Fresh

Historically speaking, I have always hated peas. In company I will swallow whatever ends up on my fork, but in private I have no trouble dedicating whatever time it takes to pry little green pellets out of a frozen dinner before I put it in the microwave.

So snow peas [mange-tout] were an abject lesson in "never say never"  for me, and the first sugar snap pea was an even more embarrassing crow-eating event.They are both divine. Who knew?

When snow peas were suddenly available only in little plastic envelopes shipped all the way from China, I stopped buying them. Sad. And incomprehensible. Snow peas are so easy to grow, why don't we have local ones?

In protest I planted my own this summer, both snow peas and sugar snaps. And on the why-stop-there principle, I also planted spinach (yum, green teeth), scarlet runner beans, carrots, tomatoes and zucchini. My luck ran out after the beans, but never mind.

With very little effort of my own, I had vegetables. Sweet, tender, spinach – enough to share with friends. Beans big enough to hold up a tent. And oh my gawd the peas. On my knees, religious experience, this is what we're supposed to be eating, peas. Humbling, move me to say thank you to the pea vines, peas.There is only one word I can think of to describe how they actually tasted– fresh.

I'd take a picture, but I've eaten them all.

Comments

[Karen]

Erin comes by the writing skills honestly - from both parents! Keep up the amazing 'chat'(?)!