Produce

[naomikritzer]

We have a number of recipes that call for cooked navy beans or black beans as a substitute for fresh favas. One is a Pasta e Faglioli dish (pasta, beans, olive oil and basil are the core ingredients); another is a black bean ful (beans, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and hard-boiled eggs). Both recipes suggest using fresh favas if you should happen to have them available.

I actually saw fresh favas a month or two ago at our co-op, and bought a bag. I had to shell them (Molly helped) and then I cooked them and made the dish that way. They were really good, and totally different in taste from the cooked dried beans. They were somewhat reminiscent, to me, of edamame soybeans.

So yesterday, I made the Pasta e Faglioli with frozen edamame in place of the cooked dried beans. (I bought them pre-shelled.) I thought it was pretty good and came a lot closer than the cooked navy beans. Ed thought they were adequate but nowhere near as good as the fresh favas.

Alas, it's too late in the season to plant favas. I read a gardening book that explained that in order to plant those plant-while-the-snow-is-still-melting sorts of items, you have to do your soil preparation back in the fall. Turn over the soil, hoe, rake it out, etc., so that all you have to do in the very early spring is plant the seeds. Maybe I'll try that for next year. Has anyone ever seen frozen favas? Or are they available for longer periods anywhere else in the cities?

Also, I am greatly disappointed not to see my favorite little produce stand up and running in the parking lot of the convenience store at Minnehaha and 46th. I don't remember when they opened last year, but they definitely had the little shack up and visible by June. This means I'm going to have to find a new source for decent peaches. I bet whatever I find is going to be a lot less convenient than this stand was.

Comments

sounds yummy!

[mrswebchik.livejournal.com]

That sounds really good. What exactly is a fava? It may be something that I'll want in my garden next year. I'm looking for something different than the usual garden fare we have planted (I have a full list of what we planted in my journal). The pasta dish sounds yummy - any way I could get the recipe? I love pasta, and want to find more vegetarian recipes I can eat that might be healthier (and still a good protein source), now that I may be carrying twins!

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've been disappointed that the 46th and Minnehaha produce stand isn't up, either. Damn.