Snow Pea Slaw
Early this morning, barely after finishing my cup of coffee, I grabbed my metal pail off the pot rack and headed straight out the back door to my little garden… My reason? My snow peas are finally ready to pick! Every spring I plant snow peas in March and by mid May I have plenty to add to stir fries and salads. Sometimes, I may even have extra to share with family and friends. Snow peas prefer cool wet weather and by the time summer rolls around, they stop producing and the vines quickly wither away.
My favorite variety of snow pea is the Oregon Sugar Pod II. It’s a hardy variety of snow pea and is fairly resistant to pests and disease. It’s a prolific producer of beautiful 3 – 4 inch long pods that taste wonderful raw or cooked.
This year I planted my snow peas in large pots and I supported them with tomato cages. Once the snow peas are done for the year, I swap the peas out for my favorite heirloom tomato plants. Growing below the snow peas are edible yellow pansy blossoms. Behind the peas in the raised boxes are some newly planted heirloom tomatoes.
Snow peas climb using their tendrils… Tendrils grow quickly and wrap around anything that will support them.
The beautiful white pea flowers quickly produce tender green pods. Within a couple of days, this pod will be ready to pick. Sometimes my snow peas never make it into the kitchen. They taste delicious right off the vine!
A few feet away from my garden I planted some giant allium bulbs.
The round purple flowers are just stunning! They grow over three feet tall and bloom from May through June. This is the third year that the allium bulbs have bloomed. I hope they come back and bloom again for us next year.
While I was picking the snow peas, I noticed that some of my purple cabbage was ready to harvest. I planted only 6 heads of cabbage this year but I am starting to think that it was a bit much… Fortunately, cabbage has a fairly long shelf life in the refrigerator as compared to other vegetables such as lettuce and spinach. I picked the largest head and thought it would be wonderful in a Snow Pea Slaw.
My Snow Pea Slaw is a fresh combination of snow peas, purple cabbage and an Asian inspired sesame dressing. It’s easy to make and tastes wonderful! Enjoy! Tessa
Ingredients:
- 1/4 pound snow peas
- 1/4 pound purple cabbage
- 1/8 cup canola oil
- 2 Tbs rice vinegar
- 1 Tbs sesame seeds (I used black and white mixed)
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar (or to taste)
- 4 – 5 drops sesame oil (or to taste)
- salt and pepper
Begin by slicing your snow peas lengthwise into this strips. To make the process go faster, stack two or three snow peas on top of each other and then slice. Set aside. Thinly slice the purple cabbage into similar sized pieces as the snow peas. Add cabbage to snow peas in a medium sized bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the canola oil, rice vinegar, sesame seeds, sugar, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Add dressing to the snow pea and cabbage mixture. Mix well and serve. Makes approximately 2 – servings. Keep refrigerated for up to 4 hours.
