Peas, Carrots, & Parsnips

I was soooooo excited when I saw fresh English peas at the Santa Monica Wednesday Farmer's Market a couple weeks ago!  I had never seen or cooked fresh English peas before so I picked a few handfuls and brought my veggie treasures home, eager to see if there really would be a big difference in taste and texture from the common frozen kind.  Final verdict is that there was a difference and they definitely were yummy, BUT I also learned some valuable lessons and had some of my unrealistic expectations shattered....

First of all, apparently 1 pound of peas is mostly pod weight and only yields about 1 cup of peas.  The pods are also too fibrous to eat, though perfect for soup stock!  Following my mantra of using as much of what I have as possible and not wasting food, I used the pods in my weekly homemade chicken stock.

Secondly, peas are in season in the Spring and well....it's in the dead middle of Winter right now so my face fell with disappointment when I opened up the pods to find shriveled little peas.  I guess I was expecting these round and plump peas the size of the tip of my pinky finger, not these little pellets.  Hopefully I will see them again in the Spring and be able to get my hands on some fatty peas!  With these two valuable lessons explained, on to my simple recipe.

I didn't want to take away much from the natural flavor of the peas so I decided to do a simple saute of the classic peas and carrots with a little addition of some beautiful parsnips I also picked up at the farmer's market.

Ingredients:
1     Large Carrot Diced
1     Parsnip Diced
1/2  Cup of English peas
Cooking Oil & Salt

Instructions:
Lightly grease a saute pan with the cooking oil and heat on medium-high.  Add the carrots and parsnips to the pan first because they will take a few minutes longer to cook. Saute over medium to medium-high heat for about 3-5 minutes then add the peas and toss, only cooking for about another 2-3 minutes.  Season with a good pinch of salt and you have a delightful little veggie side dish!

Easy Cabbage Stir Fry

This is my go-to fiber kick to balance my body after I've had too much animal based fatty foods.  I immediately feel healthier and cleaner after eating a big plate of simiple stir-fried veggies.  A nice salad can also to the same thing, but during the colder winter months, a cold raw salad doesn't seem as appetizing as a big hot plate of veggies.  Here's another tip about Chinese food, you will rarely see "salad" on a Chinese dinner table for any meal.  We eat a lot of vegetables and its almost always cooked.

The following dish is healthy, easy, cheap, and you can pretty much use any other veggies you want to add in with the shredded cabbage.

Ingredients:

1/2-1  Head of Cabbage julienned
* If you don't feel like practicing those knife skills, shredded will work just as well :)

1        Carrot julienned

1        Cup of julienned Snow Peas

Salt and Cooking Oil





Instructions:
Heat about a tablespoon of cooking oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.
Put carrots in the pan and cook for a couple minutes then add the snow peas.  Add a pinch of salt and toss then cook for a couple minutes.

Add the cabbage and sprinkle in about a teaspoon of salt then carefully toss and let cook down for about 5-8 minutes, tossing occassionally.

Once all the veggies are softened yet still has a little snap, your done!  Plate up and enjoy :)