Let’s have a history lesson.

I was always a good student. I was one of those kids that did well in almost every subject (notice I said almost…numbers still elude me).

But numbers aside, history was/is particularly delicious to me.

Cooking has an interesting history of course. You don’t have to go all the way back to medieval times to find a fascinating tale.

In fact I have a fun story for you. In the 1960s & 70s, in this country at least, the foodie-world was abuzz with the suddenly “discovered” truth behind “classical French cuisine”. It was brought to our attention by the commendable talents of Julia Child. Her book Mastering the Art of French Cooking changed the way American home cooks like my mother began to look at gourmet food.

As I have said before. I was raised on this kind of fare. I was a nine year old who liked chicken liver pâté. I knew crêpe was not pronounced crape, and sauces always started with bones.

But things can never stay just as they are, now can they? In fact changes were afoot in the culinary world. Because just as Ms. Child was introducing Americans to classical French cooking; classical French cooking was being challenged or perhaps re-interpretted in of all places– France!

Do you read SpinachTiger? If not you should. Her blog is sophisticated, witty and honest.

These are great reasons to read her blog 364 days a year. But there is a 365^th day and on that day there is an even more compelling reason to make the time to go there.

Tuesday December 1 is World AIDS Day. Angela at SpinachTiger is asking us to Cook Red To Remember.

Now, I am going to say something that may seem controversial. I am a gay man, old enough to remember the shell-shocked days of the early epidemic. I don’t need a special day to remember the death, the sadness or the fear.

So when I hear about these special days set aside for remembrance there is a part of me that bristles up and thinks, “what about every other day in the year?” It sometimes almost offends me that one day a year needs to be set aside so we can “remember” that 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS and there is still no cure.

I have decided to quit dwelling on my particular (short term) handicap.

I mean you don’t need the excuse of having your mouth wired shut to enjoy a smooth, velvety cup of soup. Lots of people with perfectly functioning mandibles eat soup. Oh wait that sounds vaguely like I am dwelling upon my affliction. I am not.

That’s because, as the jingle goes, “soup is good food’.

For today’s good food I choose a Leek & Potato Soup. It’s finished with just a touch of cream. Which adds a luxurious bit of richness with out being overly indulgent. Because honestly, a touch is all this soup needs to be creamy and delicious.

This soup is strongly associated with the French. Serve it chilled and you would call it a vichyssoise. Though vichyssoise was actually “invented” in New York at a French restaurant.

Still, I love classic French cooking. I have a lot of opinions about it too, especially for some one who is not French! I am the type of American who might have invented vichyssoise.

It’s happened again. I should have known it was going to happen again. It usually happens just this way. I am stuck on peas and can’t get off them.

Yesterday I posted a Pea Pasta dish with mint and lemon zest. I used frozen peas and it was delicious, healthy and easy to make. And what I said is true. I think frozen peas are a terrific vegetable. Especially in the type of hurried situation that I was faced with.

But it is spring. There are lots of reasons to be excited about spring. Fresh sweet peas of all varieties are certainly some of these reasons.

As much as I loved my minty orzo with peas, it did not really scratch that springtime itch I sometimes get. That itch can only be scratched with fresh peas.

And I do not just mean sweet English peas. I mean snow peas and sugar peas. Heck I even mean fava beans (which is technically a legume). But because of the favas bright green color I am making it an honorary pea in this recipe for Sweet Pea Ravioli with Rosemary Cream. Click for recipe.