I could not find where I read this, or I would have included it in the article, but I read that NOT peeling them is the British way. Personally, I’ve only found a difference in texture, not in taste. Some people think the skin adds some bitterness, though.

Heather: I know, right? I was pretty sure it was a fava, but I guess it could’ve been anything...

Elizabeth and Heather: the squirrels at our house are kind of like family pets. After pruning our Hawthorne trees, we lost two squirrel nests, but two years later, they’re back, and we’ve been watching two baby squirrels learn the ropes (literally). Of course, they might be to blame for the fava stealing.

Elizabeth--Squirrels...I found one fava bean, just barely sprouted, on my front porch. I took it to the backyard and re-planted it, and it’s come up just like the rest. That’s the first time I’ve noticed any squirrel interference with my favas. At least, I’m assuming that’s how a newly-planted bean made it to my front porch. Sounds like I’ve been lucky.

I didn’t know the greens were edible, so I’m looking forward to learning more about that.

I haven’t frozen them, but I don’t see why you couldn’t freeze them just like peas: blanch and freeze. You could leave the skin on and peel them when you defrost. (Or not peel them at all.)

I don’t mean to keep bashing lima beans, but I just don’t get why people compare favas to limas. In my experience they’re really different things, like comparing cottage cheese to whip cream.

My favas are going to be late this year because I was too wimpy to face the rain and plant them when I should have. So, if you’ve already got some, let me know how you fix them.

Maybe, like kale, favas will be the next “it” food item! We can say we’re trendsetters.

As of February 2012, Trader Joe’s signed a fair trade tomato agreement, according to the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/10/trader-joes-fair-food-agreement_n_1268417.html

Sandra--I am so glad to know someone else with a Kitchen Wizard, and especially glad to know that it’s 28 years old and still thriving. I wonder if ours look the same. Is yours tan and dark brown with orange buttons? That’s part of what I love, very “retro”!

VeganMOFO--a month of daily blogging about vegan eating--is happening right now, October 2011. It’s organized by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. It’s been fun to participate this year and inspiring to read others’ posts. Find the list of participants and more information at veganmofo.com

Great review by Emily Stone. Darn. Maybe Just Food is not going to be a good textbook for my class.

I show Food Inc., and it agitates the students in a good way, but this is the point at which the conversation gets polarized. There are plenty of students in the middle, but it seems like the two “sides” dominate discussion. Maybe it’s a reaction to never having thought much about food production before.

I’m not blaming the film but wondering what else I can show/read to complicate the issue--to broaden the issue.

I’m also realizing that McWilliams seems focused on how to feed 9.3 billion people as we eat now. Is it unrealistic or even wrong to ask us to change the way we eat? Kind of like WWII and being asked to sacrifice and conserve and grow victory gardens, I’d feel excited to make changes in my diet in order to provide for a healthier world. (Idealistic?) It seems like Pollan and Bitman have done this by recommending vegetables be more frequent on our plates than meat.

This a thought-provoking conversation! Thank you!

Caroline, I really appreciate this comment because I’m still trying to process McWilliams’s lecture.

His talk was marketed the way you described, and I see what you mean about how he’s “reactive.” He seemed on the defensive, but I think that’s because he felt he was saying unpopular things.

I guess why I found him less confusing is because I teach a college class about food and transformation, and it seems like no matter what films and texts we read, the class ends up polarized: pro-big-agriculture vs. anti-agribusiness/pro-small family farms. McWilliams seemed to be looking at agriculture from multiple perspectives at once. For example, while small family farms are more “sustainable” because they require the least transportation, some conventional farming practices feed more people with less land. He gave issues to consider rather than arguing for one way of farming over another; the picture was broader, and more complicated, but more clear for me to consider. (I recently heard Gary Paul Nabhan speak and had a similar reaction; he suggested that we’ll need some of agribusiness’s practices to feed the 9billion people expected on the planet soon.)

McWillams’s talk was scattered, and even I (an English instructor, not a food scholar) could poke holes in some of his arguments, so my next step is to read his book. I’m hoping it might be a good one for my class to raise questions that we can examine. Have you read the book? Will I be disappointed?

I can relate to your story, especially to how good Veganomicon sounds but how frustrating the results can be.

It’s so hard to find time, energy, and motivation to cook. BUT, most days, I’m really happy with Dreena Burton’s cookbooks, especially the first two: Everday Vegan and Vive le Vegan.

Burton’s recipes are relatively quick, simple, and really healthy. They’re all low-fat, high fiber and nutrient-dense, but they taste hearty and satisfying.

Even so...lately, we’ve been doing way too much take out....

I love that so many of us have such a tender feeling toward honey bees. Why is that? The more I learn, the more I admire them. I’m embarrassed that they used to scare me. Of course, they do sting. I learned that they can sting invading insects repeatedly, but any animal skin (a mouse after honey or a threatening human)is too tough and their stinger stays behind, causing their death.

Charles & JillBlevins--I hope that you’ll write about your bee hives here at Culinate. And KaleForSale, I will definitely look up this other bee movie.

Kathryn--when you say you find bees in the bird bath, have they drowned? Or, do they find a perch on the edge of the basin to sip? I didn’t realize how important water is to them, but it can be treacherous for them too.

My friend just emailed me to ask how I’m going to make sure the bees have water. I read that one good way to do it is to fill a bucket with water and then float small styrofoam balls in it. The bees can balance on the balls without risking falling into the water. I think the water is supposed to be in the shade, too. Now, if I can remember where I read that, I’ll submit a link....

I love their other book...What the World Eats...I think that’s the title.

Yesterday:
Buckwheat w/ hemp milk, 1/2 banana, raisins
Roibos tea

Two bites of my salad w/ leftover vegan enchilada (will eat the rest today)

4:45--devoured wheat crackers w/ homemade hummus then at least 10 large handfuls of dark chocolate chips (could NOT sleep last night)

Dinner--Shepherdess Pie from the Veganomicon recipe, some garlic broccoli, and squash-couscous salad.

A top-heavy day...supposed to eat like a king at breakfast, a prince at lunch, and a pauper at dinner.

I think my day was King--major pauper--King!

Tal Ronnen will be giving cooking demonstrations in Portland at Northwest VEG’s Veg Fest on Saturday and Sunday, September 18 & 19.

Thanks for the comments! Kathryn--I think the blackberries’ smell might be just as good as their taste. It’s like the last wiff of summer.

It’s hard to watch those plums go to waste, but the trees are huge, and I don’t know if I have the skills to offer to pick them.

Ah, Rimsky’s!!!! Yes, not a bumble bee that bumbles and disrupts the worker bees; more of the pollinating worker bee. Focused.

I love freezing ginger, because then you can also grate it with one of those micro-planers into cold water w/ lemon or hot tea. Sore throat be gone!

If any of you make the hummus, let me know what you think. I am eager to make it again.

You’ve made me nostalgic for my grandmother and her Gravensteins. I loved those apples and held a grudge against the prolific Red Delicious because Gravensteins were never in the store.

I don’t have a tree or a friend with a tree...does anyone know of a Portland-area farmers’ market with Gravensteins?

Just the name of the apple brings back crisp memories. I can only imagine what the taste will bring back.

I’ve been using our homemade vanilla since December. I doubt I’ll buy it at the store ever again! We put 4 beans insde a 1.75 liter bottle of Crater Lake Vodka (pretty beach-glass like bottle) and now have dark brown vanilla.

I totally relate to this! I biked home with a backpack full of stuff last weekend. When I open the fridge door it’s like a jungle reaching out at me.

I didn’t know you could freeze bell peppers. Do they stay crispy when they thaw, or do they get mushy? Do you have to do anything but wash and chop them to freeze?

I love how genuine Molly always sounds--here in this interview, on her blog, and in her book. It’s nice that someone so accomplished is still so down-to-earth. This interview makes cooking and blogging feel accessible and fun, not so trendy and pressured.