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As a home gardener in the Pacific Northwest, I have often grown fava beans as a winter cover crop because it fixes nitrogen in the soil and when dug into the ground in early spring becomes an excellent source of organic compost. But the thing I was surprised about when I first grew the bean plant is how beautiful it is: delicate white and purple flowers on a tall, sturdy green stalk, giving way to full pods as the season progresses. One year, rather than digging the immature plants into the soil, I let the beans mature on the vine, then harvested the plants and dried them; when they were dry, I put them on a big tarp on the driveway and beat them with a stick to loosen the beans from the dried pods (the neighbors sure wondered what the heck I was up to). Collected the beans, put them in jars, and stored them for later cooking, as well as a jar set aside for next year's garden. This was before I had PD or even knew that my brain produced dopamine. But it was fun--my first encounter with levadopa, I suppose. Rick, 48/46 >Date: Mon, 17 May 1999 18:13:25 EDT >From: Irene Rosenthal <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Re: Experiences with Vica fava or faba beans? > >Fava beans can be purchased at Dean and Delucca in New York City. I believe >they will shio them. What I need is info on how to prepare them, > >