Favas (without the 'nice Chianti'), head's up, etc

Y'all, fava beans are coming, and that makes me really happy. I like how schlumpy most of them look (some are diamonds in the rough, but they're rare) and how furry are their insides that snugly hold the actual beans. I love their hue which is the perfect blend of pea and mint greens. It's the green I'd have put alongside a perfect pale pink if I'd had a daughter and decorated her room. I love how their humble exteriors reveal a fairly high maintenance yet gloriously beany interior. If you'll peel, blanch and peel again, you will be rewarded with an even brighter pea-mint green treasure which you can then enjoy in many a way. Myself, I can't imagine a more delicious use than as a spread for crostini. Sure, sure, sure, as an element in most anything, favas are nice. But in crostini atop which they can star? C'est magnifique!

As I've opined before, 2Amy's, a Neapolitan joint in NW D.C., makes a preposterously wonderful Fava Bean Crostini appetizer. This gem shows itself on the menu entirely too infrequently, so naturally, I had to craft my own version. Mine is close but not the actual Cuban, if you get my drift. Olive oil, mint, pecorino, salt....toasted bread, more olive oil, probably more salt, some lemon. Beautiful. Alluring. So glad they're here.

Now, it's possible I was too relieved that Milo and Otis found each other again to have even thought to mention this yesterday, but I need to give you a head's up about this movie in case you plan to watch it with kids or recommend someone else do so. Both Joyce and Sondra (Milo's cat wife and Otis' pug wife, respectively; Joyce? Sondra?) deliver babies near the end of the film. Long story short, both my kids sat up straight and yelled, "Did THAT JUST COME OUT OF HER BUTT?" People, this is A) Life Cycle 101 and B) if you need it, an easy segue into the "how babies arrive" conversation. All day I've felt I really must mention this element of the movie. So, forewarned is forearmed. Cheers!

I'm getting pretty excited about heading to Richmond on Thursday afternoon. Tomorrow is going to be hella long, and I'm rather dreading it already. Let's hear it for adult activity, like going to a conference, or, better, symposium. Symposium sounds even more adult!