This is going to be a short post with no pictures. No pictures because I haven't taken a dang one today and I can't think of anything at the moment I'd like to take a picture of. If I think of anything, I'll add it.
The post needs to be short because we are going to have a martini date via phone with Lon and Lis in a few minutes. We used to do this during covid but haven't in a long time. And it's really not possible (for me, anyway) to write a post and participate in a martini event at the same time.
One thing I'd like to discuss is the type of peas I'm talking about when I'm discussing shelling peas. I guess if you've never been around these sorts of legumes, you just don't know. But what they are is what we generally call "beans" like pinto beans, kidney beans, black beans, lentils, garbanzo beans, soy beans.
All of those different beans are green when they come out of the pod unless they are allowed to dry in the pod. And when dried, they can be kept for eons. Think about edamame. Those are the green soy beans before they are dried and completely different than their dried version. Green, undried legumes cook much faster than the dried ones and that is one advantage of them. They are tender and have a delicate flavor. There are different varieties of what I call field peas including zipper peas, crowder peas, cream peas, purple hull peas, and black-eyed peas. All of these can be dried and often are but the green ones are the most desirable. At least around here. Shelled peas sold at Farmer's Markets are always refrigerated and they are not cheap. At all.
I found an article online with pictures and good explanations.
It can be found HERE.
And I would like to repeat what Ellen said in a comment on my post yesterday, which is that these delicious, nutritious, and pretty easy to grow peas were brought here by the people from Africa whom we enslaved. Not unlike so many other foods that we have come to think of as mostly just "southern" or perhaps "soul food" which was a term widely in use some time back but not so much any more.
And yet it IS soul food. Good for the body, good for the soul.
Many of these foods and methods of cooking them kept poorer southern families alive for generations, both Black and white. And now of course they are often the focus of some pretty haute cuisine, gussied up and served in beautiful china with heavy silverware on starched white tablecloths. I just appreciate them and honor what we grow the best I can. We surely do enjoy them.
Well. That was a tangent.
I did very little today because I woke up with my left knee hurting before I even left the bed. You know what? You have to be healthy enough to get healthy. So I figured I needed not to give that knee a lot of stress and although I've kept moving because sitting makes it hurt even more, I've traveled mainly from laundry room to kitchen to bedroom back to laundry room. I finished shelling all the peas I'd picked. I did all the laundry and put fresh sheets on the bed. I've been waiting all day long for my baby blue muslin blanket which was supposed to arrive today. It has not.
Oh well. Not a problem. But I do want to see it.
******************
We have had our martini date with Lon and Lis and it was most enjoyable. We laughed and laughed. Topics ranged from a gig coming up for them in Melbourne, FL which is just a few miles from Roseland, to cars we have owned, to reasons we feel quite lucky to be alive, to the cabin. And so forth.
It really was lovely.
And now the venison meatloaf I made up earlier is in the oven along with two baking potatoes. My meatloaf has many ingredients in it which would probably be scornfully dismissed by many but we like it. Those would include onions, peppers, and mushrooms, all chopped up nicely in the food processor. Also Lipton's Beefy onion soup mix and ketchup. And an egg. And Pepperidge Farm bread crumbs.
Now I'm going to go steam two artichokes to go with and that will be our supper. We had leftover salad from last night for lunch and so I feel that we have probably had enough vegetables to round out what we're having tonight.
We are so lucky.
Happy Friday, y'all.
Love...Ms. Moon
And Maurice.
your day sounds delightful.....minus the knee pain. But all else good.....and meatloaf? Be still my heart...and vension at that? Meatloaf is one of those soul foods that is never the same twice...but always a comfort. Enjoy....along with your martini!
ReplyDeleteSusan M
It was a very nice meatloaf! We did enjoy it.
DeleteCool long distance chat and martini with friends. That sounds good.
ReplyDeleteIt really was. I enjoyed it even more than I thought I would. The four of us get along quite well and have known each other for a very long time.
DeleteMaurice has tremendous gravitas for a cat.
ReplyDeleteShe is quite dignified and never, ever stoops to playing the kitten. She is a grown-ass woman cat. Always.
DeleteMy meatloaf gets onions garlic grated carrot and grated zucchini, plus crumbs and egg. I knew the "peas" were a type of bean though I've never tried to grow any. I have grown the regular green peas, but always got powdery mildew on the plants so I gave up of course now I live where nothing edible survives the onslaught of crawling critters, possums and birds.
ReplyDeleteYour martini date sounds wonderful.
I would hate it so much if I couldn't grow anything. I feel so bad for you.
DeleteI'm not sure how Glen would feel if I started putting carrots in the meatloaf. But I have heard of that.
I love Maurice and all legumes...
ReplyDeleteLegumes are a very fine part of the vegetable family, aren't they?
DeleteYour meals always sound so wonderful. One would never know from the photo that Maurice is likely the spawn of Satan.
ReplyDeleteYeah. It's almost impossible to tell from her sweet demeanor and innocent face that her father is Beelzebub.
DeleteSo now I know that your peas are something very different from what we grow here - or rather what I would grow here if the man/head gardener would agree. Can your peas be eaten raw?
ReplyDeleteI watched my father cutting down his physical activities with every new twinge and pain in any joint until he was reduced to shuffling along between chair and car and walker and eventually in a much hated wheelchair. His doctor told me that fear of pain was the only reason he could diagnose apart from age-related arthrosis aka joint wear and tear and that movement is the best way to keep it from getting worse. Of course, my father would not hear this young whippersnapper's opinion. I did though and I'll be damned if I stop moving before my time comes.
No, these legumes must be cooked. They have more...substance? than green peas. Does your head gardener like dried beans?
DeleteOh god. If I did what your father did, I doubt I would have any mobility left at all. For most things, yes, I can work through them but a bad knee is a different issue for me. I mean, it will NOT let me do what I want to do. The pain is too sharp, too great, and sometimes it all just stops working. I suppose I'm going to have to deal with this at some point. I will say this has been going on for at least twenty years. It comes and it goes.
Glad you had the martini visit! Hope your knee feels better today. Take it easy if you need to, Mary!
ReplyDeleteI did indeed take it easy today.
Delete
ReplyDeleteAll I did outside yesterday was move the sprinkler around. It's just too damn hot and the next four days are going to be even worse. I put bread crumbs, grated onion, an egg, parsely, butter, lemon juice, and of course salt and pepper in my meatloaf, pour a little tomato sauce around it in the pan and top it with ketchup. Somewhere I read that the secret to a good meatloaf was using a two tined fork to mix the ingredients and then gently form it into a loaf shape so that's what I do.
Butter and lemon juice? Now I never heard of that. I've added a little olive oil to venison meatloaf before because that meat has virtually no fat on it. My mother used to heat up leftover meatloaf with tomato soup in a skillet and I loved that.
DeleteI mix mine with my hands. Always have.
Awww. Maurice! Glad you got to spend martini time with Lon and Lis, even virtually!
ReplyDeleteMe too!
DeleteMmmmmm... meatloaf!
ReplyDeleteMy sister the good cook puts onion soup mix in her burgers.
I used to add it to my Oven Rice Casserole but as it's from the States (my apologies to any business owners who aren't Magats but are suffering lost sales because of the Canadia. boycott), I wont buy it anymore. I make my own from a recipe I found online e en though I dont like it as much. And truth be told, it's probably only because it has less salt.
I do not blame you for not buying American products. I think that's the right thing to do. You're probably right about the salt.
DeleteI always use oatmeal in my meatloaf, just like my Mother did.
ReplyDeleteFunny how we do what our mothers did in the kitchen a lot. I've never been a big fan of oatmeal in the meatloaf but if that's how I ate it growing up, I'm sure I would.
DeleteYour meatloaf sounds delicious. Instead of breadcrumbs I use crushed Ritz Crackers, plus many of the ingredients you list.
ReplyDeleteFried peas sound very good to me. I've had refried beans at a Mexican Restaurant but never fried peas.
Maurice is looking good. She's planning her next move. Nice photo MM.
Crushed Ritz crackers are good in so many things. I like them in my squash patties.
DeleteNo. Not FRIED peas. FIELD peas. Even in the south we don't generally fry our peas.
Maurice is always plotting something. You can tell from that face.