Harvesting and Preserving Peas

 We just came through the hottest temperatures ever recorded in western Washington state. The rare heat dome actually effected the entire Pacific Northwest. I thought my peas were goners, for sure. I was wrong. Not only did they pull through, mostly unscathed, they are still blooming! For whatever reason, I've always been able to grow amazing pea and bean crops...or such that they are in containers and raised beds.

This was just one bucket of peas. I believe this was the Oregon Sugar Pod variety. Next year, I plan on planting triple to quadruple the amount that I planted this year. We like our frozen peas, for sure. I also use the immature pods in stir fries, which I missed out on because of my dogs fighting and resulting in me getting bit.

I started out with a full strainer of peas that I had picked. 

That's the thing about peas. It takes a lot of them to get anywhere. I don't grow these to save money, that's for sure. I can buy a big bag of frozen peas for around a buck at any supermarket. I grow these because I like to grow my own food...as meager portioned as it is.

Get a pan, fill it with water and give it a few shakes of sea salt. I know that a lot of people swear by kosher salt. I have kosher salt, but I prefer pink or grey sea salt. 

I can also see that I need to desperately clean my stove. Bob has been doing the cooking these past few weeks.

 Bring the pot of water to a rolling boil. 

In the meantime, mark your freezer container/bag with the contents and date. 

Once the water is at a rolling boil and the salt has dissolved...

add in the peas. Bring the water back up to a boil and blanch the peas for 2 minutes. 

You'll read all sorts of recipes and guidelines that tell you to drain the peas and plunge into ice water. That's too much rigamaroll to go through. Just drain them in a strainer and run them under cold water. It's fine. You don't need to dirty another bowl. That's ridiculous. 

Viola! You just started your journey into growing and preserving your own food. Seriously, though, preparing any vegetable for the freezer is the easiest way to get your feet wet in the preserving world. Use this same method for green beans, carrots, celery (yes, frozen celery is fantastic!), corn, tomatoes, etc.
All those peas that I picked? Well, after shelling them, I got about a cup or so of peas. I'll be picking them again in a few days. Pretty soon, they will be kicking the bucket and we will be pulling them up to make the buckets ready for fall/winter greens.
Oh, before I forget!! I found a gem of a YouTube channel. Bob and I have sat and watched this person for hours during our heatwave. I hope you enjoy her as much as we have. We, especially, love her dog. Her channel is called Dianxi Xiaoge.
Enjoy!