Honey-Butter Peas and Carrots

Moving is in three weeks and I have spent this week packing boxes and thinking about what I own. It is not very much. Seven years on my own and what I have accumulated is mostly kitchen equipment, books I have read twice, and clothes that fit. I do not own furniture. I have borrowed and secondhand everything and given it all back or left it behind when I moved.

Gloria is giving me her extra set of dishes. She has two sets, one fine china that she does not use, and the everyday ones, white with a blue border, chipped in a few places, completely familiar to me because I have eaten off them for years. I said she should keep them. She said she has the china. She said these are yours now. She said they have been yours since you started eating off them, I was just holding them.

I packed the dishes carefully. More carefully than anything else I own. They are not worth anything by the measure people usually mean. They are worth everything by the measure that matters.

Made a meal for Tyler and me at Gloria on Sunday, at her table, with those dishes. Ham and scalloped potatoes, which is Gloria winter standard. Destiny sat with us and ate a full portion of everything and asked for seconds on the potatoes. Gloria sat in her chair and directed the potato slicing thickness and told me the ham was a little oversalted, which it was, and we ate and talked and it was ordinary and extraordinary at the same time, the way the things that are ending always get to be both.

I didn’t want to overdo that last Sunday meal at Gloria’s — the ham and scalloped potatoes were already the main event, and they carried everything they needed to carry. But I wanted something on the side that was bright and a little sweet, something that felt like it belonged on that table without asking for any attention. Honey-butter peas and carrots was exactly that: simple, warm, familiar, the kind of thing that fills in the space around a meal and makes it feel complete.

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 cups carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (optional)

Instructions

Cook the carrots. Place sliced carrots in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water by about an inch. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 8–10 minutes, until just fork-tender. Do not overcook — you want them soft but not mushy.
Add the peas. Add the frozen peas to the pot with the carrots and cook for 2 more minutes, just until the peas are heated through and bright green. Drain the vegetables well.
Make the honey butter. Return the empty saucepan to low heat. Add butter and honey, stirring until the butter is fully melted and the two are combined into a glossy glaze, about 1 minute.
Toss and season. Return the drained peas and carrots to the pan. Toss gently to coat everything in the honey butter. Season with salt and pepper. Add fresh thyme if using. Stir once more and serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Honey-Butter Peas and Carrots — The Side Dish That Belongs at Every Last Meal