Peas & Potatoes

I woke up thinking about chestnuts. These come cooked and ready to go in a pouch. I’ve pulsed the chestnuts with some cinnamon and maple syrup in a food processor, shaped them by hand and dipped the tips in nut and seed toppings.

Baking brings back childhood memories, family traditions and of course the pleasures of comfort foods. Nowadays it’s easy to purchase a loaf. It wasn’t always like that.

May we all get a good rest this evening and bring our best light forward. 🌙

A vibrant summer where we ponder about beautiful food, the people who feed us, nature, embracing change, growth and healing. It’s a work in progress. Much love everyone.

Sourdough Whole Wheat loaf with organic potatoes from , B Powered honey and Canadian grown quinoa and oats. A happy experiment. I don’t bake as often anymore but when I do, I rediscover the joys every time!

Have we met? Hi I am Veronique. ⁣
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This is our third summer running. How incredible. I am not sure what I was expecting when we began.⁣
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We launched in a period of need amidst emptying shelves at our grocery stores. Myself and many of my restaurant colleagues were laid off. We needed better food supply and many of us started to question our future. ⁣
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At the same time, I wondered about the young members of my team. Would they pay rent that month? I naively thought that “Peas and Potatoes” might be a platform for all of us. Turns out, they didn’t need my help. As they moved on, I turned to Pnp to own and run. ⁣
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As daunting as it was, you all became my new team: local growers (harvest to order), customers, chef partners and purveyors. Each of you helped to lift this idea off the ground. Every single box meant everything. Still does. ⁣
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Delivery Saturdays are hard but we call it an adventure. With the help of my husband , we pick up, customize and deliver each box. Our partners know when to expect us. Our customers receive a 60 min ETA window on delivery day so they also know when to expect us. ⁣
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Thank you for choosing us. Most of our customers are weekly orders even though we don’t enforce subscriptions. Thank you to the young customer who chose to highlight Pnp as case study to her class project. Thank you to our past customers. It meant more than you know.⁣
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How long will we keep this up? For as long as it makes sense. I value this ecosystem that we’re creating and the friendships along the way. I hope you feel that way too.
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Whether you’re cooking up a storm or assembling salad ingredients, it is my belief and . ⁣
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See you on delivery Saturday!
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Cheers, V. ⁣

The season progresses and I hope you’re enjoying our selections this August 2022. Much love. See you on delivery Saturday.

June 18 2022 - Some of the beautiful things that went into our boxes today. Our organic growing partners and spoil us every week. Thank you so much. There’s more we didn’t get a chance to capture. Hope you love everything! Many cheers to you all.

Soaked cereal, a touch of wildflower honey , fermented sourdough for 48 hours in the cold. Very soft interior with a bit of texture similar to cooked brown rice. The crust tastes a little bit of molasses. Lots of love.

What a crazy drive today. We’re back safely and unboxing our veggies. Potatoes and rhubarb are in the oven. These sautéed tat soi greens with ginger and topped with green onions and cilantro are ready! Whatever you chose for your box, please enjoy!

Carrots for breakfast. I’m not feeling punished. 🥕🥕🥕Is your first bite the tip or base of a slice?

Not much to show for in a picture but my heart is full of anticipation. It’s a sourdough brioche, rich with butter, honey and a pinch of orange zest. It’s finding life and lifting up so calmly and slowly. There in the warm sun, it presents a moment of reflection and hope.

Our family is always complaining that things are too sweet. A pour of plain kefir with ice cream is our new favourite trick! We carry kefir every two weeks.

Why bread? My dad got his morning paper and fresh bread for us every day from the local boulangerie. When I moved away from home to Montreal, the bread culture was strong and I never thought to make it myself. Later in life, we moved to a suburb and everything changed. A small routine became a big frustration. I couldn’t get good bread. My first tries at home were even more disheartening. I found myself taking night and weekend classes. I worked in the corporate training world then and lifelong learning was a hot topic. I worked with many “subject matter experts” in my role to design training programs for them. We called them SME’s. Could I be a SME myself in a particular field (baking)? That is still my lifelong learning journey and if we cross paths, I hope to pass on the knowledge.

You might know this as Biryani. Mauritians have their equivalent and we pronounce it “Briani”. Subtle difference. This my interpretation of it using veggies from my box. Basmati rice, cooked in spices, fried shallots, potatoes and carrots. Plus a fresh tomato salsa topping, a pile of fresh dill and a kefir sauce. The spices (cumin, cinnamon, coriandre, cloves, garam masala, nutmeg, cardamom) hit a spot, although no one from home will tell you this is how it’s truly done! 🙂 Sigh… Cook with what you have coz (wherever home is).

It’s Spring and local root vegetables are 🔥. I used some beets, carrots, potatoes and a whole bunch of newly available chives and green onions. I paired them with some freshly squeezed orange juice and ginger that I keep in the freezer. Hope you’re loving your spring veggies! Find me at peasandpotatoes.com and get what you need for your local cooking. Porch drop-offs only for everyone’s safety please.

If you get your greens from us, try adding it to your meals at the very end. Whether it’s pea shoots, a mustard green or even kale, they are all so tender. If you want, cut the stems a little finer but they also don’t require cooking. I treat them all like salad leaves. Hope this helps!

I was meant to save the raviolis from our box for a family gathering this weekend. I knew I wouldn’t last. I had to get a taste! Chef Cody’s is so delicious. Every bite is bursting with flavour. Thankfully there’s more coming this weekend. Chef sends sauces. Plus, don’t forget, your whole box is your kit! See where your heart takes you. A million thanks Chef. See you on Saturday delivery day!

I made these egg noodles using beautiful duck eggs from our box.⁣
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I started with an equal amount by weight (226g) of eggs and semolina flour, a pinch of salt. Added about 100g more flour to get the right texture. AP flour is fine too.⁣
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Mauritians have a crude name for this dish. “Mine touni” which translates to naked noodles - a bowl of freshly boiled noodles + a little green onion on top. Simple dish, maximum flavour. ⁣
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More hungry? Top it with meats and vegetables. ⁣
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This week, I’m so excited to have organically grown green onions and chives available for our boxes. Fresh from the fields at . See you all on delivery Saturday.
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A sample of leafy greens from our box. Ontario pea shoots, Asian mustard greens, spicy mustard greens and kale. You’ll often find handfuls of these in most of our meals at home.

What would a creole speaking Asian girl born in Mauritius have to say about authenticity? I am not sure.

When you look a certain way but don’t speak the language and don’t understand your ancestry very well, the question of authenticity can be complex.

Like me, this dish comes with a twist. Rice noodles with tamarind, soy sauce and Ontario maple syrup, served with parsnip fries, pea shoots, sautéd mushrooms and scrambled eggs. It is not pad thai but the inspiration comes from ingredients from my pantry and fresh produce from our box. I think it’s delicious.

Make it your own. Find me at peasandpotatoes.com.

This week, I am thrilled to bring you a few selections from local chocolatier Dawn .

Featured here are her classic 3 Bunnies (Dark, Milk, White). As well, don’t miss her chocolate Easter eggs. They come in Dark or Strawberry Chocolate shells. Each egg contains a passion fruit marshmallow surprise. Limited on our site.

I’ve set the bunnies over a beet chocolate brownie and a duck egg cornmeal cheesecake, making full use of the ingredients from our box.

Thank you Chef Dawn for all the beautiful treats!

Our customers care about variety and we try to switch things up regularly to support their home cooking projects. This weekend, we’re introducing a Hungarian Lecso sauce made with tomatoes, sweet peppers and onions. We often see it on rice or fried eggs. I happened to be making meatballs and had organic corn chips from last week’s delivery.

It is no secret that we love our greens at . In fact, we pride ourselves on our “Just Greens” box which we try very hard to keep local even in the cold season. Last week, surprised us with a secret sample of dill and mint. Flavour was delicate and so fresh. We hope to see more if it and to bring it to you soon. Thank you to my peas and potatoes. We know you have choices and don’t take anything for granted. We do our best to continue to support you as well.

A couple of weeks ago, in anticipation of our bi-weekly delivery of yoghurts, I was inspired to make tzatziki, that lovely dip with local garlic and cucumber. After exploring some ideas on how to use left over yoghurts in our weekly box insert letter, I thought I would try using my extra tzakziki in a flat bread recipe, plus more on top. The dough was super fluffy and crispy while the topping really creamy and delicious as it baked with some cheese and set in the oven. A great alternative when tomatoes are out of season. Plus, you all know, we love our greens at . These are pea shoots and micro radish. See you on Saturday!

A good pantry is a shortcut to delicious food within minutes. This is a delicious chocolate spread made with a can of navy beans, a big spoon of tahini, maple syrup and cacao powder. No one is complaining. It’s delicious. I also added some bee pollen and a generous sprinkle of maldon salt coz that what we’ve got. Cheers!

NEW! Launching in partnership with - Get meal kits, lasagna and polpette delivered with your veggie box! We’ll be rotating through their delivery menu (likely monthly). We’re starting with Bolognese and Cheese lasagna. Order by tomorrow Wed 2PM for delivery on Sat Feb 12. Porch drop offs. We look forward to waving at a distance. Please enjoy!

Pesto, pistou, zhoug, chimichurri , gremolata, chutney, you name it. Try components like fresh herbs, green veg, nuts, seeds, cheese, garlic, lemon and spices. Sometimes the dish you create has no name. You love it and it’s yours. This one is Microgreens, Lemon acid league vinegar, salt, pepper, toasted cumin and coriander spices, topped with a generous pour of olive oil. We use it on toast, to finish pizza crusts, in sandwiches, alongside grilled meats, roasted veg and as a dip. What’s important is to have beautiful ingredients to start with. Choose your own. Toronto, see you on Saturday’s delivery.

Broth and dumplings, something comforting on a cold day. I took for granted the word “dumpling”. One day, I arrived at work excited about the dumplings my colleague was going to make. Imagine my surprise when I saw him cutting dough like biscuits (Jamaican dumplings). Imagine their surprise when I was surprised! And here, these ones were boiled in broth, Southern style. Make use of the ingredients you have because

Poppy Seed roll - a project I started over the holidays and still experimenting. Some of the variants I’ve tried include: Soaking the poppy seeds, Adding cream cheese to the dough, Using only butter in the dough, Adding tang zhong, Using honey v/s sugar and Ingredients like egg, nuts and breadcrumbs in the filling. They say, it’s not about the destination. It’s about enjoying the journey. (Are we there yet?)