Shell your peas as soon as you have gathered them (if possible). For a large vegetable dish of peas take a quart of water, into which put a pinch of salt, and a small piece of vegetable charcoal. Boil for fifteen minutes, if young and fresh, in an open saucepan. When tender drain through a colander, and put into a dish with a piece of butter, and if the peas have been gathered some time before being shelled they will have lost their sweetness, in which case add a teaspoonful of sugar. Shake well together in the dish, and keep the dish on the top of the saucepan for five minutes to melt the butter and sugar before serving.