I didn't know where green peas came from. My earliest memory of them was a box of dried bead like structures, colored in a washed off green. And when my mom used to soak them over night and use them together with cauliflower and freshly grated coconut, I was enthralled both by the lush green color they donned upon soaking and the taste they lent to the delicately flavored side dish. In the present day, that dish overrides anything else that can be done with cauliflower or green peas - period!
And upon migrating to the new land, I discovered this vegetable whose florets looked like mini trees. I was leery of tasting them the first time around and even over cooked them not knowing how little of heat they take to be steamed - Yes, Broccoli happens to be my favorite vegetable, and guess what? it is the love child of cauliflower and green peas.
In a vegetarian palette, the peas are a very integral part - kind of like the supporting cast in a film. They add so much but they don't get the due credit that's usually claimed by the stars of the show. So when "green peas" become the topic of writing, it does take a little thinking out of the box. But come to think of it, doesn't everything around us, no matter how small or how insignificant,has a story to tell and could become the protagonist if the spotlight is focused on it?
There's this thing said by a very celebrated poet in my native language that goes - "nothing is disqualified for poetry". Make me ponder about how I time and again harp about the significance of every person, every thing and every existence around us. Nothing is neither too big nor too small - reminds me of how making bees extinct from the world could make the humans extinct in tow.
I kind of breath a sigh of relief concluding on two things - the give aways! Firstly - When we put the time and thought into anything - it becomes something - like this blog post out here and secondly, a topic should be attempted, without examining it for how big the attempt could be. And this is exactly what I was trying to teach my ten year old when the topic of the daily writing "green peas" given by the mom that was perhaps dropped on her head when she was a baby, several times to end!
Oh and that Chinese fried rice I eat at Henry's Hunan - they make plain old rice taste like the yummiest food on earth, just by sautéing it in a fistful of green peas.
And one day, I'll write about rice and I'll be compelled to not describe it as 'plain' or 'old'
:)
Photo by SAURABH WASAIKAR: https://www.pexels.com
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