For so many, a salad is mixed greens and boring raw vegetables. More and more, I love salads without any lettuce. I want crunch and texture—bean salads with celery, onions, radishes, or carrots are wonderful. There's the satisfying crunch of the vegetables and the indulgent-feeling creaminess of the beans. It's...

A customer sent in a recipe from the UK paper, The Guardian, by Spanish chef José Pizarro. It was for a traditional Basque stew using Toloso beans, which are famous and somewhat wonderful. A runner bean like Ayocote Negro would be close, but not quite. Oddly, our Whipple bean is...

  1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling1 garlic clove, minced1 large carrot, peeled and chopped1 small bunch Tuscan kale, leaves stripped from the stems and sliced into thin ribbons1½ cups cooked Rancho Gordo Yellow Eye beans in their broth1 sprig fresh rosemary4–6 cups vegetable brothGrated lemon zestRed pepper...

  We've been following Illyanna Maisonet for years. She's an excellent food writer with a natural curiosity. Her articles for the San Francisco Chronicle were legendary. She's an odd and appealing mix of honesty, integrity, vulnerability, and maybe a touch of confidence now and then. She knows her subject, but...

Melisa in our retail department made refried beans one day with our Santa Maria Pinquito beans. We had never tried refritos with the Pinquitos and it blew everyone away! Melisa offered to come up with a recipe featuring them. She couldn’t decide whether to do a green or a red salsa, so...

A big bowl of sauteed greens and heirloom beans always makes me happy. One lazy Sunday l used Italian green chard and King City Pinks, and something possessed me to add a handful of dust from the bottom of a bowl of mixed nuts. It was terrific. Who knew? —Steve 1 bunch chard ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil...

This is our go-to recipe for ribollita, shared with us by Peter Miller, author of Lunch at the Shop: The Art and Practice of the Midday Meal and How to Wash the Dishes. He also runs a famous bookstore in Seattle dedicated to architecture and design. Peter tells us, “Learn...

These open-faced sandwiches are a favorite Mexican comfort food. You can vary the type of bread, cheese, and toppings, but you'll want to use homemade refried beans if possible for this dish to really shine.    2 bolillo Mexican bread rolls (can substitute French bread or ciabatta) ½ to 1 cup refried...

Marcella Hazan’s Minestrone alla Romagnola is a classic. We streamlined it a little, and also tried it in a slow cooker with great results (see note, below). Your bag of Rancho Gordo Marcella cannellini beans will feel right at home among all the fresh vegetables. 1 tablespoon plus ¼ cup...

  I was gifted a box of dates over the holidays. I was appreciative, but I wasn't prepared to be overwhelmed with joy. These were the best dates I'd ever had! I quickly finished the generous box and went to the Rancho Meladuco website to order more. It turns out that...

After some noodling around in the kitchen, we came up with this dish featuring our fabulous Buckeye Beans (aka Yellow Indian Woman). Is it a stew? It's not a soup. It's just an incredible bowl of beans packed with flavor. The secret is to cook the beans simply and then top...

There is not one single method of cooking beans. At its most basic, you want to simmer the pot until the beans are soft. Soaking can speed up the process and vegetables or stock will make them more flavorful. It's really that simple. There's all kinds of fine tuning and...