I've never grown them before and was pleasantly surprised - they are easy to grow, easy to pick, tasty and nutritious. The pods are very thick with a moist, fibrous lining - most surprising when you break one open. The taste is rather like peas... delicious!
We picked the plants just about clean and began the task of shelling the beans. To prep them for the freezer, I steam blanched them and rapidly cooled them in cold water before slipping off the casing.
The casing doesn't have to come off, but I do find it on the bitter side, so I collapsed in front of the TV last night and repetitively slipped them all out of their skins while watching a show with Megan :)
I ended up with 4 large ziplock bags of fava beans in the freezer ready for winter eats :) YUM!
We also picked a few hot peppers yesterday (just in time for Kelly to come home tonight). He loves hot peppers and anything spicy... we'll see what he thinks!
You are quite a successful farmer! love,andrea
ReplyDeletefava beans are something I just might have to try and grow. I've never tried fresh fava beans only dried, I think they would make a great addition to our diet.
ReplyDeleteSue, they are absolutely easy to grow. They do get to be about 5' tall so they need tad bit of support but I solved this by planting them at the fence line. I ran some garden twine to keep them attached to the fencing although some of the plants were sturdy enough to not need any fastening. They need nothing from you until it's time to pick!
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