Peas

Henry and I had a big garden day.  First we picked dried peas.  Peas are just about my favorite vegetable to grow, because they're fool-proof survivors, you can start them really early, during the most enthusiastic part of early spring, and they're delicious.  They also suck in nitrogen from the air and stuff it down into the soil to feed our future crops.  We ate all the fresh snow peas we could through the cool summer we've been having in the northwest (sorry everybody else, about your heat-wave), and now that the sun is finally out we're picking the dried pods to shell and put up in the pantry.

Taking Henry to the garden is my favorite thing.  He scoot-scoots around in the mulch and whines for raspberries and unilaterally decides to harvest an onion sometimes.  He winds up with dirt all over his face and sometimes his arms get a little pink and I always have to keep him from getting into the rhubarb leaves and it's usually the most joyful thing we do in any given week.  And afterwards he always sleeps well.

Also, thanks to our buddies Harry and Daniel, we came home with a heavy bagful of fresh potatoes.  This is my first real garden, and these guys are our first garden buddies, and I'm so thankful for both.  There's something about growing food that makes me want to share it with people, and it reminds me that we need to see all of our friends more.  If you're our friend, come over for dinner, will ya?

Peas
Pisum sativum
Family: Fabaceae


It's fun to eat foods that have been cultivated for thousands of years.  Sometimes I think about all of the people who probably ate peas at one time or another, from Abe Lincoln to Julius Ceasar. Some of us may be the subject of Shakespeare plays or time-travel buddy-comedies, but we all eat the same peas.  At least, we do if we were born in the last 5,000 years or so and have access to produce originating in Egypt or the near-east.
Anyway, I don't really need to say too much more about peas, but here's this, from  the WSU Extension Service:


In Norse mythology, Thor gave peas to humans as a punishment, not a gift. One version of the legend says that he sent flying dragons to use them to fill up and foul all of the wells on earth. The dragons were a little clumsy though, and some of the peas landed on fertile ground, giving the people a new vegetable. To calm and flatter the even angrier Thor, the mortals dedicated the vegetable to him and ate peas only on his day, Thursday.


Here there be monsters:

I found a few of these sweethearts, called pea moth larva, in my pods at shelling time, having each eaten through a pea or two.  The internet says that crop rotation and harvesting your crop early are the best way to foil this guy.  

--Tim 8/9/11