ISO: FAVA BEANS...DRIED AND FRESH

hello, i have never posted in the kitchen link before
so here goes.

we love lots of beans and all sorts of legumes.
to try something different, we bought a large bag of
dried FAVA BEANS. now, what do we do with them?
they are very large, like large limas and i think they
will take along time to to soak. but that is fine, just
how long? we love crock pot meals, so something
along that line would be terrific too. it is almost
springtime in california and we are starting to see
fresh fava beans in the markets. we would love to
try them too. could some of your experienced
readers help with this question? we would really
appreciate it. thank you in advance.
happy cooking. angels be with you!