Peas

50 Years Ago* The Community Mobilization Committee brings to the attention of the citizens of Carroll County the number one obligation of this agriculture community to the war effort. The processing and canning of peas, beans, corn and tomatoes during the season, June 12 through October 15, will produce 1,629,500 cases of these essential foods. The help of every available man, woman, boy and girl will be needed to complete the job. Our boys will get 141,060 cases of Carroll County peas, 58,250 cases of beans, 296,598 cases of tomatoes and 149,486 cases of corn.

When planning menus for company, most of us choose the meat, poultry or fish for the main course first and then decide on the side dishes. But, at this time of year when the markets are flush with beautiful spring and early summer produce, I often pick the vegetables before even thinking of the entree. That is what I did recently. We had houseguests visiting us in France, where we are living this spring, and for one of our evening meals, I bought a bunch of tender little green beans called haricots verts, some fresh peas, some turnips and several bouquets of fresh herbs at a nearby market.

* Item: Sylvia's Restaurant canned vegetables* What you get: 3 servings* Cost: About $1* Preparation time: Just a few minutes to heat* Review: Sylvia, founder of the famed Harlem restaurant that bears her name, smiles out from the label of her own line of canned vegetables. The Queen of Soul Food includes a personal note on each can. With such a warm invitation to dine, who could go wrong? Not Sylvia. We tried the Specially-Seasoned Black-Eye Peas, the Specially-Seasoned Mustard Greens and the Specially-Cut Yams.

1997 Joseph Phelps Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc ($11). This crisp white wine and seafood are a natural match. The no-nonsense dry wine has well-defined flavors of herbs, juniper, snap peas and minerals. Drink it this year to enjoy its freshness. It's just one more example of the uncompromising quality that Phelps has been delivering for a quarter century. Pub Date: 04/21/99

The windows were rattling as the cold wind swirled recently. I was wishing for warmer weather and, with it, the fresh vegetables that come with it. But no English peas or baby artichokes were in sight. There were, however, frozen vegetables in the freezer and artichoke hearts in the cupboard. I combined them with a pilaf made with rice and ham. It wasn't a spring dish, but it satisfied my cravings. Carol Mighton Haddix is food editor of the Chicago Tribune, which provided the recipe analysis.

Because the celebration of Kwanzaa is meant to incorporate creative and improvisatory elements, there is no set menu for a Kwanzaa feast. Foods from any part of the African diaspora are appropriate.For some people, each one of the seven days of Kwanzaa is celebrated with a special meal featuring a different cuisine: Caribbean, African, Brazilian, African-American. Others may choose to have just one large meal, the Karamu Feast, on the final day of Kwanzaa.Two recipes from "Kwanzaa: An African American Celebration of Culture and Cooking" by Eric V. Copage show two different ways of preparing black-eyed peas:Black-eyed pea salad with basil vinaigretteServes 6.1 cup dried black-eyed peas, rinsed and picked over (about 8 ounces)

Chayote, apple-green and sensuously furrowed, comes to grocery counters trailing romance and history. It goes by many names: "chayotl" to the Aztecs, who probably were the first to grow it; "mirliton" in Louisiana, where it may be baked stuffed with shrimp or bread crumbs and cheese; "Buddha's hand gourd" to the Chinese -- "as if," write Jane Grigson and Charlotte Knox in "Cooking with Exotic Fruits & Vegetables," "between moments of meditation in a...

One of these days, she's closing the store for good. She says so all the time, even to customers. The job is tiresome; the heat is stifling; people are ordering shelled peas and beans faster than she and her sister can shell them. The drought is hard on inventory, and business isn't what it used to be. At her age, who needs the aggravation? "My husband left me enough that I don't really have to do this," says 76-year-old Aubrey Baltimore. "I just do it for the heck of it, so I have something to grumble and gripe about."

Q. I planted my first cover crop -- rye and Austrian peas -- last fall-winter. The vegetable garden is covered with a beautiful green carpet. When do I rototill it in? Can I mow it low and plant through it? A. Turn it under as soon as possible. Make a few passes with the tiller to chop up the plants and hasten decomposition. You should wait at least a week before planting to give the soil microbes a chance to break down the residues. You can't plant through the rye because it will continue to grow even after you mow it and will compete with your vegetable plants for nutrients and water.