After my post on the nutritional value of spinach, I received a few emails stating that some people had a hard time eating raw spinach and didn't like the feeling that raw spinach left on their teeth. A few even voiced that they didn't like to eat cooked spinach either. Although I highly recommend eating spinach raw for its highest nutritional value, here is a soup recipe of mine that I would like to share that many of the people in my past restaurant did enjoy. It also has the added nutritional value of carrots and the two main ingredients combined have a great vitamin source. Give it a try and see if it will change your mind about spinach.

Vicki's Cream of Spinach & Carrot Soup
1 6oz to 8oz bag fresh baby spinach
1/2 valdalia or sweet onion chopped
1 carrot shredded
1 celery stalk chopped
1/3 cup fresh chopped parsley
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons floor
3 cups water

Saute on med low heat the olive oil, onions, celery, carrots, garlic,and ginger until onions are translucent.  Add 2 1/2 cups of water and bring to boil. Add chopped spinach and parsley and reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add whipping cream and milk and bring back to a soft boil stirring to make sure does not scorch. In a cup whisk together the 3 tablespoons of flour and the 1/2 cup of water making sure there are no lumps. Add the flour and water mixture to the soup and stir briskly making sure that the mixture does not clump and then reduce heat to low.  This will thicken the broth slightly. Add salt and pepper and simmer on low for about 5 more minutes. Serves 4.

Some people like to puree their mixture in a blender but I like to eat spoon fulls of the veggies at a time and find the extra step unnecessary. For an added twist you can also add fresh chopped mushrooms to the recipe.