Despite our strange summer weather, they aren't even "late" this year. According to my garden records, we got our first picking of peas last year just one day earlier.
My dear husband took his afternoon coffee break sitting at the kitchen table and shelled the peas with me and we got them done lickety-split. (Don't spread it around, but I had a rum and coke! Hey, I split wood all morning, worked in the garden all afternoon, it's Sunday and I earned it. Don't know what it being Sunday has to do with my alcohol consumption . . . I just threw that in.) The only discouraging thing about shell peas is that the bulk of them is . . . well, shell.
One whole quart of peas. I package the peas for the freezer in bags of one and one-third cups each (which is just the right amount serving for the two of us) so that means . . . uh-oh, this sounds like a story problem. Mama Pea has NEVER done well with story problems. Okay, if I have 4 cups of peas and need 1-1/3 cups for each serving . . .duuuh. I'll have three servings put up for the freezer! Except I'm not going to put them all in the freezer.
You'll notice some new potatoes in the picture with the peas. These are the first ones I've pilfered from our potato patch this year. I've had a craving for creamed peas and chicken over new potatoes so you can see where my culinary thoughts are leading.
The cherry tomatoes aren't the first from our garden but these nine are the most I've picked at once so far. They are being veeery slow at ripening.
I pulled a few beets for dinner the other night and was expecting more beet greens than beets but was surprised to find some really nice sized beets. I'm thinking of setting up for some serious beet processing in the next day or so. I'll give you my full report of that as soon as it happens. Stay tuned for that super-exciting saga.
7 comments:
The peas look delicious! I am looking forward to planting a fall crop since my spring crop gets eaten so fast it never seems to make it to the freezer!
I'm planning on doing some beet processing this week, too. I was hoping for some pints of beet greens, too, but they're really buggy all of a sudden.
I just pulled out our spring pea vines yesterday, they were spent. I can't believe they lasted this long! I'm planting for fall in 2 weeks. We got about 4.5lb, shelled.
Hi, Erin - Wish there were a chance in #%!! we could get fall crops up here but Jack Frost always gets the "harvest!" So far, my peas look really good . . . like I'm gonna get a whole bunch for the freezer. Fingers crossed.
Hey, Jody! Thanks for your comment. We only like the beet greens when they're pretty small . . . like with a little marble-sized beet on the end, so I never preserve the greens. But we both love beets (cooked with butter, salt and pepper and pickled) so I like to put some up that way.
Have just added your blog(s) to my reading list and am anxious to find the time to go through back posts. You're a great writer.
I won't have enough peas from my garden for freezing this year either, so it's off to the farmer's market this weekend. I'm envious of your tomatoes though--mine are all still green.
Hi, Ruthie - Well, my tomatoes that are ripe are just cherry tomatoes which always seem to ripen up before full-sized ones. But they're still mighty slow this year . . . but totally understandably with our cool weather and lack of sunshine. I'm grateful for ANY we're getting!
Wow, thank you!! I really enjoy reading your blog, too!
I like to sautee beet greens with olive oil and onions/garlic. The hooband doesn't like them that way, but he did eat them in a quiche last month, so...
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