Garden peas a Gardner's candy...

Every year on President's Day my Husband heads out to the garden and plants his row of peas. Regardless if there is snow on the ground he will shovel his way through and plant them. 

I love garden peas, peas are a good source of vitamins C and E, zinc, and other antioxidants that strengthen your immune system. Other nutrients, such as vitamins A and B and colostrum, they help to reduce inflammation and lower your risk of chronic conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, and arthritis. I like just eating the plain pea like candy handfuls at a time!!!

How can you preserve garden peas? 

Well with the amount My Gardener Guy grows I end up freezing some...

I could go into a long detail of how but hey I'm a busy girl and as a Realtor, Wife and Grandma there is only so much time. So I am directing you to a link of how to...

https://www.thespruceeats.com/blanch-and-freeze-sugar-snap-peas-1327654

What can you do with peas, the list is long...

Use them as a side dish, purée them into a soup, add them to a stew, or briefly blanch them and toss them in risottos or pastas. When they're small and tender, they're also great raw in salads. Or, my favorite in the palm of my hand I eat them like chips or candy...

Those new potatoes will pair up nice with the garden peas!!!

Creamed Garden Potatoes and Peas Recipe

We all have comfort foods...this one is mine, My Gardner Guy approves!!!

Ingredients 2  pounds small red potatoes, quartered 3 cups of fresh or frozen peas 1 chopped onion 2  - 4 tablespoons of butter 3 tablespoons plus 1 tsp. of all purpose flour 1 - 1/2 tsp. of salt 1/4 tsp. pepper 2 cups of 2% milk 1 cup of half and half cream Directions Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 8-12 minutes or until tender. Drain. Meanwhile, place peas and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3-5 minutes or until tender. Drain. In a large saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until blended; gradually add milk and cream. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in potatoes and peas; heat through. Yield: 12 servings. Special notes....I'm doing the weight watcher thing... Nutritional Facts 2/3 cup equals 156 calories, 5 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 18 mg cholesterol, 345 mg sodium, 22 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 6 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1-1/2 starch, 1 fat.

Peas.....A Garden Treat!!!

Peas

The Pea is a frost-hardy, cool-season vegetable that can be grown throughout most of the United States, wherever a cool season of sufficient duration exists. For gardening purposes, peas may be classified as garden peas (English peas), snap peas and snow peas (sugar peas). Garden pea varieties have smooth or wrinkled seeds. The smooth-seeded varieties tend to have more starch than the wrinkled-seeded varieties. The wrinkled-seeded varieties are generally sweeter and usually preferred for home use. The smooth-seeded types are used more often to produce ripe seeds that are used like dry beans and to make split-pea soup. Snap peas have been developed from garden peas to have low-fiber pods that can be snapped and eaten along with the immature peas inside. Snow peas are meant to be harvested as flat, tender pods before the peas inside develop at all. The Southern pea (cowpea) is an entirely different warm-season vegetable that is planted and grown in the same manner as beans.

Recommended Varieties

The following varieties (listed in order of maturity) have wrinkled seeds and are resistant to fusarium wilt unless otherwise indicated.
Early

Daybreak (54 days to harvest; 20 to 24 inches tall, good for freezing)
Spring (57 days; 22 inches tall; dark green freezer peas)

Main Season

Sparkle (60 days to harvest; 18 inches tall; good for freezing)
Little Marvel (63 days; 18 inches tall; holds on the vine well)
Green Arrow (68 days; 28 inches tall; pods in pairs; resistant to fusarium and powdery mildew)
Wando (70 days; 24-30 inches; withstands some heat; best variety for late spring planting)

Sugar

Snowbird (58 days; 18 inches tall; double or triple pods in clusters)
Dwarf Gray Sugar (65 days; 24 to 30 inches)
Snowflake (72 days; 22 inches to harvest; high yield)

When to Plant

Peas thrive in cool, moist weather and produce best in cool, moderate climates. Early plantings normally produce larger yields than later plantings. Peas may be planted whenever the soil temperature is at least 45°F, and the soil is dry enough to till without its sticking to garden tools.
Plantings of heat-tolerant varieties can be made in midsummer to late summer, to mature during cool fall days. Allow more days to the first killing frost than the listed number of days to maturity because cool fall days do not speed development of the crop as do the long, bright days of late spring.

Spacing & Depth

Plant peas 1 to 1-1/2 inches deep and one inch apart in single or double rows. Allow 18 to 24 inches between single or pairs of rows. Allow 8 to 10 inches between double rows in pairs.

Care

The germinating seeds and small seedlings are easily injured by direct contact with fertilizer or improper cultivation. Cultivate and hoe shallowly during the early stages of growth. Most dwarf and intermediate varieties are self-supporting. The taller varieties (Green Arrow and Bolero) are most productive and more easily picked when trained to poles or to a fence for support; but they are no longer popular. Peas can be mulched to cool the soil, reduce moisture loss and keep down soil rots. Some of the snap and sugar peas are vining types with heights of 6 feet or more that require fencing or other supports.

Harvesting

Garden Peas
When the pea pods are swollen (appear round) they are ready to be picked. Pick a few pods every day or two near harvest time to determine when the peas are at the proper stage for eating. Peas are of the best quality when they are fully expanded but immature, before they become hard and starchy. Peas should be picked immediately before cooking because their quality, especially sweetness (like that of sweet corn), deteriorates rapidly. The pods on the lower portion of the plant mature earliest. The last harvest (usually the third) is made about one week after the first. Pulling the entire plant for the last harvest makes picking easier.
Sugar Snap Peas
Snap peas should be harvested every 1 or 3 days, similarly to snow peas to get peak quality. Sugar snaps are at their best when the pods first start to fatten but before the seeds grow very large. At this point, the pods snap like green beans and the whole pod can be eaten. Some varieties have strings along the seams of the pod that must be removed before cooking. Sugar snaps left on the vine too long begin to develop tough fiber in the pod walls. These must then be shelled and used as other garden peas, with the fibrous pods discarded. Vining types of both sugar snap and snow peas continue to grow taller and produce peas as long as the plant stays in good health and the weather stays cool.
Snow Peas
These varieties are generally harvested before the individual peas have grown to the size of BBS, when the pods have reached their full length but are still quite flat. This stage is usually reached 5 to 7 days after flowering. Snow peas must be picked regularly (at least every other day) to assure sweet, fiber-free pods. Pods can be stir-fried, steamed or mixed with oriental vegetables or meat dishes. As soon as overgrown pods missed in earlier pickings are discovered, remove them from the plants to keep the plants blooming and producing longer. Enlarging peas inside these pods may be shelled and used as garden peas. Fat snow pea pods (minus the pea enlarging inside) should be discarded. Fibers that develop along the edges of larger pods, along with the stem and blossom ends, are removed during preparation. Pea pods lose their crispness if overcooked. The pods have a high sugar content and brown or burn quickly. Do not stir-fry over heat that is too intense.
Pea pods can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for two weeks. Unlike fresh green peas, pea pods deteriorate only slightly in quality when stored.

Common Problems

The first signs of fusarium wilt and root-rot disease are the yellowing and wilting of the lower leaves and stunting of the plants. Infection of older plants usually results in the plants producing only a few poorly filled pods. These diseases are not as prevalent on well-drained soils. Double-dug raised beds amended with abundant organic matter can greatly improve soil aeration and drainage. Fusarium wilt can be avoided by growing wilt-resistant varieties.

Questions & Answers

Q. Should I inoculate my peas with nitrogen-fixing bacteria before planting?
A. When peas are planted on new land, you may increase the yield by inoculating peas with a commercial formulation of nitrogen-fixing bacteria. In an established garden, however, inoculation is less necessary. If you are in doubt, inoculation is a relatively inexpensive process that is easy to do and ensures better plant-nutrient status.

Selection & Storage

There are two common varieties of peas, green garden peas that need shelling and edible-pod peas that are eaten whole. Snow peas, sugar snap peas Chinese pea pods and many others fall into this category. They are low fiber pods with small wrinkled peas inside. The entire pod is eaten, cooked or raw.
Green garden peas are legumes just like dried peas, except they are eaten at the immature stage.
They are a cool weather, early spring crop. Harvest edible-pod peas when they are flat. Use both hands. Holding the plant stem in one hand use the other hand to pull off the pod. Using one hand, you can easily pull up the entire plant.
The smaller pods are sweeter and more tender. Use them for eating raw and cook the larger ones. The shelled peas should be plump but not large. Check one until you become familiar with the appearance. The plumpest peas should be gathered before the pod starts to wrinkle on the stem. Old peas taste starchy and mealy.
Fresh peas keep for 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator. The sugar in them quickly begins to turn to starch even while under refrigeration. As much as 40 percent of the sugar is converted in a few hours. Store unwashed peas in perforated plastic bags for a few days. The sooner they are eaten the better.

Nutritional Value & Health Benefits

Green garden peas are a valuable source of protein, iron and insoluble fiber. Insoluble fiber helps to reduce serum cholesterol thus reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke. Sugar snap peas and the like, contain much less protein, but they are an excellent source of iron and vitamin C that work to keep your immune system functioning properly.
Nutrition Facts (1/2 cup cooked garden peas)

Calories 67
Dietary Fiber 2.4 grams
Protein 4.3 grams
Carbohydrates 12.5 grams
Vitamin A 478 IU
Vitamin C 11.4 mg
Folic acid 50.7 micrograms
Iron 1.2 mg
Potassium 217 mg
Magnesium 31 mg

Nutrition Facts (1/2 cup cooked snow peas)

Calories 34
Dietary Fiber 1.4 grams
Protein 2.6 grams
Carbohydrates 5.6 grams
Vitamin C 38.3 mg
Iron 1.6 mg
Potassium 192 mg
Magnesium 21 mg

Preparation & Serving

Wash garden peas just before shelling. To shell, pinch off the ends and pull the string down on the inside of the pod and pop the peas out. Wash edible pod peas and trim both ends. Remove the string from both sides of the pod. Cook briefly or serve raw. Steam, sauté or stir-fry quickly to retain the bright green color and vitamin C content. Vitamin C is easily destroyed by over cooking.

Home Preservation

Peas freeze beautifully if they are fresh. Fresh frozen peas do not need to be cooked upon thawing. Just add to soups, stews or heat briefly before serving.
To Prepare Garden Peas or Sugar Peas for Freezing
Since freezing does not improve the quality of any vegetable, it is important to start with fresh green pods. Avoid old tough pods as they will only get tougher during freezing.

1. In a blanching pot or large pot with tight fitting lid, bring about 5 quarts of water to a rolling boil.
2. Meanwhile, wash, trim and string, pea pods.
3. Blanch no more than one pound of peas at a time. Drop peas into boiling water and immediately cover with a tight fitting lid.
4. Start timing the blanching immediately and blanch shelled peas for two minutes and pods for five minutes.
5. Prepare an ice water bath in a large 5 to 6 quart container or use the sink.
6. Remove the peas from the blanching water with a slotted spoon or blanching basket.
7. Emerge the peas in the ice water bath for 5 min. or until completely cool. If ice is unavailable, use several changes of cold tap water to cool the vegetables.
8. Remove from water and drain.
9. Label and date, quart size, zip-closure freezer bags.
10. Pack peas into prepared freezer bags, squeeze out as much air as possible by folding the top portion of the bag over. Gently push air out and seal. Freeze for up to one year at 32°F or below.

Note: Blanching water and ice water bath may be used over and over again. Return blanching water to a boil after each batch of vegetables is blanched and replenish water if necessary.

Recipes

The flavor of fresh garden peas is complimented by spearmint, marjoram, rosemary, and thyme.
They hold up well in stir-fry preparations. Boost the nutritional value of meals by adding them to pasta, soups, stews and rice dishes or raw in a fresh garden salad.
Sugar Snap Peas with Toasted Sesame Seeds

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 3 baby portabella mushrooms, sliced (1/2 cup)
• 2 cups fresh sugar snap peas, fresh snow peas orthawed frozen snow peas cut in half
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 to 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seed

Wash and string peas, slice mushrooms measure soy and sesame seeds and set aside. Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and stir-fry until lightly browned. Add peas and stir-fry until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in soy sauce. Cover and cook 1 minute longer. Sprinkle with sesame seed and serve. Makes 4 servings.
French Peas

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped romaine lettuce
• 1-1/2 pounds shelled fresh peas or frozen tiny peas, thawed
• 1/4 cup minced shallots or white part of green onion
• 1 large whole sprig parsley
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper

Heat oil in a 3 quart saucepan. Place lettuce on top of oil. Add peas, shallots, parsley, sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer covered, stirring occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes, or until peas are just tender. Remove parsley sprig before serving. Makes 6 servings.

Garden Peas and their many uses!!!

The  garden pea can have many uses in your kitchen....from pesto to soup or try a pasta with this garden delite!!! 

Sweet Pea Crostini

Ingredients
Sweet Peas:
2 cups chicken broth or water
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (16-ounce) bag frozen peas,  or fresh
1/4 cup fresh chopped mint
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup whipping cream
3 ounces finely diced prosciutto

Crostini:
1 baguette, sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
3 to 4 cloves garlic
Directions:

For the Sweet Peas: Warm the chicken broth and red pepper flakes in a medium

saucepan over medium-high heat until the broth boils. Add the frozen peas and cook until the peas are tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the peas in a mesh sieve.

Place the peas in a food processor with the mint, salt, and pepper. Puree the pea mixture. Place the pea puree in a medium bowl and refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, for the crostini: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the baguette slices on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Bake in the oven until toasted and golden around the edges, about 10 minutes. While the crostini are still warm, drizzle the tops with extra-virgin olive oil. Using a whole clove of garlic in your fingertips, rub the top of the crostini a few times to give a hint of garlic.

To finish, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the pea puree. Top each of the crostini with about 1 tablespoon of pea puree. Sprinkle with a bit of the diced prosciutto. Serve immediately.

 

Garden Pea Pesto (without nuts)

Ingredients
Pesto:
1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas, defrosted
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
1/3 cup olive oil

Crostini:
8 (1/2-inch thick) slices whole-grain baguette or ciabatta bread, preferably day-old, * see Cook's Note
1/3 cup olive oil

8 cherry tomatoes, halved or 1 small tomato, diced

Directions:
For the pea pesto: Pulse together the peas, garlic, Parmesan, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a food processor. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil until well combined, about 1 to 2 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

For the crostini: Preheat a stovetop griddle or grill pan on medium-high heat. Brush both sides of the sliced bread with olive oil and grill until golden, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the bread to a clean surface and spread 1 to 2 tablespoons of the prepared pesto on each slice.

Top with tomato halves and serve

Linguine with Pea Pesto

1 1/2 cups (from approximately 1 1/2 pounds peas in pods) fresh pea or a 10-ounce package frozen peas, defrosted
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted and cooled
1/2 cup (1 1/8 ounces) finely grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon table salt, plus more for pasta water
1/3 cup olive oil
12 ounces dried linguine
Garnish (optional): thinly slivered basil or mint leaves
If you’re completely maniacal about your peas getting overcooked (I am!), prepare an ice bath, a large bowl filled with ice water. Bring a small saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add peas and cook for 2 minutes (this leaves them with a bit of structure). Drain peas then add them to the ice bath (if using) and drain again. If you haven’t used an ice bath, let your peas cool to lukewarm before making the pesto.
Set aside 1/2 cup of your cooked peas. Whirl the remaining cup of peas in the work bowl of a food processor with garlic, pine nuts, 1/3 cup parmesan and salt until smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl as necessary. With the machine running, drizzle in olive oil. You can stop right here, toast some baguette slices and make some fine, fine crostini. Or, you can continue…
Cook your linguine until al dente. Reserve about two cups pasta cooking water (yes, this is a lot, the pea pesto will be surprisingly thick) then drain linguine and return it to pot. Over moderate heat, toss pasta with pesto, reserved peas and as much reserved pasta water as needed to smooth and distribute pesto; let cook for one minute so that the pesto adheres. Adjust salt to taste, add freshly ground black pepper if desired. Serve immediately, garnished with fresh herbs, if using, and remaining parmesan for passing.

Pea and Pesto Soup

Ingredients:

3 cups water
3 cups frozen peas 0r fresh
2 scallions
1 teaspoon Maldon salt or kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon lime juice
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) fresh pesto (not jarred)
Directions:

The quickest way to proceed is to fill a kettle first and put it on to boil. When it's boiled, measure the amount you need into a pan and put on the stove to come back to a boil.

Add the frozen peas, scallions, salt and lime juice and let everything bubble together for 7 minutes.

Discard the scallions and blitz the peas and their liquid with the pesto in a blender.*

Pour into a thermos flask that you've left filled with hot water and then emptied and make sure you screw the top on securely.

*When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.

Sweet Pea Salad and Ricotta Cheese Crostini

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh sweet peas
1/4 cup minced shallot
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons
1 teaspoon lemon, zested
1 lemon, juiced
Olive oil, for brushing
1 loaf focaccia bread, cut into 1 1/2-inch thin squares
1 cup ricotta cheese
Directions:

Preheat grill to medium.

In a large bowl, add peas, shallots, garlic, salt, pepper, basil, mint, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir to combine and set aside.

Brush focaccia squares with remaining oil. Grill on each side for 2 to 3 minutes until well marked. Remove from the grill to a serving platter. Spread ricotta cheese on each square and top with sweet pea salad.