I found this fabulous recipe on the Mel’s Kitchen Café website. It looked perfect, so I only messed with the preparation, but left the ingredients alone. (OK, I used less sugar than called for, but the rest is strictly Mel’s.) Phew – glad to get that straight!

Anyway, this recipe for simple garden peas is amazing. First of all it’s easy to prepare. You can even make the sauce ahead of time and keep it in your fridge. And the savory flavor created from the mixture of butter, thyme, garlic, and onion is just wonderful. Who knew peas could taste so good?

So if you are looking for a simple way to serve peas, this is the recipe for you. Of course it takes a little thyme to prepare, but the time spent is worth the results. Enough said!

• 1 lb. frozen petite peas – rinsed, drained, and set out to dry on paper towels
• 2 T. unsalted butter
• ½ c. finely chopped onion
• 1 tsp. sugar
• ¼ tsp. salt
• freshly ground black pepper (not too much)
• 2 medium garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves or ½ tsp. dried thyme

Melt the butter in a medium fry pan. Add the onion, sugar, salt, and pepper. Sauté the onion over low heat until a light golden brown (caramelized). Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in the almost dry peas and thyme. Heat, stirring often, until the peas are just heated through, about 2 minutes. Adjust seasoning and serve immediately.

Note: Peas do not need to be cooked. They are better if just warmed.