Spinach Triangles (Spanikopita)

I really need to work on my "food-tography" skills.  Part of it's that I'm lazy and don't take as much time to set up shots as I ought to. Part of it's that I'm often taking pictures of dinner, which means often taking pictures without any good, natural lighting. Part of it's my camera; I think at this point an iPhone would be just as good. It was cheap when I bought it, and that was five years ago. One of my goals for this semester is to save up enough from my work to buy myself a decent camera. I still haven't decided whether to go for a high-endish point and shoot or just go whole hog and get an entry-level SLR. A lot of it will come down to the money. Anybody have any recommendations?

It's fall now, officially, and that means pumpkin. My favorite pumpkin recipe is my preschool teacher's Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread, and I had a lovely time making some a few days ago. It's the best pumpkin bread ever. Don't take my word for it. Try for yourself. You'll thank me later. Harriet's Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread.

I've always liked Pumpkin Bread, but for most of my childhood I despised spinach. Not only that, I despised cheese, except for parmesan. Luckily, that's changed, and hence I've come to enjoy many lovely dishes. One of them is spanikopita. Spanikopita is traditionally served as a casserole, but my family often prefers to make triangles, which are less messy to eat and can be easily popped in the toaster oven for reheating. The only slightly eccentric ingredient here is phyllo dough, but that should be easy enough to find in the grocery store's freezer aisle. Stick it in your own freezer where it'll keep for ages, then stick it in the fridge the night before you plan to make the triangles so it can thaw.

Also, just so y'all know, I do not claim this recipe as authentic in any way, shape, or form (although for all I know it's exactly how all the Greek grandmothers of the world make it); I just claim it to be delicious.

Ingredients (makes 18-21 small packets)
-1 TBS olive oil
-1 large onion or 2 small, diced
-3 cloves garlic, minced

-dried dill, basil, marjoram to taste (I used about 1.5 tsp of dill and 1/2 tsp of basil and marjoram)
-salt and pepper to taste (probably about 1/2 tsp. of each)

-1 10 oz. package of frozen spinach, preferably thawed (fresh is great too)
-1 egg
-3 tbl flour
-1 cup feta cheese
-1 cup cottage cheese (optional)
-18-21 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
-canola oil, olive oil, melted butter, or pam


Procedure
-place the olive oil and about 1/2 tsp of salt in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and herbs and cook for about 5 minutes until golden and soft. Add the garlic and cook 2-3 minutes more. 

-Add your spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is nicely incorporated and the mix is warmed through. If you're using thawed frozen spinach, this shouldn't take long. If you're silly like me and forget to thaw it first, you'll find yourself waiting awhile on this step...and possibly whacking at the frozen block with a cooking spoon. Whoops. Taste the mix and see if it needs more herbs. Remember that the feta will add saltiness. 
-Take the spinach mix off the heat and crack an egg into it. Add the flour, feta, and cottage cheese (if using). Mix well. 

-Now comes the fun part. Working with phyllo isn't that complicated once you get used to it, but it can be a bit tricky. The best advice I can give is to be very gentle and be  forgiving of yourself. If a piece rips, you can probably still use it. So don't worry. 
-Take the phyllo out of the package and gently lay it out on a countertop. Put a large cutting board beside the phyllo and very carefully move one sheet of phyllo from the pile to the cutting board. Brush gently with oil or melted butter, or spray with pam/olive oil. Repeat this with two more sheets (so you have a pile of three), then cover the remaining sheets with a clean dishtowel so they don't dry out. Each pile of three sheets will make three triangles.

-Cut the three sheets of phyllo into thirds, lengthwise, and place a heaped TBS of filling on the bottom of each piece. Now, here comes the tricky part. Take one corner of each piece and fold it diagonally over the filling to form a triangle. Then, fold the triangle towards the top of the sheet, so that the filling is closed off to the air on two sides. Continue to fold like a flag until you reach the top of the sheet, then tuck the ends under. If that description's too confusing to follow, watch the last minute of this video I just found on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVnbFR4SnGU.
-Place the finished triangles on a greased baking sheet and cook at 350°F for about 20 minutes until crispy and golden. Alternatively, bake only as many as you want for your meal and freeze the remaining triangles to bake another day. 
-You could be properly organized and serve the triangles alongside a greek salad. Or you could have them with chips and guacamole (thanks, dad) and apples and honey (thanks, mom). No idea quite what inspired them to stick those sides on the table....