The First Fresh Peas

This blog is a lot about firsts. First pesto. First grilled pizza. First fresh peas.

Sure I've had fresh peas in restaurants. Probably in some fancy shmancy place. But I've never bought fresh, still in a pod, peas. 

I didn't even mean to buy them this time. I was at the farmers market this morning and thought I was buying sugar snap peas (yes, seriously). I didn't realize my mistake until I got home and tried to "snap" into one. A few minutes later I found myself shelling peas on the kitchen counter. 

Now, before you think I'm out of touch, remember I grew up in the southwest. Peas came in two varieties, canned or frozen. 

So here I am with my shelled peas, and I figure this should be pretty easy. So of course I consult Google. The first website used canned peas. Gross. The second, third an fourth site explained how to turn fresh peas into a tart, sauce and some other dish fit for brunch at the Palace of Versailles. 

Finally, I found what I was looking for: Toss peas in boiling water for 1 minute and toss with salt and butter. 

Perfection. And another first is finished. 

Peeling a Pomegranate

When I was a kid I ruined more than one white t-shirt by sitting out in the backyard and eating pomegranates like corn on the cob. By the time it was over, I looked like I had just slaughtered a small goat.

Years later, when pink stained fingers weren't cool anymore, I gave up on pomegranates. They weren't worth the time or effort. Luckily for all of us Al Gore invented the world wide web, and I learned that getting to those little pomegranate seeds wasn't hard at all - You just need a bowl of water:

First cut open your pomegranate. Don't worry about not cutting a few seeds. There are hundreds of them.
I like to cut my pomegranates into quarters. 

Next, put the pomegranate pieces into a large bowl of water and start pulling the seeds off the white stuff. Yes it's pith.  I had to look it up. The seeds will fall to the bottom and the "pith" will float to the top.

When your finished use a slotted spoon to scoop off the white stuff. I mean pith. 

Then dump your pomegranate seeds into a strainer and rinse the rest of the pith off. I don't have a picture of this because my sink is full of dirty dishes.

And there you have it. A wonderful bowl of non-messy pomegranate seeds to enjoy while wearing a white t-shirt. 

Fava Beans Without The Liver And Chianti

Ever see fresh fava beans at the supermarket? Pretty unlikely in Las Vegas unless you're lucky enough to have more money than God and shop at Whole Foods.

So when my corner Smith's supermarket started carrying fresh fava beans last week, I couldn't pass up the opportunity. Of course I had no idea what I was looking at in the produce section, and I definitely had no idea how to serve them (except with liver and a nice Chianti). But here's what I learned...

Fava beans come in a pod, much like green beans. But the pod is huge, like green beans on steroids. You have to open the pod and pop out the beans, one by one. Not sure why, but the inside of the pod is soft and furry - When I first opened them, it kinda grossed me out. Sorry foodies, I just wasn't expecting it. 

There were only about 5 beans per pod, so if you're gonna make some for dinner, make sure you get enough pods. 

I took out the old trusty Martha Stewart Cookbook at found a recipe for Stir Fried Fava Beans. First you simmer the beans for 10 minutes. Next, a nice ice bath. For those of you who don't know what that means (Heather) drain the beans and dunk them in ice cold water so they stop cooking. 

Next you peel the individual beans. Who knew the outer skin wasn't good? Thanks Martha. 

Then I added the beans to a hot pan with oil. I stir fried the beans for about 2 minutes and added a splash of fish sauce. Yes, I have that stuff in my pantry. After another minute, I tossed the beans in a little salt and some diced chives out of the garden, and served them up. 

They were surprisingly delicious. It's hard to explain, but they were meaty and heavy, almost like a meal. Now that I know about them, and their fuzzy pod insides, I'll definitely make them again. Although probably only when I'm trying to impress my friends or I'm having Anthony Hopkins over for dinner. 

And just in case you're wondering, it took me two days to get Hannibal Lecter out of my head. 

These pods are huge! 

The inside of the pod

What I got out of two pods

The beans after they were cooked and peeled

The final product

Keeping Basil Fresh: My Accidental Experiment

I would love to grow basil in my garden, but it's just too hot in my backyard.

So when I bought some fresh basil at a gardens market, I was really hoping to make it last. I had read somewhere that you should always keep basil in a vase of water, kinda like flowers. So I trimmed the stems and put my basil in a little glass vase on the kitchen counter.

Surprisingly it did great, and it was really nice to have some fresh basil at my fingertips. I just changed the water every couple of days, just like flowers.

About a week and a half later, I was cleaning out the fridge, when I realized I had put some of that same basil in my produce drawer (yes things stay hidden in my fridge for weeks).

So 10 days after I bought the fresh basil from the farmers market, here's what it looked like - Half was fresh and green. The other half not so much.

The basil in the vase lasted another three days or so, before I finally threw it out. Not bad, considering the alternative.

Southwestern Corn Pudding

Sometimes I try a new dish because I just hate to see food go to waste.

This weekend we hosted a fabulous potluck, but the corn never made it to the table. The woman who was supposed to bring it ended up coming late, and the next morning I had 12 cobs of corn sitting in my kitchen.

I love corn on the cob, but there was no way my husband and I were going to eat it all by ourselves. So I decided to sift through the recipe books and found an easy recipe for corn pudding. Imagine cream of corn, but stiff, like bread pudding. I had all the ingredients on hand and I even added some green chilies to spice things up. It was delicious! Especially if you like corn.

So, if you have a bunch of leftover corn this summer, here's an easy side dish from the Texas Cowboy Cooking cookbook:

4 tbs butter
2 tbs flour
1 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups of corn, cut from the cob (about 4 cobs, depending on the size)
1 1/2 tbs of canned diced green chilies. Add or subtract chilies as you like.
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

In a large saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter and stir in flour. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly until thickened (3 to 5 minutes). Remove from heat and add the beaten eggs, stirring with a wire whisk. Stir in the corn, sugar, salt and pepper, and pour into a small buttered baking dish. Place the dish in a shallow pan half filled with warm water (I used to bottom half of a small roasting pan). Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until pudding is set.