for seasoning.

Add to spinach mixture in pan

1/3 C mascarpone cheese, cream cheese or whole milk ricotta cheese

1/2 C grated cheddar, pepperjack, or smoked mozzarella cheese

2 Tbsp grated romano or parmesan cheese

Stir to blend. Pack spinach mixture onto bottom half of garlic bread, place top on loaf and wrap in foil. Bake on baking sheet at 375 F for about 18 minutes, until bread is crusty and cheeses are melted. If needed, unwrap bread from foil, place on baking sheet and bake for an additional 5 minutes, until bread is crispy enough for your taste. Cool slightly, slice and serve. Especially good with Pasta Arrabbiata. Serves 2-4.

Another wonderful and simple thing to do with fresh spinach is to mix it with a frozen vegetable- it's economical, and the fresh spinach brings out the garden sweetness of the other vegetable. I most often like to mix corn and spinach, but sometimes a little green-on-green action makes me feel that summer is close by.

Spinach with Peas or Corn

2 Tbsp unsalted butter or 1 Tbsp EACH butter and olive oil

1/4 C chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

4 C fresh spinach, washed, stemmed and patted dry

1 C frozen sweet white corn, or frozen tiny green peas

1/4 tsp dried thyme, dill, smoked paprika, or mint*

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