Pease

“ Such as these, however, I shall hereafter put into pease in the broadcast, proposing that one of my sowings of wheat shall be after two years of clover, and the other after two years of pease. I am trying the white boiling pea of Europe (the Albany pea) this year, till I can get the hog-pea of England, which is the most productive of all. But the true winter-vetch is what we want extremely. I have tried this year the Caroline drill. It is absolutely perfect. Nothing can be more simple, nor perform its office more perfectly for a single row. ”

“ It couples in summer, about the time when the pease are in blossom, and then deposites an egg into almost every one of the little pease. When the pease are ripe, their outward appearance does not discover the worm, which, however, is found within, when it is cut. ”

“ It had been found that if they procured good pease from Albany, and sowed them near King’s Town, or the lower part of the province of New York, they succeeded very well the first year, but were so full of worms the second, and following years, that nobody could or would eat them. Some people put ashes into the pot, among the pease, when they will not boil, or soften well ”

“ In common with all other leguminous fruits, pease possess a strong mucilage, with an earthy basis, and yield a very solid nourishment to persons of vigorous stomachs; but, as pulse of every description evolves a considerable portion of fixed air within the bowels, it is apt to excite flatulency and costiveness, if eaten too frequently, or in too large quantities. ”

“ Their provender is a species of grain called donna, somewhat like our pease, which are boiled, and then given cold to the horses, mixed with coarse sugar; and twice or thrice a week they have butter given them to scour their bodies. ”

“ The peasants have just began their mowing and harvesting, and the hay and corn are all as thick as the choicest bits in our choice meadows. There were immense plantations of potatoes, oats, pease, and beans ”

“ It is usual to boil some mint with the pease; but if you wish to garnish the pease with mint, boil a few sprigs in a sauce-pan by themselves. See Sage and Onion Sauce (No. 300) , and Pea Powder (No. 458) ; to boil Bacon (No. 13) , Slices of Ham and Bacon (No. 526) , and Relishing Rashers of Bacon (No. 527) .
N.B. A peck of young pease will not yield more than enough for a couple of hearty pea-eaters; when the pods are full, it may serve for three.
Mem. Never think of purchasing pease ready-shelled, for the cogent reasons assigned in the first part of this receipt.
Cucumbers stewed.— (No. 135.) ”

“ An ornamental cherry with rose-colored flowers. Pease. P. avium. 1. Am. Hort. An. 86, 87. 1869. Pease is a black, sweet seedling from Charles Pease, Sr., Cleveland, Ohio. Tree upright; fruit large, obtuse-cordate; flesh purplish, juicy, rich; follows Black Tartarian in ripening. Perlkirsche. P. avium. 1. Christ Handb. 667. 1802. 2. Truchsess-Heim Kirschensort. 237-242. 1819. 3. Ill. Handb. 111 fig., 112. 1860. 4. Mas Pom. Gen. 11:25, 26, fig. 13. 1882. 5. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 371. 1889. This variety is often taken for the Yellow Spanish but is distinct. Tree strong, vigorous, productive ”

“ Captain Peakes suggested to Captain Anthony that before going in he should catch up a deckload of albicores, which abounded, and as they are a choice edible he could trade them off in the town for potatoes. The albicores follow ships in this locality, and were all about the vessel, breaching for flying-fish and squid. So with white rag for bait, the crew caught half a hundred fish weighing forty or fifty pounds each. ”

“ Shell a quart of green peas for a small mess. Wash them in cold water, and put them on to cook in a stew pan with a pint of boiling water, or enough to cover them. Let them cook half an hour, and then stir in a large lump of butter rolled in flour; let this cook a few minutes, and add a teaspoonful of white sugar, same of salt and pepper, and serve while hot. Do not let them cook dry. Lamb and green peas is a favorite dish in the spring of the year. ”

“ Boil one pint of dried green peas in two quarts of water with a mite of soda till the peas are quite soft. If the water evaporates add a little more; pass the peas through a [16] wire sieve. Now chop up an onion very small, also two beads of garlic, fry in two ounces of butter a golden colour. Add your peas, then a whole carrot, a whole turnip, and two sticks of celery; simmer gently till the vegetables are soft, remove the vegetables, add pepper and salt to taste, and serve the purée with dry powdered mint and fried bread cut into dice. ”

“ Peas, Green.—By far the best and nicest way of cooking green peas when served as a course by themselves is to stew them gently in a little butter without any water at all, like they do in France. The peas are first shelled, and then placed in a stew-pan with a little butter, sufficient to moisten them. As soon as they are tender, which will vary with the size and age of the peas, they can be served just as they are. ”

“ If the mud is deep, or there is snow on the ground, he also leaves the mark of his claws, but as a rule these are not observable, as he puts his weight on the sole of his foot—his tracks are usually almost in a line. ”

“ There are many varieties of these peas; the smaller kind are the most delicate. Have them young and newly gathered, shell and boil them tender; pour them in a colander to drain; put some lard in a frying pan; when it boils, mash the peas, and fry them in a cake of a light brown; put it in the dish with the crust uppermost—garnish with thin bits of fried bacon. They are very nice when fried whole, so that each pea is distinct from the other; but they must be boiled less, and fried with great care. Plain boiling is a very common way of dressing them. ”

“ Shell the peas and cover with cold water; skim off undeveloped peas which rise to the top of the water and drain. Barely cover with boiling water; cook till tender, then add salt. When done, very little water should remain. Season to taste with butter and add more salt if needed. A little sugar is sometimes an improvement.
When the peas are older, half a cup of milk or cream, with sufficient flour to thicken, is considered an improvement. ”

“ In shelling the peas, divide the old from the young; put the old ones, with an ounce of butter, a pint of water, the outside leaves of a lettuce or two, two onions, pepper and salt, to stew till you can pulp the peas; and when you have done so, put to the liquor that stewed them some more water, the hearts and tender stalks of the lettuces, the young peas, a handful of spinach cut small, and salt and pepper to relish properly, and stew till quite soft. ”

“ I suppose there is no vegetable so well liked as peas. Who would wish a Fourth of July dinner without peas? The early varieties of peas go into the ground just as early as possible. I like best to dig trenches six inches deep and about eighteen inches apart. As the peas are dropped into the trench, cover over with about two inches of soil. As the plants grow, fill soil into the trench. ”

“ But, if one wishes peas, pure and simple, in their own flavor,—a flavor chosen out of the whole vegetable realm, and not repeated in any other growing thing,—let him not, let her not, audaciously introduce any rival flavor. Peas are good; cream is good; peas and cream are good,—each in its own severalty. But let each one stand in its own name. Do not call peas and cream, peas. One’s tenderest culinary susceptibility is touched, to be asked if he will take some green peas, and then to find himself eating peas and cream! ”

“ Note.—It will be well to add, if the peas are not quite young, a little sugar. Where economy is essential, water may be used instead of stock for this soup, boiling in it likewise the pea-shells; but use a double quantity of vegetables.
WINTER PEA SOUP (YELLOW) . 143. INGREDIENTS.—1 quart of split peas, 2 lbs. of shin of beef, trimmings of meat or poultry, a slice of bacon, 2 large carrots, 2 turnips, 5 large onions, 1 head of celery, seasoning to taste, 2 quarts of soft water, any bones left from roast meat, 2 quarts of common stock, or liquor in which a joint of meat has been boiled. ”

“ If peas are sown in freshly-manured, very moist, or clayey soil, they will run to haulm, that is, they will produce more leaves and stalks than peas: and, if grown in calcareous soil, they will boil hard and tough, even when young, and when old will never become floury.
The early peas are small, and few in each pod, and with so little flavour, that we never have them sown in our little garden, but have the green Prussians sown early for a first crop, and again, a little later, for a second. The early dwarf peas are, indeed, of little use, except for forcing. ”

“ The sellers of green peas “hot, all hot!” have no stands but carry them in a tin pot or pan which is wrapped round with a thick cloth, to retain the heat. The peas are served out with a ladle, and eaten by the customers out of basins provided with spoons by the vendor. ”

“ I may remark, however, that some common ships' peas, which were sown by our people for their amusement, were found to thrive so well, that, had I been sooner aware of it, a great quantity of the leaves at least of this vegetable might have been grown, which, when boiled and eaten as greens, would have been no small treat to persons deprived of fresh vegetable substance for more than ten months. ”

“ SUMMER PEA SOUP. Take a peck of peas, separate the old from the young, boil the former till they are quite tender in good stock, then pass them through a sieve, and return them to the stock, add the young peas, a little chopped lettuce, small pieces of cucumber fried to a light brown, a little bit of mint, pepper, and salt; two or three lumps of sugar give a fine flavor. ”

“ Bring oot the ale, canny man!' 'Ay, or clairt,' suggested a thin-faced scrivener. 'A mutchkin o' usquebaugh for ilka man,' shouted a burly flesher, ''tis mair heartenin'.'
The Provost turned a little pale at their unforeseen demand: he almost regretted his consent to the wedding. Then he recollected that there was a firkin of home-brewed in the cellar that a recent thunderstorm had turned sour, and his brow grew clear. 'Bring oot the pickle firkin,' he bade his man, 'an' serve it around.'
So with a taste of sour ale in their mouths man and wife rode forth from Hawick the airt of Peel Fell. ”

“ Peas should not be stewed this way, except in places where plenty of good fresh butter is to be easily obtained.
GREEN PEAS.— The largest and finest peas are what the English call marrowfat. The sugar pea is next. All green peas for boiling should be young and tender, but not so young as to be tasteless or insipid. As a general rule, nearly every article of food is best when it has just attained its full growth and ripeness; after that period the older it is the worse. Peas, so old as to be hard and yellow, are unfit to eat. In some ultra economical houses, good peas are things unknown. ”

“ In using green peas in summer time it is well to have a quantity of them, perhaps twice as many as you are likely to use for one meal, and shell them, because you know they are of different sizes always. ”

“ A favourite spot is the slope of a hill, or high-lying fields, where they may be easily tracked by the 'roots,' i.e. small holes [82] which they scratch in the ground in search of beetles and roots of various kinds. They rarely descend into low-lying meadows, except to drink. ”

“ Shelled peas were used in Europe as far back as in the Middle ages, and there, to-day, the dried or “split” pea is used quite as extensively as the dried bean. In America, peas are used almost entirely in the green stage, fresh or canned. ”

“ As large and small peas cannot be boiled together, the small ones should be separated from the rest, by being passed through a riddle or coarse sieve. For a peck of young peas, which will not be more than sufficient for two or three persons, after they are shelled, set on a saucepan with a gallon of water. ”

“ We observe a still more serious vice: the number of eggs is out of all proportion to the number of peas in the pod. Let us note at the outset that each grub requires one pea; it is the necessary ration, and is largely sufficient for one larva, but is not enough for several, nor even for two. One pea to each grub, neither more nor less, is the unchangeable rule. ”

“ In idea nothing could be more delightful than to sit in the deepening twilight of a summer's evening, with a soft breath of air stirring the feathery larch tops against the sky above, the ground carpeted with the vivid green of the opening bracken, surrounded by the music of cooing wood-pigeons, the full notes of blackbird and thrush, and listening to the pleasant sounds carried on the breeze from the distant farms. ”

“ When they are two or three inches high, they should be hoed; that is, the weeds which may have sprung up between the rows should be hoed up, and the earth drawn up to the roots of the peas. When about six inches high, they should be staked, with two rows of sticks to each row of peas; the sticks being about a foot higher than the average height of the peas, and care being taken never to let them cross at top.
Late peas only differ in their culture from the early crops in having their drills farther apart, and in being placed farther apart in the drills. ”

“ Miles away the Catalpa was seen, barely discernible at moments when she rose on the crest of a larger wave than common, thrusting her bows into the air, surrounded by foam, and apparently ready to take flight from the sea. ”

“ Freeman he is not, but slave,
Whoso in fear for the State
Cries for surety of blood.
Help of gibbet and grave;
Neither is any land great
Whom, in her fear-stricken mood,
These things only can save. ”