Pass the Peas, Please.

Last week Luisa posted a tasty-looking recipe that piqued my interest, as I had just bought a bag of frozen peas. Also, when Adam got back from Tucson last month he brought me some desert blossom honey that I hadn't even opened yet. And then when my train decided it was going express from Cleveland Circle and stopped right in front of Trader Joe's, I decided it was meant to be. I wandered through the aisles picking up mint, parmesan and TJ's pasta - no, it wasn't fresh, but it was the noodle specified in the recipe - and was pleasantly surprised by the $10 total. How have I not been shopping at Trader Joe's forever? It's just so much less expensive!

But I digress. When I got back to the house, Courtney's dad was there helping her move out. Commence sobbing. She has been an excellent, excellent roommate and we will miss her dearly. [Aside: new roomie moved in on Sunday. She seems cool.] After they took off in the thoroughly packed car, I went back in to start cooking. I sauteed the peas and onion and honey for 10 minutes while the water came to a boil (it smelled SO good) and then got out my new immersion blender. No dice. This is the second time in a row it hasn't worked (the first time was for almond chopping) and I'm starting to think something is wrong. Almonds are tough, but cooked peas? They are smushy little blobs. This is ridiculous. So I got out the potato masher and instead of pureed peas, I had mashed peas. This was also very good for getting out the frustration caused by my malfunctioning kitchen appliances. Anyway, I sauteed some more peas, cooked the pasta, combined the whole thing with cooking water and added mint and cheese. Oh man. So delicious! I like peas, and I like mint, but together with the cheese they have this whole unexpected shadowy thing going on. It was delicious. I had leftovers on Friday and when I got home yesterday there was still some in the fridge, so I had MORE. Even five days later, though the pasta was soggy, the flavor was wonderful.

And I forgot to take a picture. It's ok, right? I'm new. I promise I'll try harder.