PLEASE PREPARE THE PEAS
Turns out that delicate, in-season peas taste best when they’re cooked in the same precious liquid that nurtures them on the stem. ~Kerrie Conan
PEA SEASON IN THE GREEN MARKET
Sweet green pea season is upon us so if you have young children – aged five through seven – they will take particular delight in helping you in the kitchen in very specific ways. Incapable of fathoming the mundane, little fingers still working on perfecting hand-eye coordination and getting the hang of handling food can perform tasks that older kids – and often adults – shun. Shelling peas is a perfect example.
Scoop up the toddlers and take them to the green market to scoop handfuls of the podded beauties, and haul them home to a heap on the table. Show them how to shell the green sweet things, turn your attention to something less mundane and, when you return, you’ll have a heaping bowlful of perky, sweet peas to brighten the dinner table. All of the work is in the shelling because peas take about, oh, no time at all to cook in a shallow pan of a very little bit of boiling water.
COOK THE PEAS, . . . FOR MERE SECONDS, PLEASE!
Looking for something to round out this post I came upon Mark Bittman’s blog about food and cooking. Guest writer Kerrie Conan posted about peas. Peas in pods, sugar snap peas, snow peas – they all benefit from mere seconds in hot water until their color becomes vibrant, as Ms Conan concludes:
. . . simply bring 1/4 inch of water to boil in a skillet. Add the peas and keep them moving only until all become vibrant. No more than a simple count to 15. Then remove the pan from heat and serve them with a slotted spoon.
That is the gist of the preparation. I would add that that is a quick count to 15. If you want to read a beautiful piece of food writing, have a look-see at her circuitous meander through a few good ways of simply cooking peas.
IT’S SCAPE!
I bought the coolest thing at the green market yesterday: garlic scape.  It looks a little like the stem of a carnation that grows circular rather than straight, and tastes of garlic. Rather strong garlic, actually. It’s the top part of the garlic plant. And it’s great added to today’s preparation, below – if you can find it at your green market – in place of garlic. Apparently, it’s the new culinary rage. I also added some to a salad, and it is very strong. Give it a try; all you have to do is slice it. No peeling, no garlic smell to remove from your finger tips. Keep it in the air-tight container along with other vegs in the refrigerator.
A DELICATE DELIGHT
Sugar snap peas are also in season and they actually go two better than sweet peas in their pods: you can eat them whole (except for the stem) and you can eat them raw. They look like sweet peas but are a little shorter and plumper. To chomp into a sugar snap pea is to know – with complete understanding – why they are named as they are. They are so crisp that they snap, and so sweet that they delight even the pickiest of eaters (I would bet), young or old. A handful of fresh, raw sugar snaps is a snack of pure vegetable bliss. You can also sauté them in a little sesame oil and garlic – or garlic scape – for about, oh two minutes, and have a vegetable that glows on the plate and complements just about any other dish that you care to serve.
SIAMESE PEAS
Snow peas, pea’s flat Asian cousin, are also completely edible, and are better after a few seconds dancing about a skillet in butter or oil, or cavorting in stir-fry amongst other like-minded vegetables and spices. Don’t think you have to load up on the flavorings; snow peas hold their own simply and quickly heated, served all by their lonesome loveliness at dinner or lunch.
Any members of the pea family can be added to salads (even potato or chicken salad), served alone or with other vegetables alongside a potato or grain dish and meat, poultry or fish. And did I say they make a great snack?
