Vibrant Spring Food

Ella Works on Shelling Fava Beans

Last night, we made rice and eggs with mustard greens, and a side of my favorite fava bean recipe. Sometimes, these spring foods are just the thing, and they just happen to be the good foods to eat this time of year! The mustard greens are great right now, and half of them are volunteers in the garden, while the fava beans are reaching their peak nutrition right now. The favas are also a particularly delightful treat, as Ella not only helped me plant them, but harvest them and prepare them...now that's a sustainable kid! Here's the recipes...

Rice and Eggs with Pungent Greens and Walnuts

2 bunches mustard greens, stems removed
1 1/2 c. brown rice
1-2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
salt

Boil the rice in extra water (more than your standard 2:1 ratio), and drain once cooked. Meanwhile, boil or steam your greens until tender, and chop. Mix with the olive oil and pressed garlic. Once the rice is done, stir in the beaten eggs until the rice is well coated, and then add the mustard greens and nuts and toss again. Serve with parmesan cheese and a curry sauce, or salad dressing, or anything else that sounds good...I like it with sauce of some kind.

Fava Beans, a la Amanda

Fava beans have a second shell inside the outer pod that must be removed before eating. I've included direction below.

A lot of fava beans (about 2 cups prepared, see below)
Two cloves garlic
Butter
Parmesan cheese

Shell the beans. Parboil them for a few minutes, about 3-5, until the gray-green soft outer shells soften. Drain and rinse in cold water. Hand remove the outer shell from each bean. Inside are two halves of bright green beaniness! Melt 2 generous tbsp butter in a skillet. Saute in the butter for about 6-8 minutes. Press garlic and add to pan, and stir around about 1 more minute. Serve up warm, with a little grated parmesan. MMMMMMM. I wish the fava's lasted longer in the spring!