"You want me to eat this?"

“Here, try this,” I handed my daughter a snow pea, just picked minutes ago from my garden and still hot from the stovetop where it was stir-fried.

“Eww,” she wrinkled up her nose.

I thought about my options.  I could force her to try it. I had done this with other foods in the past to little success.  My little drama queen would barely touch the dreaded food to her tongue, whine, gag, and then feign crying. 

“You don’t have to eat it, but I challenge you to try it,” I offered.

My daughter eyed me suspiciously and then brought the snow pea toward her lips. 

I looked down at my plate, pretending to take no interest in her vegetable-eating dilemma.

No longer than ten seconds later, I looked up.  The snow pea was gone and she was licking her fingers.  

“Where did it go?” I couldn’t hide my surprise.

“Oh, it was okay,” as she continued to lick her fingers.

I proceeded to tell my daughter that vegetables grown in a garden usually taste better than those bought in the store. Garden-grown vegetables have robust, complex flavors compared to their bland store-bought cousins. The snow peas tasted both lightly sweet and salty (I added salt when stir-frying), tender and at the same time crisp, and they tasted very green. I know that sounds strange but they tasted green. 

Last night I picked a handful of snow peas from the garden again to stir-fry for an evening snack.  My daughter watched me eat from the bowl of hot peas, and then put down her ice cream bowl to snatch one of the largest peas from me.  “Yum.  These snow peas are so good,” she said as she wolfed it down.

Basic Recipe for Stir-fried Snow Peas

1. Wash snow peas and remove strings (just a personal preference).  Let air dry (this is important so the oil doesn’t splatter when you add the pods to the pan)
2. Heat enough oil (I use canola) just to cover the bottom of your pan (I use a deep sauce pan to avoid oil splatters). High heat will scorch the pea pods so keep the temperature around medium-high. 
3. Add the pea pods and stir or turn to coat each pod in oil (approximately 30 seconds).
4. Add several tablespoons of water (The amount will depend on the number of pea pods you are cooking. The snow peas should not float in the water nor should the water be so little that it makes the oil “spit”)
5. Cover the pan partially and allow the snow peas to cook an extra 2-5 minutes to taste (I like my snow peas a little crunchy so I tend to cook them less).  Add salt to taste approximately 30 seconds before you take the snow peas off the stove.  
6. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!