trimmings of meat or poultry, a slice of bacon, 2 large carrots, 2
turnips, 5 large onions, 1 head of celery, seasoning to taste, 2 quarts
of soft water, any bones left from roast meat, 2 quarts of common stock,
or liquor in which a joint of meat has been boiled.
_Mode_.--Put the peas to soak over-night in soft water, and float off
such as rise to the top. Boil them in the water till tender enough to
pulp; then add the ingredients mentioned above, and simmer for 2 hours,
stirring it occasionally. Pass the whole through a sieve, skim well,
season, and serve with toasted bread cut in dice.
_Time_.--4 hours. _Average cost_, 6d. per quart. _Seasonable_ all the
year round, but more suitable for cold weather. _Sufficient_ for 12
persons.
[Illustration: PEA.]
THE PEA.--It is supposed that the common gray pea, found wild in
Greece, and other parts of the Levant, is the original of the
common garden pea, and of all the domestic varieties belonging
to it. The gray, or field pea, called _bisallie_ by the French,
is less subject to run into varieties than the garden kinds, and
is considered by some, perhaps on that account, to be the wild
plant, retaining still a large proportion of its original habit.
From the tendency of all other varieties "to run away" and
become different to what they originally were, it is very
difficult to determine the races to which they belong. The pea
was well known to the Romans, and, probably, was introduced to
Britain at an early period; for we find peas mentioned by
Lydgate, a poet of the 15th century, as being hawked in London.
They seem, however, for a considerable time, to have fallen out
of use; for, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Fuller tells us
they were brought from Holland, and were accounted "fit dainties
for ladies, they came so far and cost so dear." There are some
varieties of peas which have no lining in their pods, which are
eaten cooked in the same way as kidney-beans. They are called
_sugar_ peas, and the best variety is the large crooked sugar,
which is also very good, used in the common way, as a culinary
vegetable. There is also a white sort, which readily splits when
subjected to the action of millstones set wide apart, so as not
to grind them. These are used largely for soups, and especially
for sea-stores. From the quantity of farinaceous and saccharine
matter contained in the pea, it is highly nutritious as an
article of food.
PEA SOUP (inexpensive).