sugar snap peas

When Will I Ever Learn?

June 24, 2010

I keep notes, I write this stupid blog. And still, I make the same mistakes over and over.

What, pray tell, was I thinking in March when I created this mess?

Actually, I know what I was thinking when I planted shelling peas two rows wide followed by sugar snap peas weeks later, three rows wide. I was thinking: “Shell peas are planted earlier than snap peas. Therefore, it shouldn’t be a problem telling them apart because the shelling peas will mature a lot faster. This will be great!”

Pea Fail.

I planted the shelling peas a full three weeks earlier than the sugar snap peas.

The sugar snap peas are ready now.

The shelling peas are ready now.

I can’t tell the damn difference!

See? Here is a side-by-side comparison:

Yes, yes, the pizza crust is somewhat easier to identify. The shelling pea compared to the sugar snap pea though? Not so much.

So we’ve got a big bowl of them on the counter. I offer them to guests and say, “Just bite into them. If the shell isn’t juicy and sweet, here, spit it into this bowl.”

But keep the peas!

And now, some useful gardening information:

How not to plant sugar snap peas.

Gardening books will tell you various things about planting peas. I don’t consult books very often anymore unless I have a real problem, but I am quite positive that I read this in a gardening book: it is a good idea to plant peas in wide rows (meaning instead of a single row of individual pea seeds, you plant 3 or 4 rows of pea seeds closely) since the vines will help hold each other up. I have done this religiously every year. Because:

1) it makes sense, and

2) it allows me to plant more peas in a smaller space.

It is 2010, I am writing this post so that I remember NEVER to follow that advice AGAIN!

Here is the mess planted that way:

Half are falling down (thanks to Lola, the pea-loving dog. She’s like a migrant dog, working her way from crop to crop as they ripen):

Now, I finally know better, because this year, in addition to planting them that way, because I had leftover sugar snap pea seeds, I stuck them in a single row along the back fence behind the garlic. You could say that was a bad idea too, since the tall vines now shade the garlic more than I’d like (let’s just forget that part for a minute), but I prefer to think of it as a surprise success.

Because, these peas, planted in a single row, are a dream to pick. Easy. Fast. Healthy. Not falling over. And in the end, I bet I’ll harvest more from them, too, since I can actually find them.

Lola can find them too. She camps outside the fence and pulls them through the fence holes. But at least that way, she can’t pull the whole vine down, which is another bonus.

All I have to do now, is to remember this for next year…ha!

Beef and Peapods

January 28, 2010

My Favorite Potluck Meal

Yes. You heard me right: Potluck.

Growing up, I was a picky eater. Thankfully, my kids are not picky, aside from their deep (and recently conquered) fear of Sloppy Joes.

However, if you have a picky eater, you will know what a traumatic event the evil potluck dinner can be. You know who you are. You eat before you go, you bring secret stashes of food, make lame excuses, etc.

This recipe isn’t just for potluck dinners though. It just happens to be what my mom would bring to potluck dinners back in the late 70’s that we would eat. Back then, it was pretty darn obscure. Stir fry? Beef and Pea Pods?

It became a big hit. It became well known. It became popular. It became one of the first items to go. And that was a bummer because I had to jockey for position in line to be able to get some.

It’s a recipe I still make today. And it’s only gotten better with today’s availability of fresh pea pods. Back then, my mom had to buy frozen ones. They were actually pretty gross. I use sugar snap peas when they look good, or I have them in the garden. I like them better than flat pea pods.

My parents were in town last week when I made it last time. I don’t think they had had my mom’s old recipe for over 20 years. It’s an oldie AND a goodie. It’s quick to make, leftovers are awesome. And guess what meat I use?

Round Steak.

So it’s really cheap.

Yeah, you can up the ante with a better cut of meat, but if you cut across the grain of the round steak, I actually prefer it. I don’t mind a little chew.

Beef and Peapods

1 lb Round Steak
3T veg oil
1 clove garlic pressed or chopped
1 T grated fresh ginger
1/2 cup slivered almonds toasted in a pan or the oven til just golden
3/4 cup green onions chopped (or substitute white onion if you don’t have and add them after the steak in the beginning of the stirfry)
1 cup chopped celery
3 cups (approximately) snow peas or sugar snap peas. If using sugar snaps, cut a few of the on the diagonal to expose the peas inside)
1 pkg white mushrooms sliced in halves(optional. My kids hate shrooms, so I skip)
3T soy sauce
1 t sesame oil
1 can chicken broth
1 1/2 T cornstarch.

Heat wok on high. When hot, add oil and wait about a minute. Add meat and stir fry until it changes color, about 2-3 minutes. Add celery (and white onion if using), garlic and ginger. Cook a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add mushrooms if using along with soy sauce and chicken broth. Cook 5 minutes on medium heat. Mix cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water and add to wok, stirring constantly. Add peapods and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Sprinkle with almonds and serve over white rice.

If bringing to a potluck, put the rice in a separate covered casserole dish.

* I just have to ask: does my wok look gross, or is that scum on the sides normal?

Busted!

July 8, 2009

Well. I was out weeding yesterday, I had my camera, and truth be told… it really didn’t require all that much stealth to catch her in the act. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, click here and read the sad pea story.

Just Got Back from a Lovely Trip…

July 6, 2009

And my garden was a mess! Weeds everywhere, super dry. Pea plants that dogs have made a complete mess of didn’t come back while we were gone as I had hoped:

Have I talked about this before? How I seem to have the only vegetable-seeking dogs? I don’t know, maybe it’s the absence of squirrels around here. But ever since we had our first Viszla (or is it Vizsla? I can never remember), I have had this problem. If I were a more disciplined blogger, I would run around after my animals with my camera to catch them in the act and show you. But it seems I am never quite organized enough for that. You will just have to take my word for it.

When I built my garden, I put the fence around it to keep wild animals out. The reason I am so careful to close the gates behind me now, is to keep my dogs out. (Well, them and the chickens, too. But, Lola-as you may remember-killed all the chickens last year and they are not allowed to free-range anymore.) Anyway, the problem is, the fence is about 10 years old now and falling apart. Lola-the sociopath-has identified its weaknesses and now browses the garden at will. This week, it’s the peas. A few weeks before that, it was the asparagus. I have come to consider this normal behavior. No big deal. But then people come over and totally freak out about it. Can’t get over it. So I mention it here, as you may find it entertaining. Makes me wish I actually did chase them around all day. But with the remote to the shock collar instead of a camera…

So, I will probably pull most of the sugar snaps tomorrow and salvage what I can. I was also faced with collapsed arugula plants that had gone to seed. I pulled them up and will save the plants until they are dry and keep the seeds. (Which is so insanely easy. I finally figured it out after arugula was growing everywhere that I had thrown the old plants.). Besides that, I found that each of the hard-neck garlic plants had sprouted a scape. They are pretty, but I need to cut them off so the plant puts all its energy into producing a bulb instead of the seed head.

And, saving the worst for last: the CHIVE PLANTS! I might just dig those damn things up once and for all. Why, oh why, when you read about the virtues of chive plants, does no one tell you of the perils? Look closely at the picture below and see if you can spot the tiny black specks inside the faded flowers. Yes? Well, should you so much as brush up against one of those damned plants, thousands of hardy little seeds will fall to the ground all around the plant. And even if you can’t get things to grow in pots or well-tended rows, mark my words that by the first freeze, you will have hundreds of baby chive plants. (Yes, I do know that dead-heading prevents this problem, but come on!)

Go ahead, just see if you can pull one out. I seriously doubt it. They are almost as bad as that beautiful chamomile. Or didn’t I tell you about that stuff, either?