Spanakopita - Experiencing Food

Recently I made Spanakopita for dinner. It was Lent. Although Fridays are supposed to be an effort in sacrifice during Lent, I find myself trying to be creative on those meatless days. Fish, vegetarian pastas, cheese enchiladas...and Spanakopita. Which in reality would be a sacrifice for my children, who cringe at new vegetarian dishes, especially one made with so much spinach. I decided that they can sacrifice for Jesus and for education, so I made spinach pie. It was fun to make. A lot of work, but fun. Lots of butter and filo dough, creamy cheese and onion. And, one of my favorite healthy greens, spinach.

One might have thought that I said, "Earthworms and dirt for dinner!" Those two kids frowned at their plates, toying with their slice of pie for a few minutes, pusing it about their plates. Katie finally stuck her fork through the crispy filo and at least smiled at the great crunch it made. She tore tiny bits of flaky spinach and cheese, trying not to make a face as she bravely brought the food to her mouth. Robby watched with an arched eyebrow. Having an adventurous little sister pays off in these situations. Her flair for drama has given her the bravado needed to try all of Mom's goofy dishes. She will either rave or revolt. Chewing the Spanakopita, Katie crinkled her nose. "Hmmm," was all we got. She mostly concentrated on getting the crust away from the spinach, although she did eat most of her piece of pie. She did drink two glasses of milk, likely to wash down the green stuff.

Robby became increasingly talkative during the Spanakopita dinner. At one point, he even laid down his fork as though we might not notice, so that he could gesture with his hands. I let him ramble for a few sentences before reminding him that he had to eat his dinner. Mostly he pushed the food around and spread it out. He did indeed try it, though. Maybe they aren't ready for Greek spinach pie, but at least they know what it is now. The best part of the dinner was that Arnie, my loving husband, actually ate a full serving of spinach and enjoyed it. My hotdog loving children can continue to love those dogs as long as they humor my attempts to educate their pallets.