Although the pea pods growing in my own garden are not nearly ready yet for picking, they’re showing up all over on the farm stands in our area–and who can resist? Sliding the little green morsels out of their pods is a labor of love, but also one of those late spring/summer tasks that I look forward to: I fall into a bit of happy repetitive daze as I shell peas by the kitchen window. Gazing out at the birds darting from bush to birdhouse, watching Conor tear up the gravel on his little dirt bike, sipping a glass of cold white wine from a juice glass as I contemplate what to do with the fresh peas once they’ve accumulated in my bowl.
I love them just barely steamed and tossed with butter, lemon juice, and salt; or tossed into a carbonara sauce with thick nuggets of pancetta, eggs, and parmesan. I also love piling them on a big spoonful of ricotta on top of
