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Green PeaBY MARY ANN CASTRONOVO FUSCO FOR THE STAR-LEDGER Packaged the way nature intended -- in neither boxes nor cans, butin pods that dangle from dainty plants with pretty pansy-like whiteflowers -- green peas should be ready for harvesting at area farmsfor about the next three weeks. Kneeling alongside the delicate vines, a seasoned farm hand canpick a bushel of peas in about an hour, said Liz Wightman ofWightman's Farms in Harding Township, where 10 (400-foot-long) rowsof low-bush peas arc on a Watchung hillside with its face to thesoutheast. Her husband, Ken, put in three varieties, Spring, Knightand Utrillo, each of which will yield two pickings. "They ripen six to seven days apart so that by the time the firstvariety has had its first picking, the second variety is just readyfor its first picking and then the first variety will be ready forits second picking," he explained. Pod size varies: Spring'smeasures about three inches; Knight's, four; and Utrillo's, five."You don't want to let them get real big. If you let them get toobig, then they taste starchy," said Ken. Peas have been growing on his family's property since the farm wasfounded, back in 1922. Though his wife didn't grow up on thisparticular parcel of farmland, she has fond memories of afternoonsspent shelling peas at her grandparents' dairy farm in SussexCounty. "In those days, it was a social thing. You sat on a rocking chairon the back porch," she recalled. Shelling freshly harvested peas-- munching on a few as they were popped out of their pods -- fitthe rhythm of that bygone era, when family visits and even weddingsand funerals were timed around the cows' milking schedule, sheadded. Today, shelling a batch of peas might seem more like a nuisancethan a pleasant pastime to genera- tions accustomed to picking their peas -- already shelled, thankyou very much -- from a supermarket freezer case, especially sincethe frozen product -- processed within hours of being picked --offers good flavor and convenience. Still, picked at their prime,fresh peas are likely to be sweeter and more tender than even thebest of their frozen counterparts -- so much so that they can beeaten raw, which is how Ken Wightman likes them best. If they must be cooked, fresh peas should be placed into boilingwater just long enough to warm them up. "If you boil them, you'reboiling them out of their little jacket, the shell around the pea,"warned Liz. -- Shopping Hints: Look for pods that are shiny, plump, unblemishedand crisp. Avoid those that are yellowed, withered, or rubbery. -- Shelling Tips: Rinse the pods. Working over a bowl, cut or snapoff the stem of the pod, pulling it down the side so the stringrunning along the edge of the pod comes off with it, breaking theseal. Pull open the pod, allowing the peas to fall into the bowl. -- Cooking Suggestions: The easiest way to go is with a pat ofbutter and a dash of salt and pepper. Chopped fresh mint is aclassic accent. For a change of pace, season peas with choppedfresh chervil, parsley or tarragon. Always use fresh peas as closeto purchase as possible, for the sugars in green peas begin toconvert to starch as soon as they're picked, and even while stillon the vine if they're past their prime. -- Nutrition Notes: Green peas are an excellent source of vitaminC, a good source of vitamin A, and contain iron. -- Fun Facts: Thomas Jefferson grew 30 varieties of peas atMonticello. Gregor Mendel laid the foundation for the science ofgenetics with his studies of pea plants in the 19th century. Cannedpeas look drab because the heat from the canning process destroystheir chlorophyll.-- Farm Info: Wightman's Farms, 1111 Mt. KembleRoad, Morristown, 07960. Farm is in Harding Township but has aMorristown mailing address.

Ya Pear I understand and embrace apples, even the tiny ones that for somereason are supposed to be that way. I can identify brusselssprouts, though I've resolved to never again sit at a table withthem. More and more, however, I walk through the produce section of amarket and think I'm dangling from someone else's food chain. If Ilook it up, I can read that the long, narrow Opo squash also iscalled calabash, lone melon, hu lu gua, peh poh, yugao and cucuzzi.But I don't know why it came calling on us. Easy question, says the Salvaggio team. The oddities are herebecause a lot of people who knew them in Africa or Asia or SouthAmerica are here now, too, and because farmers in SouthernCalifornia and Mexico figured out how to grow them. In a broad sense, they are a way to bridge the gap betweencontinents and cultures. In a narrower sense, as in what's fordinner, they all taste good, at least to somebody. Even the seaurchin fruit, known to its many friends in Malaysia as therambutan. Rooted in cultures Before produce manager Kim Gordinier broke one open for me with herthumbnails, I would not have touched a rambutan with a 10-foot polebean. The fruit inside the spiny exterior, it turns out, has asweet-yet-acidic flavor that would remind you a bit of a mandarinorange if you weren't gazing at its translucent white pulpy selfand thinking, "In a horror movie, this would be the alien's brain."Pete Loren, Nino Salvaggio's executive chef, says rambutans remindhim of lychee nuts, if that helps any. "The thing to remember," Loren says, "is that these are the fruitsof people's childhoods." So ever since deep purple, plum-sized,Southeast Asian mangosteens with their grape-like white fruit wereapproved for sale in the United States last July, buyers have beengobbling them up at $12.99 per pound. "We didn't open the store with all this produce in it," Taylorpoints out. But when customers load up on mango leaf -- good forwrapping steamed fish or nailing to your door to ward off evilspirits, all for the same $5.99 per pound -- you keep stackingcrates of it on trucks. Loren, 55, whose impressive restaurant resume includes tours ofduty at the London Chop House and Opus One, wanders the rows ofexotics every day and feels like a kid in a Calabaza squash store.Eager for new suggestions, he'll approach people with specialtyproduce in their carts and ask, "What do you use this for?"Typically, he says, passers-by listen in. Unless someone tells you, after all -- or unless you're a corporatechef who gets paid to experiment -- you won't know that a freshwater chestnut tastes sweet, or that a juicy, egg-shaped Ya pearmakes for a nice custard. When he throws parties, he's saying, he'll fill trays with some ofthe more unusual merchandise just as conversation pieces. He'sleading a tour, past the knobby-skinned, watermelon-sized Jackfruit and the Ecuadorian Pepino melons, and when he gets to theForrele pears, he stops.

Ya Pear I understand and embrace apples, even the tiny ones that for somereason are supposed to be that way. I can identify brusselssprouts, though I've resolved to never again sit at a table withthem. More and more, however, I walk through the produce section of amarket and think I'm dangling from someone else's food chain. If Ilook it up, I can read that the long, narrow Opo squash also iscalled calabash, lone melon, hu lu gua, peh poh, yugao and cucuzzi.But I don't know why it came calling on us. Easy question, says the Salvaggio team. The oddities are herebecause a lot of people who knew them in Africa or Asia or SouthAmerica are here now, too, and because farmers in SouthernCalifornia and Mexico figured out how to grow them. In a broad sense, they are a way to bridge the gap betweencontinents and cultures. In a narrower sense, as in what's fordinner, they all taste good, at least to somebody. Even the seaurchin fruit, known to its many friends in Malaysia as therambutan. Rooted in cultures Before produce manager Kim Gordinier broke one open for me with herthumbnails, I would not have touched a rambutan with a 10-foot polebean. The fruit inside the spiny exterior, it turns out, has asweet-yet-acidic flavor that would remind you a bit of a mandarinorange if you weren't gazing at its translucent white pulpy selfand thinking, "In a horror movie, this would be the alien's brain."Pete Loren, Nino Salvaggio's executive chef, says rambutans remindhim of lychee nuts, if that helps any. "The thing to remember," Loren says, "is that these are the fruitsof people's childhoods." So ever since deep purple, plum-sized,Southeast Asian mangosteens with their grape-like white fruit wereapproved for sale in the United States last July, buyers have beengobbling them up at $12.99 per pound. "We didn't open the store with all this produce in it," Taylorpoints out. But when customers load up on mango leaf -- good forwrapping steamed fish or nailing to your door to ward off evilspirits, all for the same $5.99 per pound -- you keep stackingcrates of it on trucks. Loren, 55, whose impressive restaurant resume includes tours ofduty at the London Chop House and Opus One, wanders the rows ofexotics every day and feels like a kid in a Calabaza squash store.Eager for new suggestions, he'll approach people with specialtyproduce in their carts and ask, "What do you use this for?"Typically, he says, passers-by listen in. Unless someone tells you, after all -- or unless you're a corporatechef who gets paid to experiment -- you won't know that a freshwater chestnut tastes sweet, or that a juicy, egg-shaped Ya pearmakes for a nice custard. When he throws parties, he's saying, he'll fill trays with some ofthe more unusual merchandise just as conversation pieces. He'sleading a tour, past the knobby-skinned, watermelon-sized Jackfruit and the Ecuadorian Pepino melons, and when he gets to theForrele pears, he stops.