Creamed Potatoes and Peas

Small spontaneous acts of kindness often seem to mean the most. All it takes is quick action on an outrageous idea.

A couple of weeks ago I was talking to my stepmother on the phone about my great crop of sugar snap peas. She told me her favorite spring food was creamed potatoes and peas. New red potatoes and freshly shelled garden peas. I'd never had it. I also remembered her often told story of traveling back to the farm in North Dakota, 2 little ones in hand and returning her her truck padded by carefully wrapped new red potatoes. The trunk was so heavy the luggage handler would make comment about the weight asking what was in there. Rocks? She grin back saying "No, potatoes" as the handler went off to get help.

New red potatoes recently started appearing in our local farmers markets. Peas also.
So I had this bright idea to get a flat rate priority mailing box from the post office and fill it with new red potatoes and garden peas. It was kind of risky due to the spoilage factor. I thought about having my sister find the peas locally in Seattle but that would have been hard on her. So I did it. Last week I bought potatoes and the last baggie of garden peas, packed them up and off they went. I enclosed the mother's day card that didn't get sent on time and reminded her of the potatoes in the trunk story she likes to tell.

Monday night my roommate took a very excited call from my step mother who had just eaten creamed potatoes and peas. She was so happy! Saturday night she called again to say she had fried new potatoes. Since she hadn't spoken with my directly earlier in the week, she was calling again. Following a small impulse on my part gave her such joy. And yes, I again heard about the potatoes in the trunk.

After speaking with her I realized I had never had creamed potaotes and peas. So I called back and left a message asking for her recipe. This gave her something to share with me and will give us something meaningful to talk about the next time I call her. I finished up the creamed potatoes and peas last night. I am thinking I have never seen them on a resturant menu. It is one of those delicacies falling by the wayside. But for me, it will become part of my spingtime traditions, in memory of my stepmom. Already, I see paying attention to the little things in life, help my love my life so much.