Sauteed Pea Tendrils

I've actually managed to make it to the local farmer's market each Saturday for the last month.  Husband has been not so grudgingly pushing me around in my wheelchair and I've managed to find local sources for free range eggs, grass fed beef, stone fruits, raw cheeses and exquisitely delicious salad vegetables.  I'm still not used to being able to eat a piece of fruit without hunting for the sticky label first.  I catch myself looking for it and smile when I realize that this luscious piece of fruit was just picked from a farm a few miles from my house rather than being purchased at the local big box supermarket.

One of the booths at my farmer's market specializes in Asian vegetables and one of the items that caught my attention was pea tendrils.  My friend had recommended them and I wanted something new for my evening salad so I decided to give them a whirl.  Four weeks and many many salads later I still have half of the bag left (it was a huge quantity for $4).  What to do with an excess of pea tendrils?  Try a saute!  This is now my new favorite side dish.  I loved it first try.  This is one of those loose and fast recipes so feel free to wing it on the quantities.

Ingredients
serves 1-2  they do shrink as they cook not as much as spinach but quite a bit

1-2 handfuls of pea tendrils
small wedge of lemon
1-2T good olive oil
1 small clove garlic or generous pinch of minced garlic from a jar
pinch sea salt
pinch fresh ground pepper

1. Tear the tendrils into bite size pieces.  The lovely curly ends, leaves and stems are all edible.
2. Heat oil in pan and add minced garlic and saute lightly.
3. Add pea tendrils and saute until just wilted.
4. Add a squeeze of  lemon and the salt and pepper.  Stir to incorporate ingredients.
5. Serve hot.  YUM!!

A few useful links:

Wakefield Farmer's Market : my local market

Local Harvest: easy way to find farmer's markets, farm stands and crop shares in your area

Flats Mentor Farm: the Asian specialty farm; look for the free downloadable recipe book