By Presidents' Day and Sean had the day off again. We've started using long weekends the way I think you're supposed to use long weekends, meaning actually for something rather than just as a longer version of a weekend. We drove to New Hampshire on Monday—two hours, Liam in the car seat doing his usual car-sleep starting at Somerville and continuing to exit 7—and walked around Portsmouth for an hour and ate lunch at a place on Market Street where the chowder was thick and correct and Liam ate bread from the basket with concentrated authority.
He walks everywhere now. Toddling, properly, through the restaurant to Sean's undivided attention while I ate my chowder in peace. That's the division that's emerged: I eat, Sean chases. Then Sean eats, I chase. We've gotten efficient about it.
Birthday planning. Liam turns one in six weeks and I'm making the cake. I've decided on chocolate with a simple vanilla frosting because he hasn't had either yet and I want his first encounter with cake to be with something real. No fondant. No structural components. A cake that tastes like something.
The cooking class is teaching me things I didn't know I didn't know. This week: the difference between tempering spices and just adding them, and why the order of operations in Indian cooking isn't arbitrary. I brought homemade saag paneer to work on Thursday. Priya tasted it and made a face of professional assessment and said "this is actually good" in the tone of someone who was genuinely surprised. I said "thank you" and meant it specifically.
The saag paneer I made for work was the thing that cracked something open for me in the kitchen — once you understand how to coax flavor out of greens rather than just wilting them into submission, you start applying it everywhere. This spinach dip isn’t Indian, and it’s not pretending to be, but it carries the same spirit: spinach treated as the star, not an afterthought. I made it the weekend after the cooking class and Sean ate half of it standing at the counter before I could get it into a bowl.
Healthy Spinach Dip
Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 10 min | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup light mayonnaise
- 1 packet (1 oz) dry vegetable soup mix
- 1/2 cup water chestnuts, drained and chopped
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prep the spinach. Thaw the frozen spinach completely, then wring it out thoroughly in a clean kitchen towel or paper towels until as dry as possible. This step matters — excess moisture will make the dip watery.
- Mix the base. In a medium bowl, stir together the Greek yogurt and light mayonnaise until smooth and evenly combined.
- Add the dry mix. Stir in the dry vegetable soup mix until fully incorporated into the yogurt and mayo base.
- Fold in the remaining ingredients. Add the dried spinach, chopped water chestnuts, and green onions. Fold gently to combine. Season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Chill before serving. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or overnight) to allow the flavors to develop fully. Serve with crackers, pita wedges, sliced vegetables, or a hollowed-out bread bowl.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 95 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 6g | Carbs: 7g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 340mg