fava-rama

It's been one of those days. You know, the kind of day where I feel like I will be breastfeeding, changing diapers, administering ineffective time-outs, preparing food no one will eat, daydreaming about the day I have time to read a book for pleasure without falling asleep on it and watching Wallace and Gromit FOR THE NEXT TWENTY YEARS or whenever it is they start college. Arrrrrrgh. Don't tell me "it will get better." I know it will get better. IN ABOUT TWENTY YEARS. Or maybe a little less. Anyway, it sucks now, so don't try to cheer me up and tell me how lucky I am that I have indoor plumbing and no twins unlike your grandmother because that will just make me feel worse.

Okay, now that I have that off my chest, I'm going to tell you about something very yummy we had the other night: fava beans!

My dog Fava loves to roam
One day Fava left his home
He came back, though quite unclean
Where, oh where has Fava been?
Fava been, Fava been,
Where, oh where has Fava been?


(I learned that little song at church camp. It has nothing to do with Jesus.)

We subscribe to a CSA (this one), and we split a large share with our neighbors. Every Thursday, my friend R and I load up the boys in the wagon, the Little Miss in the Kelty backpack, and head for the pick-up spot a few blocks away. So far, the vegetables we have gotten haven't been too unusual or difficult to prepare...until last week, when we got a whole mess of fresh fava beans. I've had fava beans out of the can, but never fresh, and I had no idea what to do with them. Who to consult when confronted with an unusual vegetable? Why, Stephanie, of course! I gave her a call, and she gave me the following instructions:

First, take the raw beans out of the pods, which are about as big around as my thumb:



Next, boil them for 3 minutes or so, then squeeze them out of their shells:



This is what they look like, a beautiful bright green:



Last, do what you do with any delicious, fresh local vegetable: sauté in butter with garlic and lemon juice. That's all you need.



They were SO tasty, especially accompanied with couscous, homemade applesauce and a big fried blob of mozzarella disaster (which I'll tell you about another time.)

Have you eaten anything new and adventurous lately?

Comments

Anonymous said…
we also enjoyed fava-rama at our house this week thanks to vermont valley. I found a recipe which included fennel and garlic- very yummy. I was skeptical, but the favas were worth the labor intensive shelling and squeezing!
Steph said…
I want some of those RIGHT NOW.
Pam said…
Yummmmmmmmm... That looks/sounds really delicious.

I guess you know about my adventurous eating -- strange fish are the extent of it... :-) I guess I should move on to unusual vegetables!

Popular Posts