Give Peas A Chance!

I should have posted this before my friend Lulu got her G back.

My e-mail pals and I occasionally swap recipes.  The days of trying complicated dishes are over.   Easy and healthy are our watchwords for two reasons:

• We don’t want to kill ourselves cooking it.
• We don’t want to kill ourselves eating it.

Lulu–a picky eater even though she doesn’t admit it–is the hummingbird of the group.  There’s no chance she will ever gain weight.  Now that I think of it,  it may be that she not only shuns calories, she may inadvertently be blowing them our way with all that energy she expends.

Even her e-mails are high energy.  When our mutual friend Beanie took a road trip recently, the rest of us sent her messages like, “Tender Mercies. . . Have a good trip. . . ” the usual kind of note.  Lulu wrote … BORN TO BE WILDDD… HIT THE ROAD A RUNNIN IN MY AVALON..LALALALALAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!  🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

That one was chosen at random from dozens. . . hundreds. . . written in similar style.   (Oh…and it’s also copied without her permission.  Sorry, Lu!) We smile at the sight before we even read them.

For awhile, before she purchased a new computer, she was having G troubles.  Either a word had a stringgggggggggggg of g’s when the key stuck, or it wouldn’t print at all.  For instance, if she told us that she cleaned out her -ara-e, it took awhile to figure out that her garage was now shining.   She couldn’t tell us about her G-string, comment on the G-summit, or report how she needed to get going on finding a new computer.  To  -et -oin-  just didn’t do it.

Once I sent them a favorite vegetarian recipe–Alu Mater (potatoes and green peas.)  I had no idea what I had unleashed.  Lulu wrote something to the effect of:  Green peas. .  ! . . . blehhhhh, blehhhhh, blehhhhh, gaaaaagggggggg me!!!!  GRROSSSSSS!!!! I believe there were EWWWW!!!!s and some other descriptive words sprinkled in there.

The woman just doesn’t like green peas.

I was hoping to post this recipe while her response would have to be aaaaaaaaaaaaa me! instead of GAG me!!! for pure entertainment value.   She has a shiny new computer now, all keys working.

When our children were growing up, some of their favorite foods were in a cookbook called Farm Journal’s Best-Ever Recipes.  That was when dairy, red meats, eggs, and sugar were staples.   This recipe, one of my two favorite recipes which contain green peas, is revised on one from that book.  It was Pogo’s favorite in the years that getting her to eat veggies was not an easy task.   We still enjoy it.   Since it has summer in the name, I’d better share it fast.  After all, it’s already Au-ust.

Summer Chicken with Peas

1 (2 1/2 lb.) broiler-fryer, cut up (“easy” means I use boneless breasts)

1 lb. new potatoes, scrubbed with a strip peeled around the center (What the heck, larger ones work if you quarter them)

6 tbsp. butter or margarine (so says the recipe,  but I’ve long since switched to olive oil and don’t use that much)

Salt and pepper

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

3 green onions, thinly sliced

1 lb. GREEN PEAS, shelled (1 c) – or 1 10 oz. pkg frozen green peas (since I’m not that big on green peas either–I always use the frozen petite ones because they taste less pea-y)

1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley (when the caterpillars have left me any; after all, I plant it for them)

1 c. sour cream (I use light cream or plain yogurt)

1 tsp. thyme leaves

1/2 tsp. salt & pepper

Brown chicken and potatoes slowly on all sides in the melted butter or oil in large skillet.  Season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle chicken with lemon juice.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer 30 minutes.

Add green onions to butter (or oil) in bottom of skillet.  Sprinkle peas and parsley over chicken and potatoes.  Cover again and simmer 10 more minutes or until tender.

Remove chicken and vegetables to platter; keep warm.  Pour off excess fat.  Add sour cream or yogurt, thyme, 1/2 tsp. salt & pepper.  Stir to loosen pan drippings.  Heat over low heat.  Pour over chicken.  Makes 4 servings.

Speaking of food. . . and gagging. . .  look at the Face Plate contest on Dawn’s bloggy blog!