Somehow the topic of childhood cartoons came up the other day and I mentioned how much loved Popeye.
It was one of my top three for sure. Yogi Bear and Woody the Woodpecker were other favorites. But the idea of Popeye chowing down on spinach and saving the world made me so happy as a wee one.
Really. It still makes me happy. So does spinach. I wonder if I’d love leafy greens as much today if I hadn’t grown up on that cartoon?
Remember this recipe for vegan creamed kale?
Yup, I did it again.
This time I used spinach. You could use fresh leafy greens or frozen. I used about 2 cups of frozen.
I made a few alterations to my original “cream” recipe, so I’m re-posting it with the tweaks below.
Vegan Creamed Spinach
[vegan, gluten free]
- 1/2 cup roasted salted cashews
- 1/2 cup plain almond milk
- 1/4 cup (+/-) water
- 1 tbsp whole grain mustard
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp Bragg’s aminos
- spinach
I let the cashews soak in the almond milk ~20 minutes before starting dinner. I wanted them to soften a bit so they would blend more easily. I’m not sure if it’s a necessary step if you use a food processor, but I was using my magic bullet this time. Previously I used raw nuts, but I decided to try roasted ones to see how the depth of flavor would change. I think it was a real win.
Once I started blending the nuts and nutmilk I added a little bit more water to help it reach the right consistency. Depending on how long you soak the nuts you may need more or less. I used about 1/4 cup. Then I added the rest of the ingredients (mustard, Bragg’s, nutritional yeast, lemon juice) and pulsed away until it was smooth and creamy.
I poured it into the sautéing spinach, stirred it around to coat the greens, and let it thicken a bit.
Then I served it in a bowl alongside a fresh, crusty wedge of bread.
Really it would be ideal over quinoa, rice, or any other grain, but I had just scored this loaf from the Farmer’s Market and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to dunk it in the extra sauce.
Full disclosure, I drank some of the extra “cream” straight from the jar.
I’m not telling how many times I refilled my bowl though.
Creamed spinach and bread – the dinner of champions. Like Popeye.
He would be all over this. Maybe then he could channel his strength towards something more useful than rescuing Olive Oyl…pink slime?
Did you watch cartoons as a kid? Did you have a favorite?
Pop Quiz: Can you finish the line(s) to this song?
I’m Popeye the sailor man…
ahhh that looks so good! And I vaguely remember Popeye, but I think all those cartoons were popular when I was very young, so I missed out on those a bit!
This was the best post to wake up to!!! It is 6:30 am, still sleepy and we get to talk about cartoons! LOVE popeye!!!! Too bad its not still on 🙂 but what a great inspiration to kids. I have two boy cousins, both which refused to eat anything that was not white EXCEPT for baby spinach because of Popeye! Now they are 6’6″ and 6’5″, professional athletes and in great health! We are all convinced we owe our gratitude to Popeye and to the spinach! Here is a little treat I found: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B4w4lafinU
…”I live in a garbage can… I fight to the finish, cuz I eats me spinach.. I’m Popeye the Sailor man, Toot Toot!”…
I really like the Gummy bears 🙂
Yum, that looks great! I love creamed spinach, I’ll have to give the vegan version a try
yes!! the gummy bears were awesome! like popeye and his spinach, they had a similar save-the-world ability once they drank that potion, right?
🙂 yeahhhhh!!!
I’ve never had creamed spinach because I always thought it looked creepy as a child 😉 But this looks too good not to try! Especially since I’ve been loving on spinach! I for sure watched cartoons as a kid, I never watched Popeye though!
you are a vegan queen. i sooooo want to make this!
LOVE.THIS!!!
and yes, heart me some Popeye. personally, i was a fan of Wimpy. perhaps it’s because i too have a weakness for hamburgers…le sigh.
Oops, when we were kids we used to say “I’m Popeye the sailor man, I live in a garbage can. I love to go swimming with half naked women, I’m Popeye the sailor man toot toot!”. Funny, I forgot that until I read your post. Kids are so rotten right?!!!
“I live in a garbage can…. I eat all the worms and spit out the germs” ???? That’s what WE used to sing. weird kids 😉
This looks delicious, I totally dig the flavour roasting nuts brings out… so much more oomph, no? 🙂
This entire meal reminds me of my childhood – of course it was made with milk then and we ate it with eggs sunny-side up. Having a vegan creamed spinach recipe can bring back all the fun in a much healthier way 🙂 ….
Most of my favorite cartoons are from Eastern-Europe, but from the “English-speaking” side of things that would be the Smurfs. I still like cartoon – either my old childhood ones or the newer Pixar films.
smurfs! yes. i loved that one too 🙂
thats the same version we sang. so bizarre. my sister and i were on the phone discussing it and we decided the song lyrics made no sense and we must have made them up but clearly thats the same weirdo version everyone else knows.
haha, never heard the naked women part before.
I never grew up with spinach dip, but holy moly I love all of the ingredients in this, so I reckon I could eat it all with a spoon 😛
Holy yum, this sounds good!
OMG, I *loved* woody wood pecker and yogi bear, but I think my favorites were Gem and the Holograms and Gummy Bears. Ahhh, the memories… 🙂
Courtney
PS “…I’m strong to the finish
Cause I eats lots of spinach
I’m Popeye the sailor man”
yeah! I guess it IS “i live in a garbage can…” which makes no sense bc i dont think he lived in a garbage can, did he??
weird song.
First off, I just want to say that this blog is amazing!! Thank you for all these fabulous recipes. This spinach recipe is one of our favourites. Recently I was looking for a vegan spinach dip, and this recipe came to mind. All I did was add chopped red onion, pepper, extra lemon juice and a smidgen of agave for the sweet. Place it in the fridge to cool and presto, the most delish spinach dip you ever tried!! Thanks for helping us discover new and wonderful vegan options!
yay! awesome 🙂