Three more books for the ages, according to me. The Essential Cuisines of Mexico by Diana Kennedy I was very excited when this came out. It was supposed to replace The Cuisines of Mexico, Mexican Regional Cooking, and The Tortilla Book, all out of print at the time but it's really a "best of" with some new recipes but many favorites cut. I use it a lot but the original three. Some of the recipes simpler and clearer than the originals but the reality is you need it all. This is a good place to start, though. As of this...

The last of my conversation with Taylor Boetticher (The Fatted Calf) on chili con carne. We both are smitten with our mutual friend, Georgeanne Brennan and we discuss her influence and the general need for good ingredients and simple cooking.

I wish people would calm down about Cinco de Mayo. So many of my friends are up in arms over the gringo celebrations. They can't wait to correct those that are celebrating. Some are well-intentioned and but some seem determined to rain on the parade at any cost. No, it's not Mexican independence day. No, it's not a national holiday in Mexico. Or France. But I have been in celebrations outside of Puebla for it. In fact, the neighborhood right outside of the airport in DF celebrates and holds up traffic on the 5th. I know this to be true...

A few years ago I did one of those farm to table dinners and it featured our beans. I loved sitting at the end of a long white table with fellow producers and eager diners. But then I sampled what a seemingly knowledgeable chef had done with our beans. I wanted to run in shame! They were about 40 minutes short of being fully cooked. In his head, al dente meant good. It may be good for pasta or snap peas but beans need to be fully cooked, for texture, flavor and digestibility. The March 2016 Vegetarian Times has an...

I've been on pins and needles as we make our way through the holiday season. I've been telling everyone not to freak out, feel too much pressure and just get through all of this. At the same time, I was freaking out, feeling far too much pressure and unsure of how I'd get through all of this. The last thing on my mind was a holiday party but the time was coming and we had to do it. My inner Scrooge was released and as usual, it was something to get through rather than enjoy. We were in the weeds...

I spend the good part of Friday afternoon, Friday night and then, even Saturday morning, crying. This is not something I normally do. I don't want to bring you down but the massacre in Roseburg, Oregon, has left me devastated. I have a 17 year old who is going to college and seeing the photos of the young people on the verge of fulfilling their dreams, that were murdered, has made me lose it. I've gone from hysterics to anger and now, action. We can't let this kind of insanity continue. I'm not going to tell you how to fix...

I think it's clear how much fun I've been having cooking pasta and beans this month. Along with the terrific dishes, which are all very easy to do once you understand the rhythm, I've been flooded with memories of Italy. The power of being a young person, coming into his own, in Europe, is a not to be dismissed lightly. Or forgotten easily! In my early 20s, I would work very hard, save up my money and then go for a good fling in Italy. I did this many times. Most of my friends were well-traveled and Europe wasn't a...

My youngest was very nervous about what to do on Father's Day. I gave him hell for not giving presents to his grandmother this last Christmas. He was of the mind that drawing a picture was too juvenile and he wanted to buy her something nice. This is a lovely thought, only he didn't do it. And he didn't make a drawing or pick wildflowers or make her breakfast or give her a gift certificate for a hug-- nothing! I hit the roof and I think we all now understand that giving is just as important as getting. He hesitatingly...

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 the time. I learned to like coffee on my first trip to Amsterdam. I reinvented myself as a sophisticated European mistakenly born in California and good coffee with a cheese toast in cafes over the canals affected me deeply. Then I went to Italy and my indulgence became a happy habit. For me, coffee means Italy. Obviously a good barista in a bar is what it's all about but at...

We've been getting slammed with orders at Rancho Gordo so the blog has taken a back seat to fulfillment issues. Today is our last day for ground shipping and you can just hear the air being let out of the tire, so to speak. Relax.....just a bit. I had a great year and hope you did, as well. Photos help knock the memory around and these are some of the highlights of our professional (and my personal) year here at Rancho Gordo. After a brief lapse, thanks to some nasty raccoons, I have chickens and eggs again. I've gone from...

Unfortunately I came to gardening and growing late in life. I grew up a pretty typical child of the 1960s in California. The good parts were my parents' love of Modern Jazz and the West Coast Sound. My memories of suburban life were of Dad diving for abalone and coming home to a big backyard barbecue. He'd grill the abalone along with thick, juicy steaks, which were served with a Caesar salad and ice cold gin martinis (in those days there was no other kind.) I remember all of our ashtrays were really spent abalone shells and I can still...