It has been a long time since I played in the garden. I have not been a good steward of my land and as we got busier and busier over the holiday season, I left my precious Oaxacan runner beans to fend for themselves. We experienced a very wet season, followed by several nights with freezing temperatures and the mornings have been foggy. You would have thought my forgotten bean crop would be a goner, but you'd be wrong. Mid-February and this is my harvest. I looked and I saw a few funky pods. When I opened them, the beans...

This is a fine recipe from Thomasina Meyers in The Guardian. I asked the staff if they would make it and it was as good as it sounds, although calling it a cassoulet seems like a push. Our Creative Director, Rachel Padilla, ended up being the chef. I love fennel but I tend to overcook it and caramalize it. Here, it's fully cooked and fresh-tasting with just the hint of anise. I would go easier on the breadcrumbs and keep the focus on the beans and the fennel. Rachel used our Alubia Blanca but Cassoulet, Royal Coronas, Ayocote Blanco, or...

I love salad but the act of making one on a busy night is often not a pleasure for me. This will sound insane but the lettuce bugs me the most. I refuse to buy it bagged and cleaning it isn't that hard but it's a step that can lead me to abandon the salad if the stars aren't aligned. I have several tricks up my sleeve and one is my box grater. I had a large jicama and after peeling it, I grated it and made a salad with orange pieces, red onion, our Oregano Indio, and cilantro. I...

Here in Napa the rains are late. We're nervous but we hear there's a big storm coming in. Typically, it's sunny and clear, and hard to imagine today. I took advantage of one last chance to social distance and break bread with my neighbor, Connie. The inspiration for this came from the book on Tuscan coastal cooking, Acquacotta, by Emiko Davies (Hardie Grant, 2017). The original recipe calls for clams and no fish, but I had fresh prawns and halibut on hand. I was also cooking beans and well, you know, beans. Any of our white beans will work, except...

I just received this press release from No More Deaths. We add a 5% "tariff" to all our imports from the Rancho Gordo-Xoxoc Project and then match this as a donation, and then some. I can not believe that humanitarian aid has turned into a political issue, but here we are and this is how the government chooses to spend our tax dollars. - Steve SandoFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Military Style Raid: Border Patrol detains 30+ people receiving care at humanitarian aid stationAgents descended upon the camp with an armored vehicle, ATVs, dozens of trucks, chasing and detaining people who had...

This will be too little, too late, but my inability to address this doesn't make it any less important. I've been working on this post in my mind for two years. I struggled with a justification for publishing a blog on racism. I am unqualified, but I do have to let the world know that I stand with those protesting the racism that led to the death of George Floyd. I have no confidence that his murderers will be held accountable in the same way he would be if the roles were reversed. I was one of those happy liberals...

I used to hate beets with a passion. I found them to be the most disgusting food I knew. Then I tried borscht, with loads of sour cream, and I started to change my mind. This was followed by roasted beets and a little light went off in my head. Beets are good. Really good! I am now a confirmed beet eater. I like them most roasted but I even like them boiled and for kicks, grated raw as in this salad. The salad consists of grated beets, pomegranate seeds, toasted black walnuts, drained cooked white beans, oil, lemon juice,...

Never do today what you can postpone until tomorrow. In my case, never do this year what you can put off until next year. That ends today! I am here to tell you about a great event we had last year in Santa Ana and share a terrific recipe that you'll want to make at home. Are they buying what I'm selling? I'm not so sure, but I love this gang. Gustavo Arellano (Los Angeles Times), Carlos Salgado (Taco Maria), yours truly, and Delilah Snell (Alta Baja) All Photos: Cynthia Rebolledo This was the press release for the event: On...

Like a lot of people, I have cauliflower fever. One of my favorite things to make these days is cauliflower rice. I've had people ask me to suggest a brand but I am very confused. It couldn't be easier to make. You just grate it and cook it in browned butter or olive oil for about 10 minutes. I've also heard it's a mess. Just grate it in a large bowl. It's that simple. And there's no packaging waste. And you can grate exactly the amount you want. I know a lot of people like to use their food processor...

I have to say that this was one of the best things I've made all year. I was browsing through a book by chef Aquiles Chavez on Mexican fish and seafood cooking. It's a nice book on things that have been covered elsewhere many times. Except for one dish: Calamares rellenos de chicharron prensado y salsa de chile de arbol. Chicharrones prensados can be made at home but maybe you're lucky like me and your Mexican butcher has them on hand. I took many shortcuts with this and the chicharon prensado was just the first. If the concept is too...

I've never seen this done in Mexico but I bet there's a village somewhere that steams fish in hoja santa/acuyo leaves. I've done something similar where I steamed fish in a corn tamal wrapper but I had a delicate sole on hand. I also wanted something quick-ish and easy. I marinated the fish in olive oil, garlic, a small splash of pineapple vinegar, salt, thinly-sliced zucchini, onions, and Oregano Indio. The fish was later wrapped into sloppy packets and tied with butcher twine and steamed for about 10 or 12 minutes. The zucchini really needs to be thin so I...

I'm going to take a guess and say that seeing other people's gardens is almost as interesting as cat photos, as in, not at all. But please indulge me. This is my first home garden in years and it was from a home garden and being a frustrated home cook that Rancho Gordo was born. We were lucky enough to find a spring on our property and were able to send the water, by gravity, down to these raised beds. We added a battery-powered timer and now without using any household electricity or water, we have vegetables. So far we've...