Local Peas

During the recent flying ban in Europe because of the volcano in Iceland, some of the grocery stores in the UK started to run out of fresh fruit. This reminded me of a few years back when the Spanish truckers union was on strike for a few days and the grocery shelves became empty surprisingly fast. These little reminders about how quickly our global food supply chain can collapse with just the slightest hiccup are a little sobering. When we hit Peak Oil any day now, "eating locally" might not be for the rich suburban housewives anymore.

Last week at the grocery store, I noticed a sign saying "Peas from Colindres" in the vegetable section, so I asked how they should be prepared and bought a kilo. I was told to boil them for a little bit first, and then place them in a frying pan with some small diced bits of jamón, Spanish cured ham. The result was very, very nice.

They were grown and brought in by a local woman.

It took me a good long while to depod (?) them all, but eating the occasional raw pea made it fun.

Liberated from their cozy pods.

The final result in the frying pan.