Sunday 1 July 2012

Peas That Pass Understanding

Nowadays, kids think that peas come out of the freezer in a packet. But down the centuries, many artists have painted pictures of people shelling peas.

The Swedish painter Carl Larsson has a family with a whole bushel of peas to process [1908]

shelling peas larsson

Just four years later, Thomas Kennington painted “Chatterboxes”

sheling peas Chatterboxes_Kennington

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And last month I looked round Lord Leighton’s ‘Silk Room’ with Liz, where we saw “Shelling Peas” by John Everett Millais, dating back to 1899.

And I remembered that I’d planted a peas under a bamboo ‘wigwam’ – and that I’d forgotten all about them.

So this morning I harvested the entire crop before church. ALL SIX PODS!

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They tasted great [but we had Sainsbury’s potatoes, courgettes and carrots too – otherwise the meal would have been rather meagre]

All I am saying is…

a chance

8 comments:

  1. 'LOVE IT 'The pictures (I snagged a couple,hope you don't mind ,please pretty peas))the menu ,and the slogan hee hee ,see in the first pic alll those pods ,they must have been there for hours ,and is the cactus flowering ? ..love Jan xx

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  2. There isn't going to be much wine from those pods either lol.

    Thank you so much for sorting out my blog while I was away hun. Can you email me your adress and I will pop you a little something in the post tomorrow.
    x x x

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  3. Funny! I love peas just out of the pod. I bought a pea pod hat for Lizzy Jane who is due to arrive in September.
    There you go! You grew something good!

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  4. Wonderful! I'm intending to buy some this year. Ben's giving them a year off (or several years off) because the plants and pods always seem to get mildew in our clay soil. He's decided to concentrate on what grows well, and just but the other stuff when it's in season. Well done you for growing and harvesting your own, Ang!

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  5. We stopped growing peas because I ate so many fresh from the pod when I was working in the veggy patch that the remaining crop wasn't worth it!
    Jane x

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  6. Didn't Jane Eyre shell peas with Hannah, the Riverses' housemaid? (Or perhaps they were stringing beans.)

    Millais's lady is rather dressed up for such mundane work. :)

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  7. Hi Angela, Thanks for following us.

    We love popping peas... And eating them!

    Look forward to reading your blog.

    Kay :)

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  8. Your harvest is larger than ours then! We haven't had anything to pick yet, but then again we didn't plant very early.

    Have had an occasion in the supermarket when buying peas loose that the checkout girl had to ask what they were!

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