Khrystos Razdayetsia! For those of you who celebrate Ukrainian Christmas, this is a special time of prayer, family gathering, and of course, delicious food!
One of the twelve dishes of the traditional Christmas Eve meal is “Kolsasheny Fasoli”, or mashed beans or broad beans. I always think of a dear friend of ours, sadly long gone now, who used to absolutely love this simple dish. In the fall, he would drive miles to fall suppers that had this specific dish. When I made the dish for our Christmas Eve supper, I thought of him and his joyful enthusiasm with a smile!
White beans or broad beans are used to make this recipe. I remember how Mom used to grow broad beans in her beautiful garden; they did not seem to be a difficult or fussy plant, so as I was thinking about them, I thought I would do a little homework and maybe you and I can plant some in our gardens this spring.
First of all, some interesting factoids about broad beans. Did you know that Canada is the largest producer of fava beans because the beans enjoy our cooler temperatures to germinate? Broad beans are a staples food in many countries, because like all legumes, they are very healthy for us, packed with protein, fiber, and vitamins. Broad beans are also known as fava beans, Windsor beans, and horse beans.
We can plant them as soon as the soil warms up. (If we wanted to, we could start them in peat pots about a month or so before projected planting time!) They should be planted six to eight inches apart and about two inches deep in a sunny location. It is also a good idea to use an inoculant on the seeds when planting. The pods of the plants are not only good for us, but good for the soil because they add nitrogen, and the roots are also useful for breaking up dense or compacted soil. They don’t mind being planted when the soil is cool, but they don’t like to be in a location where their feet will stay wet. Look for good drainage.
Once the bean pods start to form on the plant, we can pinch off the top to about the second leaf from the top: this will help promote branching out and hopefully we’ll get more beans!
I learned that broad beans do sometimes attract aphids; if that happens, you and I can just break off the infected top part of the plant. We also should make sure to allow lots of room between our plants so that there is good air circulation and so the sunshine can get in: this will help prevent any fungus problems.
Broad beans grow from two to almost five feet tall, depending on the variety. The plants will produce thick, shiny, waxy-looking pods that we can pick and shell when the pods feel full. However, I also read that if we wanted to pick the pods when they are still very slender (thinner than a finger) we can cook and eat them pod and all!
I checked out the T & T catalogue, and the “bean” page has about fifteen different kinds of beans, broad beans among them. The variety they carry is called “Broad Windsor” and says it will mature in 65 days. It also says they are “delicious with butter and fresh ground pepper”. I remember how Mom served them, gently steamed and with butter and salt, and my goodness, they were delicious!
So there we go: a plant to add to our “to plant” list for 2016! It’s so exciting to think ahead to our next gardening projects! Get a gardening book from the library, let the beautiful photos rejuvenate your soul, and have a great week!
