Pea shoots, sweet cicely pods, endive

I know that being part of a CSA can be a stretch for most folks. You end up with A Lot Of Vegetables and some of them are unfamiliar, even STRANGE. I happen to like eating a variety of foods and trying new things. I also love that at any given time the earth gives us a wide range of tasty edibles, no matter what the weather or season. I like to share the bounty with you.

Sweet cicely pods
These are a yearly treat for me. They only last for a week or so before the pods get way too tough. In the meantime, just chew the anise-flavored pods and spit out any fibrous parts you don't like. Or eat the whole thing. Fiber is good for us, right? The seeds can be tossed into salad or added to rice or really anything you like. The whole plant is edible and tastes like licorice.

Endive
These early heads of endive/escarole, (If I ever figure out the difference I will be very glad.), are tender and not bitter. I like to eat these like lettuce in salad. Later on, my favorite way to cook endive is sauted with garlic and olive oil.


Pea shoots
Last week I cooked some pea shoots for the first time. Yummy taste, but yuck! those stick-like stems! I don't get exactly how they can be so popular in stir fry, etc. So I did some checking on line and found that many people strip the leaves off the stems and either add the leaves to salad or cook them. Now stripping off leaves is way too tedious for me. I am a very lazy cook in some ways. So the next time I make them I will be experimenting with chopping the stems really, really short and then cooking them.

In the meantime, be warned that the stems are quite stemmy. Enough to choke or annoy the people eating them.


On the other hand, the leaves are delicious. They have a special flavor all their own. To my mind, it's worth pursuing how to cook them.