At one point, I looked out on to the crowd, smiling, thinking, "Beans. Beans did this." How did I go from being the loneliest fellow at the farmer's markets to calling for a party and having it be packed with a steady stream of Rancho Gordo enthusiasts for two hours? How did we pull off making our own dried nixtamal? How did we pull off publishing our own books when we were feeling burned by the traditional publishing houses? How did this happen? The Rancho Gordo Pozole Book by Steve Sando was officially released on November 8, 2019 I'm also...

Sometimes you don't need a lot of words. That's how it is with me and Lila.

Earlier this Spring I was asked to do an email interview about our products and company for an ecommerce site. I think I did rather well but I was later told there was a word count limitation and cuts would need to be made but it would go up soon. I still haven’t seen anything and I did put some effort into it (noting that I will never do this again without knowing exactly what the interviewer wants.) My clever solution is to post it here. Talk to us a little about how it all began...how you got the idea,...

We had a great little party here at the Rancho Gordo store in celebration of the new book by Georgeanne Brennan and Ann M Evans, The Davis Farmers Market Cookbook. The women made fritters from fresh corn and it was only moments before they were devoured. Along with Georgeanne and Ann, we had tastes from St Supery winery. Their 2011 Estate Savignon Blanc seemed made to be served with the fritters. They also sampled their Estate Cabernet Sauvignon which I seemed to enjoy just a little too much, if you know what I mean. Here's the recipe for the fritters,...

Did you watch the Oscar telecast this year? You may have noticed a very tasteful and beautiful commercial for American Express featuring Thomas Keller and his French Laundry restaurant. Being a really nice guy, he asked that some of his vendors be in the shot as well. Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up now! Thomas also had Connie Green of Wine Forest and we all had a swell time on the "set". Every cliche you hear about this kind of work is true. There are lots of people and the whole thing moves very slowly. But it was fun...

Friends invited me over to a party to celebrate their new Caja China and the roasting of a whole pig. Rich did all kinds of research and dutifully prepared the pig according to the instructions and other comments on the internet. I decided the party deserved beans so I cooked them in a huge clay pot. I started 8 pounds at home and cooked them on the stovetop with onions, garlic, olive oil and salt. When they were just shy of being perfect, I shut off the gas and went to the party. The beanpot on fire performed beautifully and...

The American Harvest Workshop has been an integral part of the Napa Valley and blink, it's been 25 years since those first chefs came to Cakebread to work with local ingredients and some excellent wine. When Rancho Gordo was very young, chef Brian Streeter and hostess Karen Cakebread, met with me at the local farmers market and asked if I'd participate. It was an incredible time and one of the first times I felt like the beans were taken seriously. It was a great moment for me and the beans! Most years, the Cakebread family invite 4 or 5 chefs...

Lucky us! We made it into the newly revamped Bon Appetit magazine! I love standing in the grocery store check out line with one of my sons and casually leafing through the magazine, pointing to one of the other items and making them discover the Rancho Gordo reference. "Papa, look!" The article says our Runner Cannellini beans are "a must for authentic minestrone". We won't argue!

The Washington Post food section recently published a weird, bitchy profile of Diana Kennedy. I'm a little torn as I think in general, their food section is one of the highlights of the paper and I think the world of Diana Kennedy.The article is here. Naturally, she's not happy with the writer. I could go on about the problems but instead, I think I'll post Diana Kennedy's response to the author: Letter to: William Booth, Washington Post – Fiery Chronicler –11th January, 2011 After three arduous trips in the US to promote my book, Oaxaca al Gusto, I was persuaded...

We were lucky enough to be filmed for a new show called FoodCrafters with host Aida Mollenkamp on the new Cooking Channel. The people who Food TV, who have seemed more interested in competitive cooking than food these last years, have wisely retooled their boring Fine Living channel and it's now Cooking Channel. I saw a little of it this morning and it's like the old Food TV. You can just watch and very soon something interesting will be on. Some of it is actually great. I think they did something very smart. And of course featuring heirloom beans on...

A few nice things I may have forgotten to tell you about. Our paper here in Napa had a very nice profile although the photograph would have sent me into a a deep dark depression if I were more vein. The article gets most everything right but we don't buy beans from 20 different farms. I think she was confused by 20 varieties. Napa Valley Register. The LA Weekly declares "The beans, stewed Rancho Gordo limas with toasted bread crumbs and garlic, were among the best I've ever tasted" about our new restaurant account, Forage, in LA. LA Weekly. We're...

Boy, did I need to get out of town. I flew into Mexico last week for a quick hello to some old pals and to reacquaint myself with the beautiful state of Michoacan and the town of Morelia in particular. I've been able to see some great pottery and eat some very good food. There are many great dishes from this area and I never understand why they never seem to get exported to the US. Cristina Potters was kind enough to introduce me the lovely chef Lucero who runs her Lu restaurant right in the center of town. She's...