When I picked up my CSA basket a few weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised.

It contained a few pounds of crowder peas and a pound or so of lima beans. Except when I got home, it occurred to me-I have to shell these!

I did not grow up on a farm, or anywhere near a farm. Concrete, asphalt and cobbled bricks were the sidewalks of my youth. Then my first big move of my life, when I was twenty-seven, I moved to a narrow, sandy, limestone strip in the Florida Keys where I spent the majority of my time inside the four walls of a run-down diner. For ten years.

When I moved to Central Florida, I got a taste of farming with a 4’ x12’ community garden plot. I planted black-eyed peas one season at the Festival Park Community Garden in Orlando. That’s all it took for me to realize the ROI wasn’t worth my energy. I stuck with the easy stuff- lettuces, peppers, carrots, tomatoes, herbs, broccoli, and sunflowers.

And so after an afternoon shelling peas and beans on the back porch, I have a newfound respect for my farmer and all the farmers in the world, especially those that shell the peas and beans before going to market.

Shelling fresh beans gave me a chance to think about my mom, which food will do, you know, make you think about someone, or something.

I know my mom wasn’t shelling peas and beans when I grew up-she worked full time as a nurse. We ate food of the 70s, boxed, comfort, one-pot dishes like tuna noodle casserole, chili, Hamburger Helper and Chicken Chow Mein in the can. But I’ll bet she shelled peas when she was a kid, or maybe not. I sort of enjoyed thinking about what my mom’s life was like when she was a kid. Funny, I never thought to ask when she was alive.

“Hey, mom, why didn’t you date after dad died?” I’d ask, or “Tell me about your mom,” I’d say over fish dinners when she visited me in the Keys.

I also thought while I shelled those beans, if I had any more than what was in my CSA basket, my thumbs and forefingers would be calloused.

I’m glad this week we’re getting corn and tomatoes in our baskets. And hopefully a few peppers and cucumbers, too.

If you find yourself shelling a basket full of peas and beans*, don’t forget to ask your mom or dad about their lives, if you can. And when you’re done, try my Boiled Crowder Peas.

Appetite required.

*(I blanched and froze the lima beans.)

Boiled Crowder Peas

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 carrots, scrubbed and chopped
• 4 hearts of celery w leafy tops
• 1 small onion, peeled and cchopped
• 1/2 jalapeño, seeded and cut in half, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled, smashed and minced
• 2 pounds shelled crowder peas
• 4 cups water w 4 bouillon chicken cubes or vegetable stock
• Salt and pepper, to taste

• Heat oils in a large stock pan on medium high heat until it shimmers.
• Reduce heat to medium, add carrots, celery hearts and onion. Cook, stirring frequently, or shake the pot for about five minutes, careful not to burn vegetables. Reduce heat if necessary.
• Add jalapeño pepper and cook a few more minutes. Add garlic. Stirring constantly, cook for about one minute to release the bouquet, careful not to burn.
• Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.
• Add crowder peas. Reduce heat to low. Simmer with vented lid twenty minutes or until peas are tender.
• Strain peas and reserve stock.
• Serve peas immediately, or refrigerate and use within a week. Freeze stock or use within a week.