"Peppermint Patootie" > wrote in message
...
> In article > ,
> "Jacquie" > wrote:
>> "Peppermint Patootie" > wrote in message
>> news
>> > I used to put peas into tuna casserole all the time, but now I mostly
>> > double up on the mushrooms. But fresh peas are just around the corner,
>> > and I cannot wait!
>> >
>> > PP
>> >
>> I use Frozen peas in my Tuna Casserole. I would love to do
>> mushrooms...but
>> hubby does not like them...but I do us Cream of mushroom soup...he thinks
>> the small pieces of mushrooms are tuna....
>
> What he doesn't know won't hurt him. :-)
>
> Peas are a vegetable that, I think, comes in three varieties, each of
> which has their virtues: fresh, frozen, and canned.
>
> The canned pea is, IMO, entirely unlike the other two. For me, it
> carries memories of childhood. It is food for when you've been sick and
> need some comfort -- a role similar to that of Junket Rennet Custard.
> Le Seure (sp?) are the best.
>
> The frozen pea goes into casseroles like tuna, and dishes like chicken
> pie or chicken (or turkey) and dumplings. It can also be served just
> hotted up and not overcooked with a pat of butter at Thanksgiving or
> some other meal when roasted poultry is served. Secondarily it may
> accompany roast lamb.
>
> Now, the fresh pea, that's an entirely different animal. It is lovingly
> separated from its pod and placed with its siblings and cousins and
> neighbors into a small pot. Boiling water, salt, and a teensy bit of
> sugar is added, and the lot is simmered until the biggest pea is just
> cooked. Quickly drained (the liquid saved for soup), a blob of butter
> is added, the lot shaken to get the butter distributed, and then they
> are served out into sauce dishes, one per eater. This ritual may mean
> that the rest of dinner waits for the peas, but that's fine because
> these are, after all, FRESH PEAS. They are eaten with reverence,
> spooned up and allowed to pop between the tongue and the roof of the
> mouth, little bundles of flavor and sweetness.
>
> PP, who likes her fresh peas


Great post! You just about covered it all!

--

Evelyn

"Since everything is but an apparition, perfect in being what it is, having
nothing to do with good or bad, acceptance or rejection, one may well burst
into laughter." -Longchenpa