Those peas! Squeeeeeee!
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We enjoyed another outstanding dinner at The Circle Restaurant in Fredon/Newton, NJ, including pork loin with farro risotto, smoked beet, roasted Brussels sprout and chimichurri; paccheri pasta with shrimp; plus our usual favorites of lobster; tempura fried lamb ribs; and hen of the woods mushrooms. It all went great with a couple of excellent cabernets.
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Lol. We’re almost out. I think I have about half-a-quart of last year’s peas left in the freezer. The ones I planted last fall to winter over met their demise during a deep freeze in January. A month ago I planted close to 50’ of peas for this spring, but they won’t be in until late May or early June.
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I remember shelling peas sitting on the porch of our farmhouse in rural Ohio when I was a teen. Slapping mosquitoes all the while. I swore I would never do that again when I got out of there - and I haven’t. As much as I love peas of any kind, I seldom even buy snow peas or sugar snaps because of having to deal with the strings. My DH will do that if he gets a craving for them. Otherwise, we buy them frozen.
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Most of the green bits are hidden in this photo - the fresh Thai basil, mint, and chopped scallions. Also the broth and the spicy paste was loaded with lemongrass. Homemade bun bo hue. This is a second attempt and 10 yrs after my first try. It takes patience and a lot of ingredients to assemble! I revisited this since I have an Instant Pot, and this still took me almost 4 hours to get everything ready.
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I made saag paneer and a cauliflower curry that was supposed to have tofu in it too, but we were out and i didn’t fell like buying more, with basmati and raita. I liked the recipe i used last time for the paneer dish - which included broccoli and broccoli rabe besides the spinach. This time I used mustard greens and spinach, and store-bought paneer. Still, saag/palak paneer is one of my favorite Indian dishes ever. Spiced groundnuts that were brought to me by a friend’s dear mama (who has since passed) from India topped off my plate.
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I love an afternoon on our back patio shelling peas. It’s a time to reflect on how we planted them, nurtured them, are shelling them, and will enjoy them. It’s a labor of love, and I find it helps keep me grounded. In the winter, when I dig into them out of the freezer, I find satisfaction in the self-sufficiency. Not to speak of the quality of home-grown. Not for everyone, but it works for me.
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I agree. My parents raised 6 kids and my mom was home with us. They planted a big garden and all of us worked to weed, harvest and preserve what they planted. In late summer, my paternal grandmother would come stay with us - she helped mom can all of our vegetables. My parents would also buy peaches and apples from local growers. It was a sweaty, rigorous process. I’m sorry to say I never learned how to preserve anything because all it was for me was a chore. My father actually made ketchup. I remember wishing we could just have the “normal” stuff. Looking back, I should have paid more attention. With 5 younger brothers nipping at my heels I left for college in the Big City and never looked back…
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Looks tasty!
Where were the recipes from?
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My (built in) microwave quit working while I was heating up leftovers for dinner, tonight.
I didn’t have a backup plan, so I sent Sunshine to Burger King to pick up two chicken sandwiches and fries, while I worked to remove yet another dead appliance from my home.
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Red carpet party was a blast. It was SO NICE to watch it with my gal pals & comment on the gorgeous tresses and epic fails draped over talented toothpicks 
Barbie was also fun to rewatch. My PIC’s two pitchers of PR sangria were obliterated, as were a few bottles of prosecco and lovely, crisp Grüner Veltliner we’d just bought a case of.
A few glimpses of the tiny buffet.
One of the ladies had never had stuffed grape leaves before (!!!) & loved them. As for the frozen snacklets, I’d say the cream cheese & jalapeño wontons were the most popular – they even had a bit of a kick. Aldi’s pub-style shrimp bites, crispy on the outside had a weirdly soft, almost sauce-like filling with no discernible taste of shrimp. Lastly, TJ’s mini chicken tacos were ok – filling, for sure… but really bland without the addition of Herdez’ spicy avo salsa, tomatillo salsa & lime. TJ’s lemon bars for dessert were snarfed up. No pizza or popcorn needed, we all need to watch our figure after all 
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Not a clue WFD tonight.
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this was the one i prefer for the saag paneer. It does suggest mustard greens but I actually liked it better with the broccoli and broccoli rabe.
https://food52.com/recipes/64227-sarson-ka-saag-saag-paneer-with-broccoli-rabe-and-spinach
i can’t find the cauliflower curry one right now, it was some weeknight curry dish that used pancho photon, kashmiri red chili powder and garam masala.
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Interesting! I’ve only ever had/seen saag paneer made with spinach. It’s one of my favorite Indian dishes (mutter paneer, too).
Yours looks wonderful 
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Funny coincidence, we had Saag for lunch today 
I was surprised to learn — as someone who wouldn’t touch greens without meat until a few years ago — that Saag is a different dish than Palak Paneer, even though they are each often called the other.
Saag the word means “greens”, but Saag the iconic Punjabi winter dish means pretty specific winter greens, with mustard in the highest proportion.
Today was actually my first time eating “real” Saag 
— even though I made Saag Paneer every week during the pandemic to use up the mustard greens, kale, chard, and more that were overflowing in our garden and the neighbor’s .
Made by sis, from her friend’s late mom’s recipe (she used to make a vat every winter and send everyone some, a nice memory) — half mustard greens, with the rest a mix of spinach, bathua, and a little turnip or radish.
We didn’t plan ahead, so there were no makke di roti (cornmeal flatbreads) which are the traditional accompaniment, but it was pretty delicious with parathas.
Generous dollop of white (homemade) butter on top of the greens to melt in.
Interestingly, today’s flavor profile was pretty close to what I was making by looking up recipes back during the pandemic, but very different from the Palak Paneer I love, which is much more garlicky from a final tempering, and more textured with aromatics.
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Getting in some favorites as I approach departure
Baby lamb chops coated with mashed potato. Childhood favorite, I could just keep eating these till they were done and leave none for anyone else 
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Indian Chinese.
Vegetarian spread of truffle edamame dumplings, wonton soup, burnt garlic fried rice, chilli garlic hakka noodles, and paneer Manchurian.
Meat additions of Szechuan chicken lollipops and chicken Manchurian.
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my understanding is that palak paneer is spinach only, and saag is made with other greens too.
i only learned about the difference when i made that recipe i linked to, i think last year sometime…
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I despair at my inability to rely on cheese ravioli as a dinner base. I have people in my fam who will not ricotta under any circumstances. We used to be able to find beef or chicken flavors, but everything now is cheese, spinach and cheese. Even when they don’t say cheese, they have cheese as an ingredient. I would love a dinner easy go-to like that, that I could just sauce and be done.
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I seem to recall at some point, there were contamination concerns about who touched what food.
