Volunteer Spinach

I was going to collect seed from my spinach last year but got sidetracked and it didn't get done.  I ended up feeding the old plants to the chickens.  They love fresh greens of any kind.

This spring, I noticed I had some volunteer spinach growing along the sidewalk.  I left them for Lulu to nibble on as she wandered past.  I also thought it might keep her away from the other plants growing in the garden.  Wrong!  She'll eat a side of spinach before moving over to the tiny cabbage and bok choi plants for a leaf or two - unfortunately for those plants, a leaf or two is most of the plant.  :(

Since the spinach has been doing so well, I decided Lulu could share her bounty with us.

I recently got a steamer and decided to try cooking some spinach.  Yum!  It was so tender and much easier to cook than boiling it in a pot and having to try to turn the spinach so it all gets done at the same time.  We ate it straight from the steamer with a drizzle of vinegar.  (Sorry no pics as I forgot to snap some before we ate it all.)

I also made a spinach salad that I regularly made in the past.  Again no pics but it is not hard to make.  Chop 1/2 pound of bacon and fry until done.  Boil several eggs, peel and slice.  Slice some mushrooms.  Wash spinach and rip into bite-sized pieces.  Place spinach in bowl and sprinkle on bacon bits.  Add egg and mushroom slices.  Drizzle on ranch dressing.  Enjoy!