Delilah Snell, the genius behind Alta Baja Market, had the idea to celebrate our heirloom beans and throw a real party. Years earlier, we had a nice dinner but this time we wanted to make some noise. COVID is still with us but it's arguably under better control and it's just been too long for some of us. Well, me, in particular. I wanted to have a party!  Delilah had thought of everything so early October, I flew in, checked in and then was whisked off to Carlos Salgado's Taco Maria in Costa Mesa. I've known Carlos casually since the last...

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...