The Weekly Newsletter of Chubeza Farm
THANK YOU!!
You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride
You have ravished my heart with one of your eyes,
How fair is your love, my sister, my bride,
And the scent of your balms as the fragrance of Levanon,
Come with me from Levanon, my bride,
Come from the lions’ dens, from the mountains of the leopards.
I command you, daughters of Jerusalem,
That you stir not nor awaken my love, till it please.
Yehudit Ravitz’s rendition of this love song with the extraordinary lyrics from the Song of Songs inspire me to connect the ravishing (“libavtini”) lubia, the third sister of the summer legumes, to Valentine’s Day, to last week’s romantic Tu B’Av fest, as well as to the bonds between the tribes of modern-day Israel. Connections which were in fact between those who were different from one another, not between those who were alike. Sort of like the connection we’ve made between the three summer legumes in Chubeza’s field. This trilogy began with the tall, elegant okra, a distinctive legume which is not technically a pulse. Then came the diminutive, hirsute soybean. This week, we greet and salute the loveable lubia (Fresh black eye peas).
If you’re wondering why the latest green beans in Chubeza’s boxes are so long, coarse, and a bit strange, it’s because they’re not green beans but rather… lubia. We “gift-wrap” them in your boxes in a crinkly bag. They really are very special present, albeit rather strange and unusual. But don’t expect them to be green beans – they are something else entirely: Meet Iubia. V. unguiculata ssp. Sesquipedalis, a relative of beans, chickpeas, soybeans, fava beans, peas and other members of the Faboideae legume family we so love to nibble.
Said Rabbi Yona: “Why is it called a bean? Because it delights the heart and stirs the intestines.” - Yerushalmi Talmud, Tractate 1:1 (In Hebrew, this is a play on words….)
The ancient bean that grew for Rabbi Yona in the Land of Israel is, in fact, the lubia. During the days of the Mishna, today’s common (fresh/dry) bean was still found mainly in South America and not yet known in our region, while the lubia, which probably originated in Africa, was the most prevalent here.
When Rabbi Yona comments that the bean (shu’it) is amusing (mesha’a’sha’at), he must mean “filling and satisfying.” The Aramaic verb sha’ah connotes plaster, meaning “filling and covering.” The continuation of Rabbi Yona’s words refers to a less amusing side of (dry) beans and the lubia: their tendency to “tickle,” i.e., produce gas…
Wordplay aside, the lubia was deemed by our sages to earn a blessing at the Rosh Hashana table “May it be Your will…to increase our merits and our hearts be filled.” For me, the delight and charm of beans and lubia are also tied to their beauty and abundance – these plants are strong and lovely, their delicate flowers resemble two butterflies fluttering between the leaves, and the green pods we harvest are tasty, satisfying and heartwarming.
Both green beans and lubia come in fresh green and dry varieties, in an impressive array of varieties. The green (or yellow, purple, etc.) variety is eaten fresh in soft, long pods. The dry varieties are consumed as seeds only (and also available in an impressive array of colors: red, white, speckled, brown, black, spotted…).
At Chubeza, we host the green bean and its yellow sister in springtime. As summer heats up, the lubia bean arrives, climbing upward and trellised on poles.
We’re growing three types of lubia beans this year:
- The long Thai lubia variety, known in English as “yard-long bean,” asparagus bean, snake bean, Chinese bean, etc. It originates in Southeast Asia and can boldly reach half a meter in length.
- The short Iraqi variety, likely the one Rabbi Yona referred to, originates in Africa and has been common in our region for centuries.
- A short red variety we’re trying out this year. We’re unsure of its given name, as we received the (nameless) seeds from a friend and decided to try it. We’d love your feedback!
To grow, lubia requires a great deal of heat and thrives throughout the sweltering months of summer (unlike green and yellow beans who faint under the scorching sun). It is sown in late spring and trellised on high poles, connected by a net spread which the young plants adeptly climb. We trellis the lubia on either side of the pepper plants so as to share the shade nets.
Within three months the flowering begins. On each pole, a pair of beautiful butterfly-like flowers, from which a pair of beans ripens, are attached at the ends like twin green worms.
Unlike green beans, the lubia grows slowly and yields pods only after more than three months (compared to two or less for green beans). But this offers an advantage – we can continue harvesting lubia for a good while, until temperatures drop in wintertime.
Harvest the pods gently—don’t yank them, as the flower stalk continues to produce flowers along its length throughout the season.
Lubia can be harvested, like at Chubeza, at a young stage when it’s 30 cm long and 1 cm thick, and used in the same way as one would prepare fresh lubia or green beans. You can also leave the pods to fully mature on the plant and use the black, red or white seeds (depending on the specific variety) as you would use dry lubia pods or any dry bean.
At Chubeza, we grow the green variety which bears black seeds, but throughout Asia there’s a dazzling array of colorful, rich lubia types. Pods come in green and reddish-purple hues, with seeds in black, white, brown or red.
Lubia can be used in recipes calling for green beans or fresh lubia, including soups, casseroles and fresh salads. In China, it is lightly stir-fried in a wok, the original green bean of many stir-fry dishes. It tastes divine with fish and even pickled. Lubia is rich in Vitamin A as well as Vitamin C, iron, folic acid and dietary fiber.
Lubia can be cooked, steamed, grilled, pickled, added to pasta, rice, salad and any vegetable dish. It cheerfully adds flavor, color and a festive flair to any meal. The lubia recipes featured on Chubeza’s website range from easy to more complex dishes - all delicious, of course. But if you don’t feel like firing up a cooking flame in the scorching heat, just help yourself to a long snake lubia bean and nibble away…
May this week bring real freedom to all: the end of war and the safe return of all hostages to their homes!
Alon, Bat-Ami, Dror, Einat and the entire Chubeza team
