New Product: Pineapple Vinegar
In case you missed the news, we now have fermented pineapple vinegar. I've been making my own for years but it's a drag to run out and sometimes you just...
The Rancho Gordo Blog
In the kitchen
What to Do With a Pot of Beans No. 3: Bean Soup with Roasted Red Pepper and Kale
Yes, that's been the flu that has been knocking me down. But I get right back up! Thanks in part to some leftover beans! This was entitirely based on what...
What to Do With a Pot of Beans No. 2
I had a small about of cooked heirloom beans left. I had used most of them for a salad, so I had very few beans and lots of bean broth....
Make Mine Moka!
As a teenager, I never understood it's appeal. My father's dependence on it first thing in the morning seemed at odds with my flower child persona I was indulging at...
What to Do With a Pot of Beans No. 1
One pot of plain beans means dozens, or hundreds, of options. Cooked Sangre de Toro (Bull's Blood) beans. Add a spoonful of fresh ricotta cheese, a pinch of Mexican oregano,...
Ayocote Morados in a Pressure Cooker: One Hour from Whim to Wow!
I've been cooking in so much clay lately that I thought I'd give some love to my pressure cooker. This was a gift from the wonderful Lorna Sass but I've...
Gearing Up for the Superbowl: Beans and Chili
We've all heard it, particularly from our friends in Texas: There is no place for beans in chili. Chili con carne means chile with meat. I was living in Milano...
Goat Cheese and Beans
I'm a little late coming to goat cheese. It was everywhere at one point and I always liked it but didn't quite the fuss. Why should I be in love...
Slow Cooker Pollo Pulquero
I've kept Slow Cookers (Crock Pots) around for years, almost exclusively for beans. I have horrible memories of flabby roasts from the 1970s that just won't quit. But I've been...
Ouch. Our Insanely Hot DeArbol Chiles.
I didn't know I could hit such high notes! I wasn't singing. I was screaming. This year's crop of De Arbol chiles is insanely hot. The seeds come from Jalisco...
My Short Career Making Tortillas
In 2010, I had the notion to open a tortilla factory here in Napa using the heriloom corn we were importing from Mexico. A commercial tortilleria using heirloom corn was...
In Praise of the Tortilla
As a longtime fan of Mexican food, you can imagine it's a little funny and a little irritating watching the great chefs of the world discover Mexican food, and the...