May 31, 2004
The year of the Pea
It's amazing what surfing the web will bring you. I was enjoying Bruce Cole's Saute Wednesday article on peas when I saw a link to Anthony Bourdain's 'Decoding Ferran Adria, Chef of El Bulli'. It brought me to this site, which features 3 short QuickTime clips of what is, presumably, an upcoming show on the world's most currently celebrated and innovative chef. There's not much information yet out there, though Bourdain has chosen to reveal a few choice bits to the foodies at eGullet ... I do hope it's something that will find distribution soon.Both Saute Wednesday's Pick a peck of petit pois and the 3rd QuickTime clip on Bourdain's site (the one of white spoons cradling some bright green self-contained blobs of what turns out to be baby pea essence) made me think of obtaining some fresh, sweet green english peas, which are so fantastic eaten raw, or cooked ever so slightly in some butter and salt. And a quick search reveals that 2004 appears to be the year of the pea, and that "the best are bright, glittering green and firm, and squeak when their pods are rubbed together."
And of course my search brought me to the east bay, where at my usual favourite food source I managed to find some, neatly bagged and squeaking subtly, as if to say, "Eat us! We're so fresh and organic!"
