Vegan Curried Quinoa With Fresh English Peas

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Did you Plant your Peas?
The growing season in Northern California always catches me by surprise. One minute it's really cold and the next minute it's hot and I'll be walking down the street noticing my neighbor's 3 foot tall peas growing next to their 2 foot chard! And every year I wonder why I waited so long to start my garden. Well I did it again but luckily I found some beautiful English peas in the grocery store. 

Peas are so perfect - so beautiful!

Frozen vs. Fresh
Without a doubt, frozen peas are more convenient, less expensive and nutritionally equal. After all, they are frozen at the peak of their goodness. But there's just something about shucking peas that's calming and it certainly connects you to nature more than ripping the top off a plastic bag full of frozen peas. They are really fun to grow, especially when you have kids. They grow so quickly, it's almost like magic!

1 cup of raw peas provides:
117 calories
8 g protein
7 g dietary fiber
0 saturated fat and cholesterol
97% RDA vitamin C
45% RDA vitamin K
30% RDA manganese
26% RDA thiamin
24% RDA folate
22% RDA vitamin A

Try them Raw!
Raw peas, whether they are fresh or frozen, make a good base to thicken raw soups. And eating them raw preserves their high vitamin C content. Try Raw Vegan Split Pea Soup or blend them with other vegetables as in Creamy Raw Vegan Zucchini Soup with Crushed Pistachios.

Peas are used to thicken this raw creamy zucchini soup with crushed pistachios

Vegan Curried Quinoa with Fresh English Peas
[4 servings]
1 cup quinoa
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped, (1 1/2 cups)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 heaping tablespoon sweet curry
1 teaspoon hot curry, or to taste
2 cups veggie broth (can use vegan bouillon cube and water)
1 pound fresh English peas, shucked (about 1 1/3 cups)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
salt to taste


Soak quinoa for 15 minutes. Drain in a fine strainer and rinse in cold water for 3 to 4 minutes. Set aside.
Heat oil in a medium saucepan on medium-low heat and sauté onions for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute. 
Add quinoa, sweet and hot curry and stir until well coated.
Add broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook covered on a high simmer for 5 minutes.
Place fresh peas on top of simmering quinoa in a single layer but don't stir in. Cook another 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and quinoa is tender.
Remove from heat and let sit covered for another 5 minutes.
Stir in fresh cilantro. Salt to taste and serve immediately.


Per serving: 256.8 calories, 6.3 g fat, 0.8 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 9.4 g protein, 41.0 g carbohydrates and 6.4 g dietary fiber.