Well, blows me down!

"On the subject of spinach," screenwriter Delia Ephron, younger sister of Nora, advises, "divide into little piles. Rearrange again into new piles. After five or six maneuvers, sit back and say you are full." This directive, from Ephron's book "How to Eat Like a Child," reinforces the long-held stereotype that kids, and not a few adults, hate spinach.

They know better in Chester, Illinois, just 50 miles from Cape Girardeau. That's because Chester is the hometown of Elzie Crisler Segar, the creator of Popeye, one of the most famous cartoon characters of all time and a confirmed devotee of the green leafy vegetable, which is actually a member of the beet family. You may recall that Popeye regularly resorted to canned spinach as a way to boost his strength, especially when he tangled with Bluto, his nemesis.

In the fall of this year, at the annual Popeye Picnic in Chester, they'll be celebrating Popeye's 90th birthday and the 100th birthday of Popeye's svelte girlfriend, Olive Oyl. (Popeye described her as a perfect 57: 19-19-19.) The daughter of Cole Oyl, the sister of Castor and Crude Oyl, and the aunt of Diesel, she apparently was interested in younger men.

You can be sure there will be plenty of spinach to go around at the picnic. Debbie and Mike Brooks, owners of the Popeye Museum in Chester, and the 2,000 pieces of Popeye memorabilia on display there, will no doubt see to that.

It turns out Popeye was right. He knew the benefits of spinach long before it was declared a nutritionally dense superfood, meaning one that packs a lot of healthy eating per calorie. It is high in antioxidants, including vitamin C and beta-carotene, plus it contains sight-saving lutein and zeaxanthin. A cup of the stuff contains twice your requirement for vitamin K and a 3.5 ounce serving of it contains more iron than the same sized hamburger patty. Not bad for a food that is 91% water. Harold McGee, the world-renowned authority on the chemistry of food, says it is the most important leaf vegetable other than lettuce. No wonder that as early as the 12th century an Arab writer called it the prince of vegetables.

Tom Harte visits the Popeye Museum in Chester, Illinois, and learns first-hand that the famous cartoon character was right about spinach all along: it's a superfood.

But it's the eating, of course, that in my opinion makes spinach vegetable royalty. Originally from ancient Persia, the plant has been willingly eaten at least since the seventh century when it was brought to China by way of Nepal. The Moors took it to Spain but it wasn't until 1485 that it first showed up in a cookbook. By 1568 it was being grown in England and finally came to America in the 17th century.

Throughout that time people have learned that the green is not only good just eaten raw or cooked by itself, but that it is a worthy ingredient in a wide variety of dishes. Like carrots, you can even put it in a cake, just in case you want to celebrate Popeye's birthday in style.

Spinach Timbales

This elegant dish can be served either hot or cold. It is adapted from a beautiful book published some years ago by Missouri Mansion Preservation, Inc. to support restoration projects at the Missouri Governor's Mansion. I was lucky enough to be invited to be one of the book's recipe testers and have been happily savoring its many dishes on and off ever since.

Tom Harte holds a can of Popeye brand spinach on display at the Popeye Museum in Chester, Illinois.

Called the "prince of vegetables," spinach, actually a member of the beet family, packs a lot of healthy eating in every calorie.

To make spinach timbales, wilted spinach is combined with cream, butter, and cheese before being baked in ramekins.

• 1/2 cup chopped green onions, tops included
• 5 tablespoons butter, divided
• 2 pounds fresh spinach
• 3 eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 and ½ cups heavy cream
• 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 5 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 8 mushrooms

Line bottoms of eight 6-ounce ramekins with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. Chop and wilt spinach and squeeze out excess liquid. Saute onions in three tablespoons butter until soft. Beat together eggs and yolks. Whisk in cream, breadcrumbs, pepper, Parmesan, salt, and nutmeg. Add wilted spinach and mix well. Spoon mixture into ramekins and bake in a water bath for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees until mixture tests clean. Slice and saute mushrooms in remaining two tablespoons butter until lightly browned. Unmold ramekins and top with sliced mushrooms.