pea shoots

- organic pea shoots -

fresh from the Farmer's Market.

I had never eaten pea shoots before this weekend and

man oh man, what I have been missing!!!

Just look how gorgeous they are...! 

Those lovely delicate tendrils...!

Juicy, crispy, crunchy yet tender...

And the biggest joy is in the taste buds

 because they taste just like peas!

So flavorful!

Brilliant! 

Apparently pea shoots are a big deal in Great Britain.   

In fact, a quick google turns up the British site http://www.peashoots.com/ 

because pea shoots are so amazing they DO need their own website!  

They're so easy to eat just by their lovely selves,

and the salad applications are endless. 

Some folks also bake them or stir fry them

or use them in vinaigrettes, or wilt them in risotto...   yum!

There are some recipes on that site that look worth a shot, so check them out...

(accompanied by feta, goat cheese, mint, etc...)

Here are some nutrition facts (also from that site) to munch on:

7x more vitamin C than blueberries

8x more folic acid than bean sprouts

4x more vitamin A than tomatoes

Though obviously all vegetables and fruits have unique value,

so I find it kind of funny how advertisements often pit them against eachother in a competition...

as if one would ever stop eating blueberries or tomatoes because something else

had a higher concentration of a particular vitamin...! 

Another beauty is how quickly these babies grow...

Regular peas take quite awhile but shoots can be ready in 2-4 weeks,

so you can sow them virtually all season long.

Hooray for pea shoots!