When in doubt, stir fry!

[missdiane]

The leftovers I had were some garlic thyme chicken thighs (need to use up my meat before veggie January!) I made in my pressure cooker and some butternut squash sticks I roasted in the oven with some maple syrup. I added in mushrooms, snow peas, soy sauce and sesame oil and topped it off with some toasted sesame seeds. Turned out fabulous 

Comments

[miss_s_b]

What are snow peas and how are they different from normal peas?

I had, hitherto, assumed that they were a made up thing for Plants Vs Zombies

*shamefaced*

[missdiane]

There are three big kinds of peas:
English peas = the round peas that come from a pod that you don't eat
Snap peas/Sugar snap peas = close looking to English peas but you can eat them pod and all
Snow peas = almost flat and used primarily in Chinese recipes and you eat the whole pea every time

[miss_s_b]

OK, so here there are "garden peas" which I think equate to your English peas, "marrowfat peas" which are bigger, and almost exclusively tinned, "mushy peas" which are tinned and horrendously overcooked marrowfat peas, "petit pois", which are baby garden peas, "sugarsnap peas" which appear to be the same thing in both languages, and "mange tout", which appears to be our word (well, French people's word) for snow peas.

You live and learn!

... and then there's all the types of dried peas (main use for which, afaict, is being put in referrees' whistles - my dad used to swear by the Acme Thunderer).

[missdiane]

Most of the time we do call English peas "garden peas" and "baby garden peas" too.

LOL I was wondering whether you guys were going with the French name again. What's up with that since you do it with things like eggplant and zucchini too? It's almost as if you guys secretly LIKE the French now ;)

I've not heard the term "marrowfat peas" but looking it up, the only versions I generally see them in here is either made into dried wasabi peas or used for split peas - which I intend to make a nice soup with the ones I have soon.

We don't doooo mushy peas - because yuck lol

[miss_s_b]

I think it's partly snobbery: French being the language of diplomacy and therefore taught to posh people at school.

Whereas you guys use not just Italian veg names, but Sicilian veg names (c.f. arugula, which everybody in the world except for you and Sicily calls rocket). I think this is because you're all secretly still Mafiosi.

ETA: and yeah, mushy peas are DISGUSTING and it's a constant source of shame to me that they are part of a famous Yorkshire dish.

[missdiane]

We were seduced by pasta and pizza, clearly.

[missdiane]

Ah - with pics!
https://www.thespruce.com/garden-vs-snow-and-sugar-snap-1403487

I like 'em all but snow peas are my favorite.

[miss_s_b]

My mum loves mange tout, too. I like garden peas best, but only if they are mega mega fresh. They only have to be a couple of hours old and they lose their sweetness. In practise, most of the year, this means buying Birds Eye "guaranteed frozen within an hour of picking" frozen peas.

[missdiane]

With mange tout/snow peas, they're best quickly stir fried. Because when you do that, they crisp up even if they're limp and have the nicest mouth feel.

For some reason we don't seem to see a lot of fresh garden peas. We either buy them frozen or canned. When they're canned, they're slightly squishy but still sweet so I like them in stews. I like the firmer frozen ones in stuff like fried rice.

[miss_s_b]

They sell them in the pod in our veg shop (and the local supermarkets) when they are in season, but they can have been off the plant for a couple of days and have usually gone all bitter. We grow our own, then we know exactly how fresh they are.

I don;t like the squishiness of canned ones :(