Frozen Peas - the shiznit!

VeraBlue

Head Mistress
Gold Site Supporter
When I was a kid back in the 60s my mom was pretty much a stay at home mother. Even with that, she wasn't shelling her own peas. She was a Del Monte, Green Giant or more recently, Libby's lady. To Marianne, canned vegetables were to her cooking repetoirre as paint was to Monet. If it came in a can, she'd open it, drop it into a pot of water and over cook it.:smile:

Peas from a can were the worst. The green colour was more of a dull grey. The aroma was only slightly more disturbing than the colour. Yet, if you hid them in your mashed potatoes you could get them down.

Once in a while, mom and dad would go out on a saturday night. If we were very lucky, we'd get Swanson TV dinners on those nights. What a treat just to pick out your frozen delight from the aisle in the supermarket, then proudly display your choice in the freezer at home. How cool was it to be eating a different dinner than your brother or sister?? And the peas??!!! The peas rocked!!! There they were, all bright and shiny and tasting like a summer garden! It was almost a shame to hide them in the mashed potatoes. No, when it came to TV dinners, I took my peas straight up.

When I mentioned this remarkable vegetable variation to Marianne she confirmed that indeed, you could buy TV dinner peas in larger quantities than the meager doling from Swanson. With much pleading she relented and never looked back.

What are your thoughts on frozen peas??? Any converts, like myself, out there??
 

Sass Muffin

Coffee Queen ☕
Gold Site Supporter
I love frozen peas!
Canned, not so much, unless they are Le Sueur- the best canned peas out there IMO.
 

Guts

New member
frozen peas only! If I could find fresh peas that would be a treat, can't find them much here, but when I see them it's worth the time to shell them. but I wont share them, there all for me!
 

Adillo303

*****
Gold Site Supporter
Funny you should say this. I buy a lot of frozen veggies, peas, included.

Last night, I took a bag of frozen peas and put them in warm water, just enough to thaw, then drained them. I cut up a small vadilla onion and added that. A little salt and some Adobe, then just enough Mayo to coat it all. That's it. Peas, not cooked and I really liked it.

Canned peas, not so much.
 

ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Super Site Supporter
I garden our own peas.

some we eat fresh, some we freeze.

there is absolutely no comparison between "our fresh frozen" and store bought frozen / canned.
 

VeraBlue

Head Mistress
Gold Site Supporter
Chowderman, the tongue in cheek comparison was between 1960 variety canned peas and frozen peas...., which are significantly better.
 

FryBoy

New member
I like them. In fact, my favorite frozen veggie. Actually, the only frozen green veggie that's worth eating, IMHO. I'm sure GOOD fresh peas are better, but it's rare to find good ones in the market, and when they're available, they turn out to be relatively expensive compared to frozen and something of a PITA to shell. I don't much care for any other frozen veggie (except corn, which as we all know is really just a slow variety of chicken).

Frozen spinach is useful in dishes (see my post for Florentine Lasagna) as it's no worse than cooked fresh spinach (mother nature intended that spinach be consumed raw in salads), but I wouldn't eat it by itself -- except frozen CREAMED spinach, which is yummy, especially on a baked potato.

The rest -- broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, you name it -- generally sucks as a frozen veggie. Green beans and their ilk are OK but not great compared to fresh.
 

VeraBlue

Head Mistress
Gold Site Supporter
Fryboy, you made me laugh...and you're right, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans...frozen, to me, when cooked are watery.

I love a freshly shelled pea, but at $5 bucks a pound, it's hard to find stores that will stock them (in the north) and down here, I haven't seen any.

But, when it comes to Swanson, or Birds eye, for that matter, a frozen pea is the shiznit, especiallly when your older brother chose a dinner with frozen carrots and the apple compote.
 

buzzard767

golfaknifeaholic
Gold Site Supporter
Fryboy, you made me laugh...and you're right, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans...frozen, to me, when cooked are watery.

I love a freshly shelled pea, but at $5 bucks a pound, it's hard to find stores that will stock them (in the north) and down here, I haven't seen any.

But, when it comes to Swanson, or Birds eye, for that matter, a frozen pea is the shiznit, especiallly when your older brother chose a dinner with frozen carrots and the apple compote.

The farmers markets are full of peas this time of year in Wisconsin. For a very short time, like right now, the sugar snaps are perfect before the shells get chewy. I love em'.

Canned peas are another matter. I worked for awhile as a warehouse supervisor for Libby's. It was amazing how many cans were contaminated with God knows what and blew up before getting shipped out to the distribution centers.....
 

Sass Muffin

Coffee Queen ☕
Gold Site Supporter
Fryboy, you made me laugh...and you're right, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans...frozen, to me, when cooked are watery.

I love a freshly shelled pea, but at $5 bucks a pound, it's hard to find stores that will stock them (in the north) and down here, I haven't seen any.

But, when it comes to Swanson, or Birds eye, for that matter, a frozen pea is the shiznit, especiallly when your older brother chose a dinner with frozen carrots and the apple compote.
Vera, you've got my memory burning here.
There used to be an excellent Swanson frozen TV dinner (for those of you who don't remember the original tv dinners).
Hell, back then we thought this was the most amazing thing since.. well .. I don't know! LOL

Somehow they were different back then... not like the frozen, paltry servings they make now.When your mother went to the supermarket and purchased them.. by God, you knew it was special.
Walt Disney? For sure.
Ed Sullivan night? Yep.
Mom couldn't bother with cooking when Walt or Ed was gonna be on.. oh no!
We had a treat those nights.

Me, my brother John and then baby sis Juliet all lined up on the couch, with those metal trays, just waiting in wild anticipation for the meatloaf, potatoes and peas to be placed in front of us like a golden platter.
Don't even get me started on the fish and fries, or the chicken (3 piece with mashed BUTTERED potatoes and vegetable blend!!)
:brows::lol:
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
I like them. In fact, my favorite frozen veggie. Actually, the only frozen green veggie that's worth eating, IMHO. I'm sure GOOD fresh peas are better, but it's rare to find good ones in the market, and when they're available, they turn out to be relatively expensive compared to frozen and something of a PITA to shell. I don't much care for any other frozen veggie (except corn, which as we all know is really just a slow variety of chicken).

Frozen spinach is useful in dishes (see my post for Florentine Lasagna) as it's no worse than cooked fresh spinach (mother nature intended that spinach be consumed raw in salads), but I wouldn't eat it by itself -- except frozen CREAMED spinach, which is yummy, especially on a baked potato.

The rest -- broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, you name it -- generally sucks as a frozen veggie. Green beans and their ilk are OK but not great compared to fresh.

I agree with every word in this post, with the exception of the corn remark, which I don't get. :thumb:

I would add one other pretty good frozen vegetable - brussels sprouts, as long as you don't overcook them. I even thaw and roast them!

Lee

P.S. VB, I had to look up "shiznit". GREAT word! LOL!
 

buckytom

Grill Master
i've never had good experiences with frozen peas. canned, yes. i love lesieur baby peas in a can. but not so much the frozen ones.
i've seen many recipes, like paella, that utlize them, but they always seem kinda crinkled and dried up to me.

and lol fry, about slow chicken. :clap:
 

FryBoy

New member
I agree with every word in this post, with the exception of the corn remark, which I don't get. :thumb:

I would add one other pretty good frozen vegetable - brussels sprouts, as long as you don't overcook them. I even thaw and roast them!

Lee

P.S. VB, I had to look up "shiznit". GREAT word! LOL!
I was trying to make a joke by turning around the old saying that chickens are just a fast variety of corn, meaning they're only slightly smarter than a vegetable. Jokes that need explaining aren't funny.

As for the shiznit, a little Kaopectate should fix you right up.
 

bigjim

Mess Cook
Super Site Supporter
Fresh produce is going to be a problem in Va this year. Weather has been hot and dry. I just bought fresh corn, and it was terrible. I would have been better off with frozen. If I cannot get fresh, frozen is my next choice. I remember those canned vegetables. My mother would cook any meat or produce till the product was not to be recognized.
 

mhend

New member
We always ate canned peas growing up. I prefer fresh, but occasionally we eat Leseuer. That's the only brand I like. My mother was the same, bigjim. She would cook all meat until it was like cardboard. LOL. There could be no pink at all. :)
 
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