The decline of the broad bean

[Spearmint Rhino]

What's happened to broad beans? When I was a kid, the broad bean was second only to the baked bean, and roughly equal with the pea, as the 'vegetable' part of the average meal.

Nowadays, Tesco don't even sell them (at least, the massive Tesco in Hove didn't have any on our last two visits), and the local convenience shop doesn't either, although it has plenty of strange things called 'flageolets', or even stranger things with Turkish names with two dots over some of the letters, ending with a 'u'.

Bring back the broad bean! Delicious with parsley sauce and boiled baby potatoes. Mmmm.

[Gangster Octopus]

The decline of the broad bean

A whole hobbesian world of wrongness...

[Disco Child Ballads]

The decline of the broad bean

It's terrible isn't it? It's the season for broad beans and yet I'm struggling to find places that sell them.

[Spearmint Rhino]

The decline of the broad bean

Gangster Octopus wrote:

A whole hobbesian world of wrongness...

Well, nobody's forcing you to eat them. It would be nice to have the choice, that's all.

[Bill Poster]

The decline of the broad bean

This thread should have been called "Bean and Gone".

[Gangster Octopus]

The decline of the broad bean

Spearmint Rhino wrote:

Gangster Octopus wrote:

A whole hobbesian world of wrongness...

Well, nobody's forcing you to eat them.

Ha, you obviously didn't eat at our family table...

[Spearmint Rhino]

The decline of the broad bean

By the way, I only found out just now, when Googling 'broad beans', that they are the same as the exotic-sounding 'fava beans' which I've only ever heard of in Silence Of The Lambs. So, it turns out Hannibal Lecter was eating someone's liver with a tin of broad beans. Which is kind of sweet, bless.

[Disco Child Ballads]

The decline of the broad bean

I think it's GO who's in the hobbesian world of wrongness. You strange man.

[Mumpo]

The decline of the broad bean

Broad beans? Second to baked beans and equivalent to peas? Not when I was a kid. Sure you're not thinking of runner beans? We ate plenty of them.

[Bored Of Education]

The decline of the broad bean

Sainsbury's used to do frozen broad beans (organic as well) but I am not sure they do any more. I will check in a minute when I go down there.

Not brilliant but certainly make up for the disappointment of getting six broad beans out of a pound of them in their shells.

As with all traditional veg, I only get them delivered in their veg box bur I haven't had any yet.

I have had a beetroot, though, which I must boil.

Baked ham, boiled potatoes, broad beans and parsley sauce. The perfect Christmas eve dinner and the only reason for parsley sauce

[Banana Banana]

The decline of the broad bean

You'll almost certainly find them in the frozen food section in any reasonably sized supermarket.

I guess no one can be bothered to peel them.

However a quick microwave, a squeeze of lemon juice and you're all set.

[hobbes]

The decline of the broad bean

A whole hobbesian world of wrongness...

Oi!

[E10 Rifle]

The decline of the broad bean

Yeah broad beans rule. You freak, GO.

[Spearmint Rhino]

The decline of the broad bean

King Mob wrote:

Broad beans? Second to baked beans and equivalent to peas? Not when I was a kid. Sure you're not thinking of runner beans? We ate plenty of them.

No, runner beans were for Sunday only, and they mang.

[Spearmint Rhino]

The decline of the broad bean

Frozen ones aren't a lot of use to us, unfortunately. We don't have a freezer, and we can't really spare the room in the tiny freezer box in our fridge.

[EIM]

The decline of the broad bean

Mang? Hahahaha. That's fucking brilliant.

[Alderman Barnes]

The decline of the broad bean

No, runner beans were for Sunday only, and they mang.

That, sir, is hobbesian wrongness. I grow runner beans in my garden and they're lovely.

I can't really remember having eaten broad beans, although I must have done, but then only in a school dinner situation, so I'm prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Butter beans, though. Now they were disgusting, horribly, pasty things.

[Jon]

The decline of the broad bean

Yeah, I bought some frozen ones from Sainsbury's over the weekend, they went into an ace risotto (recipe in tne new Sainsbury's magazine if anyone's interested).

I did go over to the fresh veg section but couldn't find any. Whether they ever do have them in fresh I wouldn't know but they was certainly no sign of them when I went.

I'm also trying my hand at growing some this year. Along with some potatoes. It's the first bit of gardening I've ever done, bar mowing the lawn a few times.

[nefertiti]

The decline of the broad bean

Fresh available at Waitrose, of course.

I blame Pythagoras, however, for their absence from Tesco.

Pythagoras forbade the eating of Broad beans to his followers because they contained the souls of the dead.

My guess is that 2500 years later Pythagoreans have seized the Hove Tesco and possible other branches throughout the South east.

[hobbes]

The decline of the broad bean

Stop taking my name in vain you bunch of wank-hammers.

[Duncan Gardner]

The decline of the broad bean

Broad/ fava can be hard to find fresh or dried (as opposed to butter/ lima).

What's a wank-hammer? Is he related to that guy in the Pentagon?

[Felicity, I guess so]

The decline of the broad bean

Fresh available from our allotment. If the current drought doesn't kill them off.

One of my fave recipes (from a mediterranean book, Catalan dish I think) features broad beans (and their pods if young and fresh), onions, garlic, white wine, decent pork susages and mint.

And nice crusty bread to mop it all up with.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

The decline of the broad bean

my dad grew them when we had the bizarrest garden ever. I wasn't a big fan of them when I was a kid, but cats go fucking apeshit for them. like drunkards and kebabs.

We also grew scorzonera (no Idea how it is spelt) kohlrabbi, Salsify, parsnips, turnips, white turnips, swedes, broad and runner beans, peas, occasionally carrots (but they're very hard to grow) brocolli, cauliflower, cabbage, potatoes Strings of onions hanging from the garage rafters, aubergines, cucumbers, tomatoes, apples, pears, blackcurrants, gooseberrys at least 6 different kinds of herbs and a whole load of other shit I can't even remember.

When I think of my diet now. Jesus Christ.

[Gangster Octopus]

The decline of the broad bean

Is it really him or just a representation of him?

[hobbes]

The decline of the broad bean

Fair play, I'll bet you were regular.