Brown Rice With Peas

We grew peas in our garden, and so they were another spring treat by which I was spoiled rotten. I would graze on them raw right from the pod as my father picked them, not an hour before they would be served at table. Steamed or boiled and served with a little butter, they regularly furnished “color” on our dinner plates. Peas, like corn, are vegetables that cry out to be bought at farmstands and eaten fresh. When picked, peas (and corn) are rich with natural sugars, but these immediately begin turning to starch. A perfectly ripe just-picked pea is a special sensation. All others might as well be dancing with diced carrots in a can.