peas & beans.

how gorgeous are these snap peas & fava beans!!! it's impossible to look at these without excitment! i am so incredibly inspired by spring that it fuels me to do the crazy prep that this dish entails...i suggest gathering a few of your favorite vessels and taking them to the table, outside on the patio or the yard...putting a blanket down & prepping in a meditation mode.... you can also do this while watching the babes or have them help. ocean loves to prep the snap peas.. i showed him how you bring the thread part down to open the side and then open up the pea like snap surgery.. he gets so excited about telling me how many are in each pod. it's about 2 lbs of snap peas pods to 2 cups of peas (depending on the size). they have been ranging from 3.50 - 5 dollars per lb. at the market. the fava beans are a deeper prep situation as they have the cushy duvet like pod, one casing and then you finally make your way to the thin green bean....this dish is perfect for the RM mantra of food all the time...and yes there is definitely prep... it goes along with this conversation we have been having in the RM thursday classes in my kitchen.. love versus care in your creating, gathering, cooking the food... i feel that love - which is a very RM idea... to put the love in and you can actually taste it..massage it with love etc...is faster in it's dynamic... love is fast.. but care... caring... feels slow in it's dance.. right? how do you feel about this? i think you make a conscious commitment to care... love feels easier and great and necessary. and absolutely it must be there with intention... that's when it works.. but the care piece... is something that i am steeping in... you can feel it on a deeper level with the most simple foods... this feels like a care piece in it's prep. it slows you down, grounds you and makes you stop... then the rest of this is so fast and easy it's raddichio.. i mean rediculous. (really inspired...) ok. this spring ragout with the pasta was sent to me through the 101 cookbooks emails... here is the post for this dish... this is SO fast (once you have everything ready)...heidi also used asparagus.. which you absolutely can.. i didn't in this b/c i love the peas and beans!

20-30 fava bean pods, removed from puffy shell

extra virgin olive oil

fine grain sea salt

1 1/2 cups peas, freshly shelled or frozen

zest of one lemon

splash of cream

pecorino cheese (Parmesan would be a fine alt.)

edible flowers for garnish (totally optional)

Cook fava beans for about a minute in a pot of salted water. Drain, run under cold water, and shell 2nd layer. To do this pinch each fava to break the skin and gently squeeze to separate the bean from the skin. Set aside. In a cold skillet big splash of olive oil, 2 big pinches of salt, and 2 tablespoons of water. Heat over medium high heat and when the water starts bubbling add the asparagus spears. Cover and cook for 30-45 seconds, longer if the asparagus is thicker until it is barely tender and bright green. Stir in the peas peas and cook uncovered for another 20 seconds or so (maybe a touch longer if you were using peas that were frozen). Stir in the lemon zest, the tiniest splash of cream, and serve garnished with edible flowers. Serves 4.

please let me know how this goes.... and how the love & care conversation goes too... would love to hear what you think... see you in the kitchenxxx