[Sca-cooks] Bohemian Baba

[Suey]

Terry Decker wrote:
> White peas are Lathyrus sativus AKA white vetch, Indian pea, Indian vetch, almorte (Sp.), alverjon (Sp.)...
The Spanish is almorta and there is and accent over the "o" in alverjon.
> Modernly, they are still used in Italy and a few of the Mediterranean countries,... 

They are produced in Spain, principally in Leon and Ciudad Real where it 
is used like chickpeas and fava beans.
You might be interested in the following:
It is difficult to digest but harmless unless one has a steady diet of 
it, I was surprised to learn, that it causes an illness called 
"lathyrism." Basically this is a Vitamin A deficiency causing pain 
radiating to the legs, spasmodic contractions, muscular weakness and 
paraplegia. This has a tendency of becoming chronic. As a result of the 
famine after the Spanish Civil War in the 20^th C., Spaniards contracted 
this disease. Still today, many recall that life for suffers was worse 
than death.
Suey