After the disappointing pea harvest last year — when my peas wilted in the summer heat as soon as they began to bear pods — I found a variety described as “heat tolerant” this time around. And it paid off, as we left for a 10-day vacation in the midst of a upper-90s heat wave, and returned to … peas! The boy was so excited to pluck the first pod and asked if he could eat it right away. Of course I said yes, and was rewarded with, “These are THE BEST PEAS I’ve ever eaten!” (A ha! Finally the frozen-peas-only decree has been lifted. At least for a day.)

Over In the Kitchen with Audrey, little superstar Audrey (leader of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Group of the Week — congrats!) had her own pea epiphany this week.

The foodie bebe is already showing signs of being a pea enthusiast like her brother, but just to be safe we make sure to read this cute book as often as possible: Baby Max and Ruby Counting Peas —>

If you’ve harvested (more than one) pea(s) from your garden, try this chilled asparagus and pea soup with mint.

Your turn! If you’d like to share a photo of your kids in the garden for a future “Worm Wednesday” post, please e-mail it to foodietots@gmail.com, &/or leave a link to a recent gardening post in the comments and show us what your kids are growing!

What comes after asparagus and strawberries? Fresh peas! I bought both English peas (for shelling) and sugar snap peas this past weekend at the Falls Church Farmers Market. The English peas joined some Black Rock Orchard asparagus in a cold soup for a hot and steamy evening.

While the boy’s favorite vegetable is actually peas, he generally prefers them frozen. And though I couldn’t coax him into helping me shell, he did snatch a handful of fresh shelled peas out of my bowl. (He even tried a sugar snap pea with its pod last night, rather than slurping out the peas as though it was edamame in his usual manner.)

Recipe: Chilled Asparagus Pea Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 pound asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup shelled fresh peas (or frozen if that’s all you have)
• 1 small yellow onion
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 6 leaves fresh mint
• 1/2 cup half and half (or cream)
• salt and pepper

Instructions: Warm olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until it becomes translucent, about 5 minutes. Add asparagus, a pinch of salt and pepper, and broth. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil; then reduce to a simmer and cook for 7 minutes. Add peas and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Asparagus should be just tender when pricked with a fork. Remove from heat and let cool a little. Add mint (torn into small pieces).  Process in small batches in a blender until smooth. Stir in half and half.  Pour into a bowl and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour. (You can also accelerate the cooling by setting the bowl into a larger bowl with ice and water.) Garnish with additional mint leaves. Serves 4. Enjoy!

Note: Make this with vegetable broth for Meatless Monday.

I’m not sure if there’s an official rule about seafood on Meatless Monday, but I’ve generally avoided it thus far. Since part of the purpose of Meatless Monday is to raise awareness of the environmental impact of our food choices, I figured I’d make an exception for a farewell to Gulf shrimp. This dinner was loosely inspired by Aimee’s coconut rice, in that I had the two ingredients on the mind. The snap peas came from the farmers market, and were just as crisp and sweet as they look. And the basil was the first harvest from my freshly-potted herb planter.

Recipe: Coconut Basil Shrimp Stir-Fry

Ingredients:

• 1 pound wild Gulf shrimp
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut
• 2 cups snap peas
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 4 basil leaves, finely chopped
• salt and pepper

Instructions: Toast coconut in cast iron skillet over medium heat until lightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside. Warm olive oil in skillet and cook garlic until soft and translucent, 3-4 minutes. Add shrimp, season with salt and pepper, and cook until pink and cooked through. Add soy sauce, snap peas and coconut and cook another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle basil over top. Serve over rice. Makes 4 servings. Enjoy!

The FoodieTots family participates in Meatless Mondays, cutting out meat one day a week for our health and for the environment. (When we do eat meat, we choose local and grassfed whenever possible.) Visit the Meatless Monday pledge page to learn more, and sign up for weekly tips and recipes you can use to go meatless, too!