Carrots and Snow Peas

The spring is here and the garden is planted and the book is being prepared for production and the visits continue and the life continues and I am, at sixty-eight, in the fullest period of my life: fuller than teaching (because the writing is more personal), fuller than caregiving-at-home (because the visiting is more structured), fuller than any period I can remember, because the fullness includes the book and the blog and the grandchildren and the garden and the support group and the cooking and the visiting and the writing and the living, and the living is the fullness, and the fullness is the chain, and the chain is Ruth Feldman, sixty-eight years old, published by Knopf, grandmother of four, wife of Marvin, daughter of Sylvia, keeper of the brisket, braider of the challah, writer of the book.

I made a spring risotto — asparagus, peas, lemon — and ate it on the porch in the April light, and the eating was the living, and the living was the spring, and the spring was the evidence that the garden comes back, that the tomatoes will come, that the basil will grow, that the season turns, that the turning is the faith, that the faith is the planting, that the planting is the act of a woman who believes in next year, in the next tomato, in the next matzo ball, in the next chapter, in the next link in the chain that doesn't break.

The risotto was for the porch and the April light, but it was this simple, bright side of carrots and snow peas that kept reappearing on the table all through those first real spring weeks — quick enough to make on a Tuesday, colorful enough to feel like a celebration. Snow peas have always reminded me of possibility: they’re tender and ready before almost anything else, and pulling them from a bag in my kitchen while the garden is still just soil and hope feels like a small rehearsal for what’s coming. This dish is the evidence that the season is already here, even before the tomatoes agree.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal (about 1/4 inch thick)
6 oz fresh snow peas, trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil or unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)

Instructions

Blanch the carrots. Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the sliced carrots and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until just beginning to soften but still with some bite. Drain and set aside.
Sauté the aromatics. In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil or butter. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds until fragrant — do not let it brown.
Cook the vegetables. Add the blanched carrots and snow peas to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Toss and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes until the snow peas are bright green and tender-crisp and the carrots are heated through.
Finish and serve. Remove from heat. Drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle with fresh thyme. Toss once more, taste for seasoning, and transfer to a serving dish. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Carrots and Snow Peas — The Garden Comes Back