I never liked raw spinach that much until I started eating it from my sister’s huge garden in southern Maine, where she and her husband grow almost everything they eat—a year-round endeavor, thanks to lots of canning, freezing, and the smart use of greenhouses and the like. She even brought me spinach seeds so I could start growing it in my own community garden. My garden is a tiny fraction of the size of hers, but the spinach comes out of it just as tender and sweet. This recipe barely wilts the spinach, so it still has that fresh flavor, but helps compensate for the sturdier texture of supermarket spinach, if that’s what you need to use, by softening it slightly. If you have tender garden-fresh spinach, you can feel free to let the topping cool before adding it to the spinach for a cold salad instead.

　　

Ingredients

3 cups packed baby spinach leaves (about 3 ounces), tough stems discarded

　　1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

　　1 slice bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

　　4 ounces large shiitake mushrooms, tough stems removed, caps cut into 1/2-inch slices

　　Kernels from 1 ear fresh corn

　　1 to 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

　　Kosher or sea salt

　　Freshly ground black pepper

　　

Step 1

Put the spinach leaves in a serving bowl.

　　

Step 2

Line a plate with paper towels. Pour the oil into a medium skillet over medium heat. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the bacon. Sauté until the bacon is crispy, 2 to 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer it to the paper towel–lined plate, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible.

　　

Step 3

Add the shiitakes to the skillet and cook just until they exude their liquid, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the corn and cook until it turns bright yellow, 2 to 3 minutes.

　　

Step 4

Stir in 1 tablespoon of the vinegar. Taste and add more vinegar if desired, plus salt and a generous amount of black pepper.

　　

Step 5

Pour the hot mushroom and corn mixture over the spinach in the serving bowl and toss to combine thoroughly. Sprinkle the bacon pieces on top, and eat.

　　Reprinted with permission from Serve Yourself: Nightly Adventures in Cooking for One by Joe Yonan. Text copyright © 2011 by Joe Yonan; photographs copyright © 2011 by Ed Anderson. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.Joe Yonan is the food and travel editor at the Washington Post, where he writes the award-winning "Cooking for One" column. Joe's work also earned the Post the 2009 and 2010 James Beard Foundation's award for best food section. He is the former travel editor at the Boston Globe. Visit www.joeyonan.com.