Chive Talkin'

About author / Victoria Wesseler

Healthy eating advocate; master gardener; local food expert. Even veggie haters love her recipes.

Sometimes I sit in amazement and wonder about how a girl from the small industrial town of Naugatuck, Connecticut ever ended up living on seven acres in rural America. When I left the East Coast to attend graduate school, little did I know that I would never return. "Two years," I told my friends and family, "and I’ll be back." Well, you know what they say, life is what happens when you are busy making other plans. They (did you ever wonder who "they" really are?) also say at any given time you are exactly where you are supposed to be. Well, when I finished graduate school, I fell in love with this part of the country and stayed. And here I am in the middle of America's heartland, right where I should be.

We get up early. Now, I could sleep until mid-morning on any given day, but I married a man who grew up on a family farm in southern Indiana and, by habit, is up before the roosters. Which in turn wakes up our two cats who jump on the bed and begin to wail for their breakfast. They're an alarm that has no snooze button—-so I'm up!

As I write my CDKitchen column, the sun is beginning to rise. From my office window on the second floor, I can see glorious streaks of pink and purple over an expanse of farm field waiting to be tilled and planted. The song of the birds has returned, the grass is greening up in the front yard and a parade of farm equipment travels up the graded gravel road that runs in front of our home. The earth is slowly waking up from a long winter's nap and the signs of spring are all around me.

It is going to be a beautiful, warm day. The impatient gardener in me wants to run out and plant seeds, and the equally impatient cook in me wants to pick fresh produce from our gardens and orchard. I can't stay indoors a minute longer. I go down stairs, grab a pair of kitchen scissors and head out the back patio door. Surely there has to be something growing somewhere that I can harvest and use.

And, before you know it, there it is. A bright green patch in my herb and edible flower garden catches the early morning sunlight. CHIVES! I can almost hear them calling me—-hey, over here-—we've been waiting for you! Their presence announces the arrival of spring as loudly as a cymbal crash. I drop to my knees, break off a stem and inhale the fragrant onion scent. I'm in heaven.

Minutes later I come back into the kitchen with my handful of chives. The possibilities are endless. The mild onion flavor of the chives will be a welcome addition to many dishes. I snip them into tiny ¼-inch pieces. As I complete my task, my husband comes into the kitchen and asks me what's for breakfast. I grab my precious bowl of chives, some farm fresh eggs, a bit of leftover ham and smile--remembering that life's simple pleasures are often the very best.

Serves/Makes: 6

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cup chopped ham
• 1 1/2 cup chopped, cooked potatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 6 large eggs
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped chives (or more to taste)