Jared Eats World

Dear Garden,

It’s not you, it’s me. It would probably be better for the both of us if we went our separate ways.

Sincerely,

Jared

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Please look at the picture on your left. If you’re directionally challenged, it’ll be to the right. See all those peppers? Those came from my garden. Jealous? You shouldn’t be. I would have posted the picture of my tomatoes, but that would make you vomit.

My garden and I have a love hate relationship. I love it. It hates me. This is not good for our long term status. It’s like that lost dog who wandered into your yard. Deep down you want to keep it, but deep down you hope that it runs away to your neighbor’s house; preferably the one that didn’t let you borrow his lawnmower. That’s how I feel with my garden. I love it, but secretly wish a small meteor would rain down and take out my garden around the first week of August. I’ve had enough.

Please refer to the picture on the left again… or right. Your choice. Just make sure it’s the one with all the peppers in it. I forgot to mention that the picture is only 1/4th of the amount I actually picked. 300 are still on the plant. This is my fourth cycle of peppers I have picked this year…. I’ve actually ran out of canning supplies. Don’t even get me started on tomatoes. I have enough tomatoes to feed the entire city of Parma. The point is, I can’t eat anymore vegetables. I’ve had enough. It’s like Chinese water torture. At first you can take it… then after 4 weeks of eating the same thing over and over, you just want something different… like bread. I wish you could grow bread in a garden…. or pasta. The world would definitely be a better place.

I have a garden. In this garden, I planted WAY too many vegetables… because of that, I have 8 eggplant sitting in my fridge. Tonight, I shall conquer them by attempting to make Punjabi Eggplant.

This will be my first time making an authentic Indian dish. After tonight, I could be labeled a cooking genius. Only time will tell. I’ll keep you posted on how it went, or if we ordered pizza.

Spring brings an abundance of vegetables into my house. One of my  favorites this time of year, are peas right from the garden. I’m not  talking about soggy or sodium laden peas from the can… I’m talking  about bright, crisp, clean, and sweet peas right from the pod itself.

The following recipe is simple, easy, and perfect. Just like the pea itself. ENJOY!

Ingredients:

2 Cups Fresh Peas
1 Tablespoon of GOOD Olive Oil
1-2 Chopped Garlic Cloves
1/8 cup of Pecorino Romano Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Start by cleaning the peas directly from the pod. Do not use canned peas, and if you have to use frozen peas… and I mean you have no other choice, then the cooking time will be a little less.

Boil a pot of water, enough to hold the peas. Once the water reaches a boil, put in a pinch of salt to flavor the water.

Add the peas.

IMPORTANT. Do not over-cook them! They only need 30 – 45 seconds in a pot of boiling water. 1 minute maximum. You want them to cook, but still be Al Dente. When you bite into them, you want to hear them “snap”.

Once the peas are cooked, drain them. Add the olive oil, garlic, Pecorino Romano, salt and pepper to taste. The Pecorino Cheese is salty on its own, so be careful on how much salt you add.

Serve warm!