As I am writing this blog post, I am laying outside in our driveway, soaking in some vitamin D! Today is such a beautiful day! The sun is shining, but there are some clouds and a breeze keeping it from getting hot. All the windows in our house are wide open, allowing the fresh air to whisk away any stale germs!
I have learned that roasting vegetables in the oven is my favorite way to prepare and eat them. And for most vegetables, it does not take much effort. Just a few shakes and flips once in a while throughout their cook time, and they are good to go. So I always thought that clearly, this had to be the same for sugar snap peas.
Wrong! So wrong! I attempted to roast snap peas numerous times. And every time, the result was the same. Charcoal briquettes. My husband would not even eat them, and he hates to waste food.
So, last night, I gave it a last ditch effort. I was determined to roast sugar snap peas without burning them!
I had just picked some fresh peas that afternoon. I cleaned them and washed them, just as I would any other time. I was making venison sausage meatballs for supper, and they bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Normally, I roast vegetables at 400 degrees. So this caused me to roast the peas at a lower temperature than I normally would. I think that worked out in my favor!
I put a few handfuls of peas in a bowl, drizzled olive oil over the top, sprinkled some salt and pepper on them, gave them a few good tosses, and then placed them on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil.
When the timer for the meatballs had gotten down to ten minutes, I placed the sheet pan of peas into the oven.
After five minutes, I took them out of the oven and flipped them around with a spatula.
When the timer went off at ten minutes, I took both the meatballs and the peas out of the oven. Surprisingly, neither were quite done cooking!
So, I put both dishes back into the oven. I set the timer for 5 minutes, but took the peas out of the oven after 2 minutes had passed. I did not want to run the risk of burning them yet again!
They seemed to be done. They were bright green and were fairly pliable. So, I decided to call it good, rather than flirting with danger!
They tasted pretty good! My husband really liked them! They still had a bit of crunch to them. I am not a huge fan of crunchy cooked vegetables, but my husband said he likes sugar snap peas prepared that way.
(Side note: On one plate, there are little bits of green and red in the pile of rice. Those are actually chopped up green olives. I love to chop up olives and mix them into my rice! I think it tastes delicious! If you like olives, give it a try sometime! You may like it!)
So, I have proven to myself that I can, in fact, roast sugar snap peas in the oven without ruining them! I know that 12 minutes at 350 degrees is long enough to cook them. I think however, next time, (yes, I am planning on there being a next time!) I may attempt a higher heat and stick with ten minutes, or keep the temperature at 350 degrees and just cook them a few minutes longer.
Do you have an “Achilles heel” in your cooking? Something that you have tried and tried, but it never quite turns out right? I would love to hear about it!
Pork Chops! I am horrible at them. I’m worried about undercooked pork, so I always overcook them, leaving them dry and tough. Got any ideas?? PS. Your peas look delicious 🙂
Oh pork chops! They are tricky for me too! I tend to dry them out as well. In my mind, checking the temperature of the pork chops before they are done and then every few minutes until their internal temp is high enough might work. Try it out, see if it works! And thanks for the compliment on the peas!
I have never roasted snap peas! I will have to try it sometime!
I can’t get my breadmaker to work. Some of it is the machine, I think. It doesn’t sit level and once actually rocked off of the counter! My bread often gets too dry or dense or flops in the center.