>I had great plans. I was going to use my big, bold food processor to dice the fresh chives from the garden and then freeze a few jars for winter use. Great idea, right? Wrong. I tried three different blades, and none of them diced the chives evenly. This is what I got.

So…. I diced the pile by hand with a sharp knife, dropped the results into two small glass jars, labeled the jars, and placed the jars in the freezer. The good news: chives were done. The bad news: I still had a batch of green onions waiting for me.

I did these by hand.

>Welcome to the jungle at the back of my yard! The wood piles belong to the neighbor behind us. The wildness in the foreground is ours.

We planted very little of this. Most was here fourteen years ago when we bought the house. The jungle growth is stubborn, too. We’ve cut back on the ferns – cut them out almost completely, and they still come back. In small quantities, they’re nice.

Some time in the distant past, someone put in an herb garden. The evidence remains: green onions. I call them walking onions (is that correct? help me out, readers!) because they sprout the tiny bulbs on top that eventually weigh down the stalk. Those bulbs find a home on the soil, send out roots, and start all over again in a new location – hence the “walking” moniker.

Sometimes they get rather large before I find them and harvest. They’re very determined plants – survivors in a rather unfriendly place. They’ll reach for the sun, even when surrounded by backyard jungle cover.

Once in a while I’ll realize I need a little onion for cooking and I’ll remember that I’ve neglected the “crop” back in the jungle. Then it’ll be time to dice these lovely greens and store them in jars in the freezer so I can have fresh(like) seasoning all winter long. Leave the expensive scallions in the grocery store’s produce department; we grow our own, albeit accidentally.

>This is a repeat from last fall. I pulled it out again because we’re really busy right now (translation: not much time to cook) and the spinach is growing like crazy!

Chicken, Spinach, and Tomatoes Served with Spaghetti
2 chicken breasts (I thawed them over the dying coals after cooking on the grill)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 packages (8 ounces each) baby spinach, or 1 pound washed and dried fresh spinach leaves
2 cans diced tomatoes, drain liquid
small onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup diced green pepper
herbs as desired (I used a little fresh basil and thyme)
a splash balsamic vinegar
1 lb spaghetti, or preferred pasta

Thoroughly wash spinach. Place diced chicken in the crockpot. Drop the mustard on top of the chicken. Next, add all the spinach on top of the chicken. Squash it down as needed to make it fit. The spinach will shrink in the cooking process.

Let cook for about 5-6 hours on low. About 20 minutes before serving, fill spaghetti pot with water and set to boil. Open up and drain the cans of diced tomatoes. Dump them into a skillet. Add the balsamic vinegar and onion. Saute until most of the excess liquid is gone (a few minutes). Scoop out the chicken and spinach from the crockpot and add to the tomatoes. Mix it all up and allow to simmer on low while the pasta cooks. Stir often. Add some freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Feta cheese on top.

My only question: could I do this with fewer pots and pans? One of the great advantages to using a crockpot is having fewer cooking pots to wash. I wonder if the other ingredients (onion, tomatoes, etc.) could simmer in the crockpot with the chicken and the spinach. What do you think, bloggie friends? The spinach will be ready for harvest again soon, so I’ll take your ideas and suggestions.