crispy sugar snap peas with an herby boursin dip

What a beautiful day! The sun is out, the air isn't too humid, and the daylilies are blooming. I'm packing up my camera for a visit to Davis Brook Farm, an amazing local daylily farm: the scope of color, size, and shapes of their plants are truly stunning. After that, a walk on the beach at MacDowell Lake. My sugar snap peas are still putting out masses of fat peapods, so I'm packing my new favorite snack: crisp peapods with a creamy boursin dip. Oh, heaven!

The boursin I make is garlicky, with smooth undertones of parsley and tarragon, chives and a little dijon. It's delicious on sandwiches, or a little cold chicken or fish, too. Fat slices of warm tomatoes topped with boursin sounds like heaven to me, but I'll have to wait, as my tomatoes are still small and green. I've even made a dairy-free version, by substituting a little olive oil and tofu, instead of cream cheese and sweet butter. It needs to be kept in the fridge, so if you're serving it as a dip, let it soften a little, and add a dollop of olive oil or buttermilk to make it a little thinner.

I serve the dip in shotglasses, or small glass cups, with a few peapods ( and more in a bowl on the side for hungry guests) so people can carry it around - and everyone can double-dip as much as they want.

To make the boursin:

Adapted from Picnic

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 stick ( 8 T. ) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 T. fresh lemon juice

1 t. kosher salt

freshly cracked pepper

1 t. dijon mustard

1 T. minced fresh Italian parsley

1 T. minced fresh chives

1 t. dried tarragon

1/2 t. worcestershire sauce

2 medium garlic cloves, peeled and pressed

1 T. olive oil

Place all your ingredients in a mixer bowl and mix until creamy and incorporated.

Serve with assorted raw vegetables, as a sandwich spread, stirred into hot pasta, atop cold meats, fish, or chicken, or - straight from a spoon:)

If you're making the dairy-free version, using olive oil and tofu, use the food processor.

Store in fridge until needed.