23rd November 2024

To start with Beans (Vicia Faba - broad bean) - field beans to be precise.  The other day I was scanning the shelve for a tin of beans to go into a bean stew.  Red kidney, cannelloni and black beans but no butter beans, a favourite.  All similar in taste and then my mind went to Medieval times when people lived off field beans.

Field beans have a history of course, probably used from Neolithic times, 5000 years ago, they were an important part of the diet.  Also energy giving, the saying 'full of beans' stems from this old fashioned bean, sown mainly as a green manure crop now. 

It is a slightly different version of our broad bean, less beans in the pod though but more pods to the plant.  According to this article on the Martock bean from Somerset, the Martock bean is a traditional landrace vegetable having been discovered in the Bath and Wells Bishop's garden.

Podding peas and beans was a job for children when we were young, before the time of frozen peas and a job loved by children as we nibbled the sweet inner skin of the pea pods.  Europe was late to potatoes, making an appearance in the 17th century, so the field bean was a good stand in, it had plenty of carbohydrate to fuel the farm workers. 

We care little for where most of our food comes from, there have been battles over heritage seeds as firms have called for banishment of such seeds, reducing the most precious varieties to safekeeping in storage.  Others have called for all seeds to be kept and protected just in case our modern day wheat seed suddenly falls into  disease.

But to return to that recipe, it was delicious, though that could be put down to the red wine I generously slurped into it.

I miss growing things picking the berries or beans, I haven't had a decent runner bean since I stopped growing them, there is no room here.  

Edit: And if you haven't found that short blog on beans life enhancing!

Try watching two good murder dramas on BBCI player, 'Magpie Murders' and 'Moonflower Murders' The blurb says a story within a story, in actual fact two lines worked together, a past and present storytelling.  Not sure I like the format, it creates some confusion when you read the plots in a book but less so on the screen.  Written by Anthony Horowitz, good traditional murder stories, very BBCish.