Yes, the favas (geez, I had "limas" typed out just then - even still, I'm getting the names confused!) taste quite a lot like edamame. I think that's why I enjoyed them so much. The texture and flavor were similar, but a bit more assertive in the favas than you'd find in a soybean. I was feeling too blah to cook the limas after making a batch of kale chips to snack on (have you all tried them? Holy goodness, they are SO good!), so I'll have to futz with them tomorrow. It sounds like they need a bit of cooking time, as some of the recipes I saw said to boil them for 15 minutes or until tender, and they were referring to fresh limas. That sounds like an awfully long time to boil anything green, so we shall see. I like mealy beans a lot, so that might not be a bad thing. Vall3fam, I hadn't even thought of checking out TJ's or Whole Paycheck for frozen favas, and I was just there today! I'll have to look the next time I go. I'd love to buy them fresh, but even at $1/lb, I'd end up composting 3/4 of it because the shell to bean ratio is so small, and decreases even more when you peel the skins off of the beans.

Nobody in this area of the country will forget that "once-in-a-hundred-years" freeze we had last Easter! I plant by how the weather feels... with one eye on the calendar, but I believe more how soil and air feels and stuff like how far the oaks have leaved out. "Plant corn when the oak leaves are the size of a squirrel's ear", etc. Frost hardy salad greens were in regular harvest stage and they were all fine. However, I had Black Aztec sweet corn 4 inches tall, assorted summer squash at first true leaves, Red Pontiac potatoes coming up well, all varieties strawberries blooming, figs had leaved out already, Super Sugar Snap peas a foot high... then we're being told it will be 25 degrees tonite!! Ron and I were able to cover most of the strawberries with heavy plastic sheeting (for me to remove early next morning when temp rose above freezing), and I dropped 3 gallon plastic nursery pots over the squash and potatoes (some 8 inches high). Next morning I took mental notes, and I immediately ordered more corn seed. I watched and waited on somewhat damaged squash; they stood still; I replanted beside them, and the new seedlings outgrew those that had "survived" the frost. Biggest potatoes had to resprout and were late and I eventually pulled them to make way for next crop. Those just emerging were fine with the makeshift protection and produced a crop. Strawberries at outside of beds were frozen, but a lot in center were OK... I figgered I lost 35% of the crop. Figs leafed out again and fruited a month late; Peas froze to ground, but most plants sent up base shoots, and I got a crop after all. My soybeans did not come up, and I found them as rotted mush, frozen with their bent necks less than 1/2 inch from emerging! The rest of the seed was planned to follow the corn first of July, but with start-over making corn late, I never got to plant soybeans last year. When I went to plant replacement corn, I kept find roots obviously still alive. I tossed out the first few, but then I got curious and left them in the ground. A fair percentage (35 - 40%??) sent up new shoots and cropped, altho later than the replants beside them. Mostly a nuisance to a gardener, but shows that variety would survive as a species even with a late frost some years. Worse news on trees. No acorns; no persimmons; no tree fruits of any kind around here (except my figs!). Trees did recover but a major amount of wildlife winter food was lost forever. Black walnuts sleep late in the spring, and they were fine. My antique roses (mostly Rugosas, Gallicas, Albas, Noisettes, Hybrid Musk)simply regrouped, leafed out again. The one-time bloomers (Albas and Gallicas) lost most of their flowering capacity for the year; the other groups are remontant; they just regrouped and flowered as usual, but a month later. Most hardy perenniel flowers and bulbs were not significantly affected. Your woodchuck recipe - still laughing! Back in the last century, I was joking about writing a cookbook for sale at local tourist traps: HOW TO COOK YOUR GARDEN PESTS. Most garden raiders can be found in game cookbooks, even a few with more than 4 legs. I did the research, but I ain't crazy about dressing out warm-blooded animals. Dressing woodchucks: The smell, the general ugliness, and that very tough skin that almost repelled my knife. I pretty soon figgered out something else I wanted to do worse that morning... My first almost-dinner woodchuck very shortly turned into deer repellant tossed under the tree where the herd gathers to lay up during the day and plot their night raids on my ripening corn. Assassinated feral cats (my neighbor feeds a population of them!)are also used for deer repellent. Anybody caught playing "lion at the waterhole" with birds at my birdbath will be offered a trail of canned mackeral leading into the Hav-a-Hart and will quietly disappear forever. Possums I drive 10 miles and turn loose; rabbits I just turn out locally. But woodchucks just eat too much too fast, plus they dig under my cages and barriers. One way trip for them, too. Fortunately woodchucks have 3 Achillies heels: too stupid to change their paths once discovered; day feeders so I can find them eating and see where they run so I know where to set the trap; one litter a year, so I can often get Mama and all the kits in 36 hours or so, and they're history until another one moves in. I check DAILY for signs of feeding everywhere I have a crop planted.... sometimes I'm still too late! I would expect them to taste a lot like wild bunnies and squirrels? Confirm, please. My brother in Wyoming supplies us with top-quality venison every year as a Christmas gift, and often include a few other sundry species. But as long as Arkansas whole fryers keep going on sale for 49 cents a pound, the pest cook book will probably stay on the back burner. Gee, not a word about fava beans in this one... note they are still fine today... in 54 degree sun and wind, with rain and cold on the way again... Jan

Well, I somehow doubt that fava beans are big in Laos, so perhaps they are just not familiar with the proper way to grow or harvest them. Or maybe it's a soil/water thing. I will try them again some day from another source. I've noticed that while their strawberries are truly exceptional, and they have offered a number of different greens that have been terrific, their new onions are on the tough side. Sugar snap peas were wonderful, snow peas not all that great. I did notice they put in a lot more tomatoes this year than last. They were great, and apparently sold out quickly. I bought out their beefsteaks several times because I can't grow those, and I love them.

I am definitely copying and pasting many of these recipes and ideas! I love pasta and really get tired of eating meat all the time. I have a few, but am loving having more meatless pasta dishes to try! Broccoli Linguini 1 lb linguini 3 oz olive oil 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 lg bunch broccoli, finely chopped including 1-2" of stems 3/4 c chopped walnuts 1/2c pitted black olives, sliced 3 oz parmesan or romano cheese, grated Salt to taste Pepper, freshly ground Cook linguini according to package directions until "al dente", drain. Heat olive oil in large skillet and sauté garlic until golden. Add broccoli, walnuts and olives, cook and stir over medium heat until very hot. Season to taste with salt and pepper Pour over hot linguini, sprinkle parmesan over top and serve immediately (From Daytons Marketplace) This is something I came up with by trying to duplicate a pasta dish I used to love at TGI Fridays back in the 90's when their food was good! LOL [](http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=10&imgid=169963870) Mediterranean Pasta Marinara: 3T olive oil 1/4 c chopped onion 3 cloves fresh chopped garlic ½ tsp salt ½ tsp sugar ¼ tsp pepper 1 T dried basil 1 28\-oz can tomato puree 1/4 c dry red wine Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until onions are translucent. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes. 1lb cavatappi, cooked 1 oz olive oil 8 oz sliced mushrooms 1 tomato cut in large dice ½ each red and green pepper cut in large dice 12 oz jar marinated artichoke hearts, quartered ½ c sliced black olives 1 tsp dried basil Pinch salt & pepper 2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped fine 4 oz mozzarella, shredded 1/3 c grated parmesan Saute mushrooms in oil, add remaining ingredients (except cheeses) and bring to simmer. Place hot cooked pasta in large serving dish, sprinkle with mozzarella, pour hot sauce over all and sprinkle with parmesan. Serve. And this one is different, but quite good, too! Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Swiss Chard and Pecorino Cheese Courtesy Giada DeLaurentis 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 onions, thinly sliced 2 bunches Swiss chard, trimmed and chopped (about 14 cups) 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices 1/4 cup dry white wine 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes Salt and pepper 8 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped 2 tablespoons freshly grated Pecorino cheese 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the chard and saute until it wilts, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, wine, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer until the tomatoes begin to break down and the chard is very tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Season the chard mixture, to taste, with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring frequently, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the spaghetti. Add the spaghetti to the chard mixture and toss to combine. Transfer the pasta to serving bowls. Sprinkle the olives, cheese, and pine nuts and serve. Linda