I've loved my old cast iron skillets but they are a little clumsy to use. They're heavy and they take a good long time to heat up. I'm not throwing them away, but I have been straying. A few years ago I started buying pieces from Blu Skillet Ironware and I've loved the pans. The problem is the company has become too successful and good for them, but to get a pan, you have to enter a lottery. I'm too old. The handle stays cool to the touch when you cook stovetop. A friend told me about Santa Barbara Forge...

A few years ago, a friend's teacher daughter described a situation where her students were intensely debating whether they could call people Mexicans. "You can't call them that!" The teacher was confused, as she should have been. But really, Mexican for some of them was a dirty word. The probably heard the phrase, "those damned Mexicans!" and in case there's any doubt, that's not good. Fox News recently had a graphic declaring that Trump had cut aid to "3 Mexican countries." For the record, Mexico has a group of states within its borders, not countries. I think the subtext of...

This was in our newsletter a couple of weeks ago and it clearly had an impact on some of our bean buddies. I thought I'd reprint it here. Maybe you recognize yourself. - Steve It’s easy to like our customers. People who cook and appreciate heirloom beans tend to be more interesting, nicer, and enjoy a better quality of life. I live in a bubble of delicious food and like-minded people so I sometimes lose track of life in the “real world.” I prefer hanging out with my fellow bean freaks. You may not realize it but as time marches...

The two Meyer lemon trees in our backyard went crazy this winter. My family has been enjoying the harvest in every way that we can, and handing them out to friends by the bushel. (Okay, I don't actually know what a bushel is, but thought it sounded cool and homestead-y.) When we are rich in Meyer lemons, I usually make a batch of preserved lemons using a method that a friend shared with me, which came from her Persian family recipe vault. They are super secretive about the recipe—she's one of my best friends and I had to pry it...

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...

There was about a cup of garbanzos and a cup of their broth sitting in the refrigerator. I was starving. Well, quite hungry. I added some frozen spinach, olive oil and a teaspoon of our new Smoked Spanish Pimenton Paprika. Once heated through, a drizzle of my best olive oil and a scant squeeze of lemon. Holy cow. There was a moment when I thought to add some rendered pancetta for body and substance but I didn't feel like dirtying another pan. Hush! I'm confessing. I will say there was no need to worry. The pimenton adds a little smokiness...

I had some major doubts about Mark Bittman's "Chorizo" tacos, as they are made of tofu. I like Bittman a lot and I like tofu but I really love Mexican food, so this was a bit hard for me to embrace. I do try and keep an open mind and this was my attempt at his "Chorizo" tacos. I'm not going to repeat the recipe as it's here on Bittman's very good site. You basically fry the tofu until it's almost dry. I opte out of the optional red bell peppers as they seemed wrong for such a traditional Mexican...

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

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 don't know if this is a tradition anywhere in Mexico, but this strikes me as a generous, somewhat easy to execute Christmas dish. I've been making trial runs, and my family has loved it. I guessed that this recipe would serve 4-6 people, but this made my mother laugh. I reminded her that not everyone would be having seconds and thirds like she was. I think it would feed 6 normal people just fine. It's handy to keep a box of salt cod in your fridge. It needs to soak and be de-salted before you cook but this is...

I am very fond of roasted red peppers and I've been enjoying the red ones from a jar but Irecently spotted sugar as an ingredient on my favorite Trader Joe's brand. Why? The mixed pepper version has no sugar but the best solution is buying fresh, organic peppers and roasting them yourself. The skin on bell peppers after roasting and steaming comes off even easier than poblano peppers. Roasting peppers is easy and I've written about it before. Now I tend to only use the burners on my gas stove and I put the peppers in a large mixing bowl...

As you may remember, we dropped FedEx over their insistence on partnering with the NRA. They've been stubborn and even now, they're insisting they've dropped the NRA because of financial targets not being met but I suspect otherwise. Whatever the reason, the promotion and partnership are done. I'm happy to report that we've switched back to FedEx as UPS as our primary logistics partner was not a good fit. We still have our account open and we use the US Postal Service, as well, but FedEx is back.