Sugar Snap Pea Boats and Buddhism

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about reclaiming certain aspects of my childhood.  I think it’s a shame that as we grow older, many of us stop seeing the magic in our life, or stop wondering about it.  Or maybe I should just speak for myself.  I remember being fearless.  I would run for student government elections and some kids would tear down my posters and I’d go home, make some more and put them back up.  Sure, my feelings were hurt, and it wasn’t that I was necessarily thick-skinned, it just seemed innate that I wasn’t going down like that.

I remember feeling like I could do anything.  In high school I paid my way to a Washington DC trip by selling (illegal) homemade chocolate chip cookies.  I’d bake dozens nearly every night, wrap them in saran wrap and load up a few brown paper bags and peddle my wares to students and teachers (who, technically, had the authority to report me since it was actually against the rules to sell these outside cookies but I don’t think anyone wanted to cut off the supply!)  I’d sell them for a buck a piece, and I had a lot of regulars, like my math teacher Mr. Gong.  Over 1000 cookies later, I was on my way to DC where I sat in the senate gallery and decided that I was going to be something big one day.

I’ve always been confident about my writing, but in some other areas in my life, I’ve lost some of that gumption.  For a period, I was burned out from doing too much, too fast, too young.  I spent too much time listening to people who told me I couldn’t make writing my career or that I was “better than” a cook.  I’m finally sorting out some of the noise and looking at what my passions and interests have been telling me all along.  It’s a shame that we ever stop believing in ourselves as adults, that we ever become afraid of our curiosities.

I’ve bee n reading a book called “If the Buddha Got Stuck” by Charlotte Kasl and it’s been the perfect book for me in my life right now as I transition out of post-graduation doldrums and into a career path that I consider more a realization of a long love affair with food.  It’s given me good prompts to think about what we all do to keep ourselves “stuck” — the payoffs, the false truths that we believe in about ourselves — and how to get past that by being really honest with yourself and others.  I also like the notion of being curious and acting on your curiosities.  There’s no day like today to do something you want to do.

Long story short, I’ve been doing better with finding the kid in me and this recipe wasn’t intended to be “kid food” although in hindsight it sort of is.

I came up with these sugar snap pea boats as I was trying to figure out what to do with some of our CSA produce.  Sid described them as sort of an “ants on a log” finger food.  I joked that we could put the peas on a knife alongside the boats and pretend the peas are people — the dish could be called “walk the plank.”

This was a fun dish for me to create — it’s bright and colorful and just the sort of finger food that reminds me of being a kid again.  It’s also a little nod to the delicious finger foods that were served to us in Bermuda at high tea.  Read more about that here.

Snap pea boats with strawberry sails and pepper decks

Makes about 20 boats

• 3 TBS cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 TBS chevre, room temperature
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp habenero or jalepeno pepper, minced
• 10 sugar snap peas
• 4-5 strawberries

Optional:

Pea shoots (garnish)

Let cream cheese and chevre soften to room temperature.  In a small bowl, blend cheeses, honey and pepper until creamy.  Set aside.

Next, prepare pea boats: snap ends off of peas and remove strings.  With thumbnail or the tip of a paring knife, gently split pea along seam lengthwise to separate both halves.  Remove peas inside, set aside for snacking or garnish.

Cut strawberries in half lengthwise, then slice lengthwise again into 1/8-1/4” thick pieces (they should look like triangular “sails”.)

To assemble, spread cheese mixture on the inside of each pea boat (about 3/4-1 tsp depending on the size of the pea) and prop up a strawberry slice in the middle to stand as a “sail.”

You can garnish with reserved peas (people) or pea shoots.

Photo credit Heezen Web Design