Some of the best things only happen once every year and so it is with the fabled fava bean. So many jokes and quite a bit of history come with this podded vegetable, not to mention the “time consuming” task of preparing them.

It’s so worth the arduous task of preparing “horse” beans as they are known in England and even better if the task is accompanied with a good bottle of Chanti! The Italians revered the arrival of the first protein so much that they celebrate with a national holiday and on every street corner fava bean vendors sell big bushels of the raw bean.

A quick internet search on the medicinal benefits of fava shows quite an impressive list: Dopamine production, fighting breast cancer, B Vitamins as well A, C and K. Fiber rich and helps to restore gut bacteria, immune booster and help lower cholesterol and heart disease. High in protein, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, copper, selenium, zinc and magnesium!

To prepare fava beans, cut off the tips of the pods (Step 1) with a sharp paring knife. Press along the seam to open the pod (Step 2) and expose the beans.

Lift out the beans (Step 3), then remove any small stems (Step 4) that remain attached. Each bean is covered with a tough skin that must be removed. This is much easier to do when the beans are blanched in boiling water for 30 seconds, then drained and plunged into ice water. (If the beans are boiled more than a minute they become mushy.)

Slit each skin with your fingernail; the bright green bean will pop out (Step 5). Fava beans may be added to soups or stews, buttered and served as a vegetable or tossed with vinaigrette for a salad.

Simplifying life, as I understand it to be, is not about giving up but about honing in. Eric and I acquired chef’s knives for what lay ahead to be a busy season of catering that began in May with a graduation party and culminated throughout the summer season with 8 weddings and a handful of other celebrations. We maintained our two acre plus garden, kept the farm stand open three days a week, and continue to distribute over a 100 boxes of produce weekly to our surrounding communities in three counties. Phew!

It’s now fall, and the first rains have calmed the electrified air to a manageable tone. It’s time to simplify and begin to hone inward.  Meditating on all of this without attachment has been challenging. Turning off the mind and taking time to just “be” is the kind of deep meditation we need right now.

I have come to understand through years of entrepreneurship that change is the key to thriving and staying the same is the key to mere survival. We are committed to a “soil to service” approach that goes beyond farm to table, in much the same way that we are committed to a “beyond organic” approach with our farming. Once one enters into the food system literally through the act of planting seeds and emerges serving tasty, nourishing food it’s hard to ignore the connection. And in many ways, cooking has allowed us to come into full circle with what has been for us a 25 year farming journey of discovery.

Chef’s knives honed we are ready to embark on a food exploration journey and through the introspective time of winter we shall see what emerges.

For some of you more intimately connected on a regular basis with us through the purchasing of food you’ll be interested to know that as we move into the slower months we will be switching up to an every other week schedule. The farm stand will be paired down to open every other Thursday beginning November 2nd. CSA deliveries will coincide with this bi-weekly schedule as well. In addition we will be available for venue bookings and party catering opportunities into December.

Christine