Beware of the Fava!

So I have never eaten a fava bean, seen them fresh in real life only once or twice, but have a slight obsession with them. I don't know what they taste like, but when I found a packet of seeds that said "Fava" I was in fay-va. We had never grown any sort of beans before. The whole concept of poles and shoots was too scary for me to tackle the first year. As we approached our second year of aggressive gardening (our stance as well as our posturing to squirrel and deer), we added beans of several varieties. I must admit that right now they are shocking me. For one, the dark burgundy colored beans that you see beneath those wicked golden beets (wahoo--finally golden beets in my life!) turn green when you cook them. That was quite an exciting moment in the Bramell household. Then I got mad though because I felt as though I was just eating a regular old green bean, and that is boring. We only had 12 beans in the first pick, but now we have half a colander full. Those tricky buggers.

The fava beans are still in shell in the picture and look a lot like snow peas. I think D picked them much too early because when I shelled the beans they were about the size of a pea, and fava beans are supposed to be flat and lima-ish. Favas are also known as broad beans, because I know you've been wondering. They also go well with a nice Chianti. So when I shelled them I popped them into the mouth for a quick tasteroo, and then promptly read in my fave Joy of Cooking that they are toxic when eaten raw. Thanks D for picking them mostly undeveloped so I didn't have to worry too much about this tiny detail. Today I have read on Epicurious.com "Be aware that fava beans can cause a potentially fatal food intolerance in some people of Mediterranean, African, and Pacific Rim descent. " Cookey, Cookey lend me your comb. Also quite remarkable was the half-eaten bottle of Mrs. Butterworth's that grew out of the few remaining cornstalks we have. I felt like such a proud mama.

Other things that have been perplexing me is the emergence of what seem to be ripened acorn squash and butternut squash. Well, the butternut aren't apparently ripe yet and still have lots of green. I'm anxious to crack into the acorn to see what the inside looks like before D picks any more. He's a pickin' fool. Still left in our fridge, uneaten and quickly dwindling, are bok choy and collard greens and turnips. I must find a use for them.