Coastal fava beans

Freshly picked fava beans

Fava bean and cauliflower bisque

   roasted cauliflower and leeks, pureed

   blanched fava beans, pureed

   whole blanched favas

   water

   olive oil, salt and pepper

   sprinkling of parsley

   
Hi Winnie and Steve,

The other day as I returned from the hike I found a big box of English peas and fava beans by our front door.  I knew right away that our friend J., a local farmer, had stopped by -- those are crops he grows.  Gene and I started shelling, and I called J. and asked him to dinner.  He's a good cook and likes homemade food.  It's also nice to listen to his tales of farming which he has done his entire life -- always very interesting.  The fava beans and peas love the coastal weather.  While I really like fava beans, I'll admit that they are very labor intensive. Not only do you need to shell them out of their pods, you then need to blanch all the individual beans. This is then followed by slitting the covering and popping each bean out of its jacket.  This explains why you rarely see them on menus or in very small amounts. 

Also, P. and about 20 apprentices from  the UC Santa Cruz farming program (The Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems) stopped by the ranch  for lunch while on a tour of various farms.  I know how much you guys enjoy students and young people with a passion for learning. I'm amazed at the range of backgrounds among the students, and yet they are all here at UC Santa Cruz living communally and learning to farm.  So the week included J. who has farmed for 50 years, and the students who are about to embark on farming -- a nice combination and perspective.

Thinking of you.  Donna

p.s.  I did not shell fava beans for the lunch with 20 of us!