Spring Vegetables

Yum yum -spring vegetables! Highlight them with this side dish.

Begin by melting a teaspoon and a half of vegan butter (such as Earth Balance) in a saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 and 1/4 cups carrot, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices, 1/4 cup sliced spring onion, and 1/4 cup sliced shallots, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/8 tsp. black pepper. Cover and cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spring onions are the ones that look like extra-large green onions, and they are perfect right now.

Add 1/4 cup water and 1 cup peas (fresh or frozen; I used the latter, unfortunately). Layer 4 Bibb lettuce leaves on top of the mixture, then cover and cook an additional 5 minutes - the lettuce leaves will "melt" down into the pea mixture. You can also use Boston lettuce, if you can't find Bibb.

Remove from heat and gently stir in an additional teaspoon and a half of 'butter'. A 1/2 cup makes a side serving of 120 calories.

Note that the recipe called for a tablespoon of 'butter' in total, but divided. I made the mistake of not reading the recipe all the way through, so where I was supposed to melt only a teaspoon and a half of butter in the beginning, I melted the whole tablespoon. Therefore, I skipped stirring in the butter at the end - oh well! It all evens out in the end.

Cost:
carrot $0.56
spring onion $1.77
green peas $2.99
Bibb lettuce $2.49