Hi!

Wow! A post at this hour.. you guys must be special :)
I have to tell you about an improvement we made on the chicken and snow pea casserole. Firstly, we used beef (because we ran out of chicken). I think this added a lot of flavour to the dish. Better than the chicken! Also, we added some extra gravy to the mix. Gravy makes things better right? NO exceptions!
Anway guys, the weekend has snuck up on us yet again! More snow pea sales for me and the kids this weekend. My wife is making a trip into town this weekend regarding her business. Never once did I think I would be the one looking after the kids while my wife made the business trips. Yet I couldn't be happier with my life!
Hope you all have a smashing weekend! I'll let you know how the sales go, maybe I'll even see some of u pop by ;)
Jack

Chicken and Snow Pea Casserole

My lovely wife just made this casserole for our lunch and it is absolutely AMAZING!!! I'd have to say it's the best casserole I've ever tried!
Oh and be warned, the recipie is huge! Makes for good leftovers :)
Jack



Snow Peas are in a bounty this fall and this vegetable is versatile to go into salads, steamed rice, crabmeat, beff, chicken, pasta, mushrooms, babycorns and carrots. Let us check out the following recipe that makes the most of the above ingredients with snow peas.




Ingredients

1 lb Snow Peas
Babycorns
Diced Carrots
Chicken Breasts
2 cups Washed Rice
4 cups Chicken Broth
Salt
Cayenne Pepper
Pureed Cilantro
Crushed Garlic
Olive Oil

Method

1. In a wok heat olive oil and fry crushed garlic, baby corns, carrots, chicken breasts and snow peas.

2. To this add salt, cayenne pepper and pureed cilantro.

3. Stir and cook it covered for 10 minutes.

4. Add rice and chicken broth. Cook until rice is tender and the veggies and chicken have got cooked.

Just a little note

Hey guys
So today I took the family to the annual pea fest in Charagin. After a 3 hour drive there, we enjoyed checking out all the new and exciting ideas people had creatively used to make their peas into art. Is this possible you ask? Oh Yes!
What topped the list would have to be the pea mobile! Not only was it a mobile hanging peas, the hanger was made from peas, as was the string! And pea string help large clumps of snow peas shaped into little animals.. who would've thought?!
Anyway, its been a long day so I'm going to have to leave you for today. But on the bright side, here's a pic for you all to think about :) These were the finger puppets made by one of the locals, thought it was pretty cleaver!

Jack

Drying Peas

hey guys, heres a new snack idea for you all.. Dried Peas!

- Firstly, you need around 500g of peas (because they shrink heaps!). If you want them to last longer, you can do the same with -- 1kg of peas but leave cook boil them twice as long and leave them in the hot water cupboard for a few extra hours at the least.
- Next, slightly cook the peas. You don't want them to go mushy!
- After you have cooked the peas, lay them out on a tea towel and let them dry a bit.
- As weird as this may sound, the next step is putting them in the oven! Use a bit of baking paper on the bottom on a roasting dish and spread the peas out as much as you can
- Cook them for approximetly 15 minutes at 150 degrees celcius (This will differ sllightly so keep a close watch on them. As soon as they start wrinkling, they are done)
- once they are slightly wriinkled, put them in a paper bag, scrunch up the top and put them in the hot water cupboard for a minimum 12 hours. You can leave them longer if you wish, won't do them any harm; the longer the better I say!

These make great snack before dinner, in the kids lunchboxes or even in front of the telly at night!

Enjoy guys!
Jack

To all my followers

Hey all
I thought I'd take a moment today to thank all of my loyal viewers. Without you, my blog would be a waste of time. You guys make it possible for me to pass on my knowledge. Of course, I enjoy telling you all the exciting stories about my farm to :)
Well, busy busy! Best get back to work!
Thanks again!
More soon
Jack

Pea and Carrot Stirfry

Positively the BEST soup ever!

Oh my god I made this snow peas soup last night and it is absolutely amazing!!  Don't be fooled by the colour though..  It has the perfect texture and an a taste to die for!  Here goes

500g trimmed snow peas 30g butter extra virgin olive oil for frying and drizzling 3 eschalots, peeled and chopped 1.2 litres chicken stock Blanch snow peas in salted boiling water for 30 seconds, drain and plunge into cold water. Melt butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, add a dash of oil and fry eschalot until soft, but not browned. Add stock and bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Reserve a few drained snow peas for serving. Working in batches, place remaining snow peas in a food processor with fried eschalot and stock mixture, and process until smooth. When ready to serve, reheat soup in a large saucepan over a medium heat, taste and add sea salt and ground black pepper if desired; do not allow soup to boil. Serve in bowls topped with a drizzle of olive oil, reserved snow peas and ground black pepper. Serves 4. 

You can also add bits of fried bacon if you simply can't resist that meaty flavour.  Enjoy!  I know you will

Jack

Green Shepherds pie

i remembered this recipe that was once made for a St Pattys day meal.. At my daughter's boarding school they had a green theme for dinner.  This consisted of:

- lime icecream

- runner beans

and....

- GREEN shepherds pie!!

How did they get it green you ask?  Well.. I have the solution... Peas!  Simple mash up some fresh cooked peas and mix them in with the potatoe and there you have it... Green shepherds pie!

A great way to get some extra nutrients into your meal and to get your young kids to eat their vege, they will never know the difference!

Enjoy, Jack

Fun pea facts!

Wow! Long time no chat guys! Sorry about the delay in my blogging.  The pea harvesting has been keeping me sooo busy i simply don't have the energy when i get home!  So I'll make this a nice long one to make up for it :)

So I was just searching the net and I came across some random facts..

Peas have been used in the dry form since ancient times, and archaeologists found them in Egyptian tombs. It was not until the sixteenth century that more tender varieties were developed and eaten fresh. Today only about 5 % of all peas grown are sold fresh. More than half of all peas sold are canned and most of the rest are frozen.

5%!! Oh my god!  I'm struggling to believe that!  What a waste of these amazing healthy peas to freeze and can them!  Talk about kill the nutrients!  Don't worry guys, I will continue to sell my peas for as long as I am fit enough to plant and harvest them.. Many years to come guys, don't stress!

So an update on the weekend sales.. We reached a record high of selling 70 bags of peas and had an amazing 52 customers visit our stall!  This is huge!  If business keeps up, We're going to have to buy some more land!  Exciting stuff!!!

Hope you all had a fabulous fun filled weekend!  Be sure to stop by the stall next weekend to buy some peas :) Free samples!!

To end, here are a few simple ways to enjoy your regular snow peas.. 

Jack

Make Peas a Part of Your 5 A Day Plan
* Season cooked peas with fresh or dried mint, chopped fresh parsley, curry powder, or with lemon. 
* Add shelled green peas, snow and sugar snap peas to tossed green or pasta salads or to stir-fried dishes. 
* Snow and sugar snap peas can be eaten raw as a snack or with your favorite low-fat dip. 

How the French cook Green Peas

So I was surfing the net last night looking for a new way to cook the peas for dinner.. I came across a French technique... We tested it out and they were absolutely amazing!  Hence why I felt the need to share it with you all, so here goes..

Melt one ounce of fresh butter in a saucepan.

When it is dissolved without being the least colored, throw in a quart of peas.

Shake them over the fire for a minute or two, then pour over them as much boiling water or weak stock as will barely cover them; add half a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of pepper, the heart of a lettuce finely shred, 3 young onions, and a small sprig of parsley.

Simmer gently until the peas are tender.

Take the saucepan from the fire for a minute, and in order to thicken the sauce stir in the well-beaten yolks of 3 eggs.

The peas must not boil up after the eggs are added.

Serve the peas on a hot dish with the sauce poured over them.

Time, half an hour.

Sufficient for four or five persons.

Enjoy!

P.S.  Here's the link

http://recipes.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Category:Pea_Recipes

Photo

Oops! sorry guys, forgot to post this pic of my kids harvesting the peas :)

SUCCESS!!!

GREAT news guys!!

Today I harvested my biggest crop of snow peas and they ALL survived the winter frosts!!! AMAZING!!!!   This leaves me with 2 whole acres worth of peas :D what could be better??

To top off this wonderful day, the rain has finally come!!  This will encourage the growth of my second crop of peas due next month!

No words can describe how truly happy I am!!!

Hope you all had as greater day as I did, Jack

Sunday

Hey guys,
Not much to report today... Notice it's 2am..? Such a busy day! Run off our feet with road sales today. The kids came back within 2 hours asking for more peas. My wife and I have been packing since!! Especially for the market in town tomorrow! Will be great to have a day away from the farm. Keen to try these peas I speak so highly of? Drop by Sarytone between 7am and 1pm and I'll give u a sample :)
Hope you all had a good weekend!
Jack

Well guys, its that time of day again... Time for me to blog :)

My 2 daughters and I have just come back from our road sales.  Today we sold 30 bags of peas in 4 hours... Good effort I say!! Shame we didn't package more up as I'm sure we could have sold more.  

Before I package some up for tomorrow, I had the funniest thing to share with you all.  When I was younger, my nana used to tell me snow peas were green lollies.  This was purely because I refused to eat my vegetables.  It worked as I have eaten snow peas ever since!  Anyway, a lady and her young son pulled up at our stall a few weekeds ago and the mother asked me how much the bags were.  I responded with $4 a bag.  Then the little boy piped up "But mummy, thats 2 bags of lollies we could have for the movies!"  I laughed and bent down and told the little boy what my nana told me all those years ago.. "Don't you know?  Snow peas is just a flash name for green lollies."  The little boys eyes lit up and a huge smile appeared on his face!  I grabbed a pea pod from the counter and said "Here, test them."  After he had eaten them, I asked what he thought of them.  "These are the BEST lollies I've ever had!"  He then proceeded to beg his mother to purchase more than one bag.  3 bags of peas later, the little boy and his mother got back into the car.  The Lady opened the window and said quietly "You're the first person to ever make him go near a vegetable.. You are a saint!"  "No" I replied, "That would be my grandmother."

Today, the pair came back.  I chuckled as soon as they got out of the car as 3 little boys came running at me screaming "Green lollies!!".  Apparantly, the little boy told all his friends how great these lollies are.  They now all have a favourite vegetable.

Isn't it funny how we can please young minds??

Poll

Hey guys,

I've just added a poll to find out how many of you like snow peas.  I'm really interested to know if you're following my site because you like them or someone in your family does or purely for interests sake.  

Leave me a comment, I'd love to know!

Don't forget to vote in the poll

Jack

Mange tout

I just found the most fascinating bit of information while surfing the net looking for good recipes and wanted to share it with you all..

Did you know, 'Mange tout' is what the French refer to snow peas as.  It translates to 'eat the lot'... Who would have guessed?  No wonder they're so addictive!

Following up on my recipe hunting, I found a really good snack idea with the snow peas..  serve them raw with hummas or guacamole.  I tested this and it's really good!  I also tried it with some premade dip from the supermarket which was also really good!  

Next, I'm going to test out some homemade dip

'watch this space'

Hey guys,

Just letting you all know we will be selling our peas on hilra street this friday, saturday and sunday.  At $3 a bag, your grabbing a bargain!  

Hope to see you there!

Tips

In reply to 

Ive had trouble growing my snowpeas. They don't seem to get to a decent size. Do you have any tips that could help me?

Hi there, in order to get your snowpeas to a larger size, you could try leaving them to grow for longer.  Also, i have found an excellent fertilliser!  Its called: Queens quality.  The name pretty much says it all!  Lastly, do you have your snowpeas in the sun? I have found they grow better in darker ares.  However, don't let them get to wet!  No need to water them unless there is an extreme drought!  

Hope this helps!

Welcome!

Hi all,

Welcome to my blog!  

I have decided to start a blog relating to snow peas to help me with my garden.  I have liked snow peas my whole life so when I got my own house, I designed a garden for my peas.  Majority of my garden is snow peas!  As well as eating them, my children also sell them on the side of the road on weekends.  Here is a photo of my garden 

If you have any questions, dont hesitate to ask.  More posts soon

Jack