Red Appaloosa, Mayacoba and Yellow Eyed; I bet you wouldn’t have ever guessed these are names of beans. Pinto, Navy, Kidney sound a lot more familiar, right? That is because over the years we have narrowed down our selections to what I call a “not so exciting” group of legumes. If you are ready to change the way you think about beans, you need to introduce yourself to Rancho Gordo. Founded by Steve Sando, this food saint and visionary is bringing back to life some interesting types of Heirlooms Beans. Most of which are grown right here in Northern California. In addition to the beans he is selling rice, herbs, corn products and more.
We were introduced to Steve years ago while working at Copia. In that short time period his company has gained mucho respect and admiration from the food world. He is a hero for keeping the varieties alive but also educating the public about the importance of these beans in our life and history. We are big fans!

I understand it is common practice for people to send Steve beans from their travels around the globe. He, himself, spends a lot of time below the border hunting down these indigenous nuggets. But when he is home, you can find him at the San Francisco Farmers Market on most Saturdays. Be sure and ask for the special stash of large Lima’s and save some for me! I love them and have a city friend check for me often.

The great thing about this time of year is that we all want warm and cozy foods. I can’t think of a better meal than a bowl of beans. I grew up on red beans (I found out later they were actually pintos) and cornbread. This was a meal Dixie made often in the winter. We didn’t stray much from the red bean, but occasionally got the navy bean in a stew and kidney beans in taco salad. When my winter craving kicked in this year I went straight to Rancho Gordo. I purchased the Desert Island Sampler with 5 different varieties. It only took one day to arrive, but I live very close to Napa. The day they arrived I had the Yellow-Eyed beans in water within 5 minutes. I soaked them overnight and cooked them the next day. Lucky for me I was given some Cajun bacon for the holidays. How perfect to add diced bacon? It is actually hard for me to not throw in some salty pork product even though the beans don’t need the additional flavor. They are fine on their own, but bacon is so good! With a little bacon, onion and spices, it didn’t take more than 1.5 hours for the beans to be ready. We were able to get several meals out of that 1# bag. The great thing about beans is that they can be the main meal or the side dish. My favorite meal with the beans was when I cracked an egg on top and put it under the broiler for my lunch! It was over the top delicious and my co-workers had to drool. Oh, and don’t forget the splash of Tabasco!

 

We encourage you to try Rancho Gordo’s beans and kick those potatoes to the curb or at least share the love. And if you are looking for some Cajun bacon check out: http://www.royalbaconsociety.com/store/viewProduct.php?ProductID=33