For those not familiar with fava beans, 1 cup of beans or pods contains approx. the equivilent of one 25/100 standard release Sinemet. Several list members have reported therapeutic results by occasionally including fava beans into their diet. UMBRIAN FAVA BEAN STEW (Scafata) This recipe is about as simple as spring cooking gets (in the U.S. or Canada). It's adapted from Antonella Santolini's "La Cucina Delle Regioni D'Italia: Umbria" (Edizioni Mida, 1988). The name comes from the Umbrian word for the hull of the beans. Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 cup shelled, peeled fava beans (fresh or canned) 1/2 cup chopped onion 1/4 cup chopped celery 1/4 cup chopped carrots 1 1/2 cups chopped Swiss chard leaves 1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes salt & pepper Directions: Cook oil, beans, onion, celery, carrot and chard over low heat in a medium saucepan. When the beans are quite tender, after about 45 minutes, add tomatoes and cook another 20 to 25 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Yield: Makes 4 servings. Each serving contains about: 157 calories 124 mg sodium 0 mg cholesterol 7 grams fat 18 grams carbohydrates 6 grams protein 1.47 grams fiber CREAMED FAVA BEANS AND BACON Fava beans don't get any richer than this, and they don't get any more delicious, either. This recipe from Richard Olney's "Simple French Food" (Atheneum, 1974) is almost compulsively edible. After all, how bad can bacon, cream and egg yolks be? Ingredients: 5 pounds young fava beans, in pods 1/4 pound lean bacon strips 1 tablespoon butter 1 branch fresh savory (or pinch finely crumbled dried savory) About 3 tablespoons water Salt 1/2 cup whipping cream 3 egg yolks Freshly ground black pepper Lemon juice chopped parsley Directions: Shell beans and remove skins from all except those pods that are tiny and bright green. Cut bacon in 1/2 inch sections, parboil for a few seconds to remove excess salt and drain. Cook bacon in butter in heavy saucepan over low heat 2 to 3 minutes. Bacon should remain limp. Add fava beans, savory, just enough water to moisten lightly and salt to taste. Cover tightly and cook over high heat for a few minutes. Turn heat to low again so beans stew in own steam rather than boiling. Cook, shaking pan gently from time to time, until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool 1 minute or so. Mix cream, egg yolks and pepper to taste and stir gently into fava beans. Return to low heat, stirring until sauce is only lightly bound, coating spoon thinly. Sauce should not approach boil. Squeeze in few drops lemon juice to taste, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve. Yield: Makes 4 servings. Each serving contains about: 488 calories 283 mg sodium 267 mg cholesterol 31 grams fat 34 grams carbohydrates 19 grams protein 1.69 gram fiber FRIED FAVAS Ingredients: 1/2 pound of fava beans in pods Split the pods and extract the beans. The beans themselves have a protective covering which you do not remove for this recipe. 1/4 cup of oil salt Directions: Heat oil to 350 degrees Farenheit. Fry handful of beans at a time, 4 to 5 until beans burst and shells are an attractive shade of brown. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon. Drain. Salt to taste. Eat like popcorn with or without the shells. Try them both ways. Delicious! Yield: Makes about 1/2 cup fried favas. Each tablespoon contains about: 127 calories 7.7 mg sodium 0 grams cholesterol 4 grams fat 17 grams carbohydrates 7 grams protein .84 gram fiber MINESTRONE WITH FAVA BEANS This may be the perfect early spring soup, thick enough to be satisfying, fresh enough to entice. It comes from Ed Giobbi's "Pleasures of the Good Earth"(Alfred Knopf, 1991) Ingredients: 2 cups shelled fava beans 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 small onion, coarsely chopped 1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped 1 tablespoon finely chopped flatleaf parsley 1 carrot, coarsely chopped 1 cup coarsely chopped tomatoes 5 cups water 1/4 cup rice 2 cups chopped spinich Salt Directions: Cook fava beans in pot of boiling salted water 2 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Remove outer skin of beans and discard the skin, reserving the beans. Heat olive oil in soup pot over moderate heat. Add onion and celery and saute until onion begins to brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Add parsley, carrot and tomatoes and cook, stirring, several minutes. Add water and pealed beans, cover and cook over low to moderate heat until beans are tender, about 50 minutes. Add rice, cover and cook 10 more minutes. Add spinach, cover ant cook over low heat until rice is tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Season to taste with salt and serve hot. Yield: Makes 4 to 6 servings. Each serving contains about: 384 calories 126 mg sodium 0 cholesterol 8 grams fat 59 grams carbohydrates 22 grams protein 3.17 grams fiber John Cottingham "The parkinsn list brings Knowledge, Comfort, Hope, and Homeboy Friendship to the parkinsonian world." LibraryH Parkinson's Chat on the Undernet 8:30 PM CST -6 Daily. If you access the Internet through a provider with a [log in to unmask] PPP/SLIP account, free IRC chat software is available. WFD