We Should Be Folding Laundry

I hated peas as a child.

Maybe hate isn’t a strong enough word.

The only way that I could get them down was to swallow them whole, like pills.

My daughter however, adores them.

She can sit down in front of a big bowl of peas with nothing on them but a little sea salt and maybe a drizzle of olive oil and be the happiest girl in the world. And she has, many times.

For me, even a small side of peas on my dinner plate meant that I was going to be sitting at that table for a while. Or at least long enough for my mom to finish her dinner and leave the room so that I could scrape them into the trash.

I’m still not crazy about peas on their own but I love pea pesto.

For Cam, the mention of pea pesto always elicits a fast-clappy jump up and down frenzy of excitement.

She uses it as a dip for chips, crackers, and veggies. She eats it rolled up in tortillas and as “cheesy peasy bread spread”  smeared on toasted bread.

Last night it was just us girls for dinner.

That rarely happens but when it does, girl food is required.

So I sliced and toasted a baguette, topped each slice with goat cheese, sweet pea pesto, and sun-dried tomatoes, and that was what we ate while standing in the kitchen.

Actually, Cam sat on the counter.

I didn’t follow a recipe, I just used what I have in my kitchen.

The only hard and fast rule I always follow is that I only use frozen sweet peas. NEVER sad mushy canned peas.

Gross.

This batch was made with walnuts and it’s my favorite so far.

Sweet Pea & Walnut Pesto

1 cup of frozen sweet peas

1 clove of garlic chopped

lemon zest

squeeze of lemon juice

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

handful of walnuts – chopped and toasted

extra virgin olive oil

herbs: thyme, tarragon, basil, whatever you have – I stripped the leaves from one sprig of thyme

salt & pepper

Directions

There’s no need to measure the ingredients so all of the amounts are approximate.

Just thaw about a cup of frozen peas and dump them into a blender or food processor along with all of the other ingredients except the oil.

Pulse a few times and then slowly drizzle in the oil while the machine is running until everything comes together.

You can leave it chunky if you want or you can blend until it’s totally smooth.

Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.

Use immediately or store in an air-tight container for a day or two.

Cam brought the leftover pesto for lunch along with some tortilla chips for dipping.

Tags: Laptop LunchBox, Non-Sandwich Lunches