I like to spend my mornings cruising the Maine byways, looking for farms and produce stands to put together a fresh and tasty lunch and dinner. I let the season control what is available and the daily finds are always a surprise.
This morning I came across a few nice tasty treats. Fresh green peas in the pod; firm, sweet, and an intense, summery green. Tiny, new, red potatoes the size of marbles. Sweet, green topped, early summer onions looking like fat golf balls. Farm fresh butter made from cultured sour cream and churned pale yellow and creamy with just a hint of sea salt. Local, double rich cream so thick it wouldn't even need whipping. I picked up a potted rosemary bush a deep, verdant green that I could put just outside my front door. Finally I stopped by a U-Pick strawberry field for some deep red, fat and luscious berries. I had some other items at home that would round out these items into a meal that would be full of summer flavors, filling but not too heavy.
In the summer I find I am just not as hungry as other times of the year unless I spend the day hiking or biking. I tend to eat less and much healthier, although I do like a wee bit of fat in my food to appease my craving for luxuriousness. I love soup and decided on a Fresh Pea, Baby Potato, and Sweet Onion Soup; blended into a smooth puree and with a hint of ginger, rosemary, and garlic. This would be a late lunch / early dinner that would be filling enough to last all evening; with just some fresh strawberries and cream for a dessert later in the evening.
This morning I came across a few nice tasty treats. Fresh green peas in the pod; firm, sweet, and an intense, summery green. Tiny, new, red potatoes the size of marbles. Sweet, green topped, early summer onions looking like fat golf balls. Farm fresh butter made from cultured sour cream and churned pale yellow and creamy with just a hint of sea salt. Local, double rich cream so thick it wouldn't even need whipping. I picked up a potted rosemary bush a deep, verdant green that I could put just outside my front door. Finally I stopped by a U-Pick strawberry field for some deep red, fat and luscious berries. I had some other items at home that would round out these items into a meal that would be full of summer flavors, filling but not too heavy.
In the summer I find I am just not as hungry as other times of the year unless I spend the day hiking or biking. I tend to eat less and much healthier, although I do like a wee bit of fat in my food to appease my craving for luxuriousness. I love soup and decided on a Fresh Pea, Baby Potato, and Sweet Onion Soup; blended into a smooth puree and with a hint of ginger, rosemary, and garlic. This would be a late lunch / early dinner that would be filling enough to last all evening; with just some fresh strawberries and cream for a dessert later in the evening.
Fresh, sweet, just shelled peas
Marble size, new, red potatoes
Fresh Rosemary plant by my front door
Fresh Pea, Baby Potato, and Sweet Onion Soup
2 cups of fresh shucked peas (or frozen)
1 cup of chopped sweet onions- either fresh new summer onions or sweet Vidalia or other onions
1 cup of chopped baby new potatoes
2 cloves of garlic
1 thumb size piece of ginger, sliced
2 tablespoons of fresh farmhouse butter
1 three inch sprig of fresh Rosemary
1 tablespoon of chicken stock paste
1 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper
3 cups of water
3-4 Key limes or a regular lime cut into quarters
Slice the ginger and place in a pot with the water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for ten minute to make a weak ginger "tea." Discard the ginger and save the tea for later.
Place the onion, garlic, butter, and potatoes in a pan and sauté until the onions are translucent, about five minutes.
Place the onion, garlic, butter, and potatoes in a pan and sauté until the onions are translucent, about five minutes.
Add the ginger tea, the chicken stock paste, and the leaves from the rosemary. Bring to a boil and then simmer for five minutes. Add the peas and black pepper then simmer for five more minutes. Puree in a blender or with a submersion blender until smooth.
Pour into bowls and serve with a tiny squeeze of the lime juice on top.
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