Y'know, Phlip, those sound from your description like lupines. Not that I've 
ever eaten them, but I've seen them in jars in Italian groceries....  Very old 
vegetable, that - the Greeks & Romans ate them, although I think the Greeks 
regarded them as peasant food.
     Devra
Devra Langsam
www.poisonpenpress.com
devra at aol.com