The taste of pesto, without the food processor

My latest food dilemma -- what to do with half a cabbage and half a bag of frozen spinach, left over from my last recipe? I started mentally going through my pantry... pasta! With garlic! And of course my favorite, vidalia onions. 
The creation certainly looked good when I finished making it, but I was surprised to discover how much it tasted like pasta with a pesto sauce. This is convenient, considering how much I dislike taking out and cleaning the food processor. I didn't have pine nuts or fresh basil on hand, but I'm sure they would have made it even better. Parmesan cheese also adds to the pesto flavor.

Pasta with garlic, cabbage and spinach

olive oil
1/2 head cabbage, chopped
1/2 bag frozen chopped spinach
1 vidalia onion, chopped
3-4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
crushed red pepper flakes
basil (fresh or dried)
freshly-ground salt and pepper
pine nuts (op)
whole grain pasta, cooked
parmesan cheese (op)

Sauté onion in olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and spices, stir for 1/2 to 1 min. Mix in cabbage, then add spinach. Stir until heated through and cabbage has softened (7-10 mins on medium to low heat). Add more olive oil if the edges of the cabbage or onions start to brown. Add pine nuts if using. Serve over whole grain pasta with parmesan cheese.

(Recipe by H. Farrell)