Cactus Juice

As the rain and cold take charge here in Napa, I’m daydreaming back to Mexico.  One of the highlights of my last trip was discovering this juice, which is half green cactus paddles and half pineapple juice. It was delicious by any standard and I’m only sorry I didn’t ask for the technique. I assume it’s just blended in a blender with maybe some ice. I can’t believe they would have a juicer but maybe I’m wrong.

I’m sure this is healthy, but as usual, I don’t care so much. My big issues are flavor, sustainability and maybe culture. Food tends to be healthier anyway when you think consider these things.

N.B. I’m off to Baja this week. It won’t all be sun and sand as I hope to hunt down some wild beans of Baja that I’ve heard of.  If you’re a farmers market customers, Joan will be filling in for me for the next two Saturdays so your bean needs should be met. She already does the mail orders so there’s no change there.

Menu For Hope Update

Just a reminder that bidding ends tomorrow. The Rancho Gordo prize is loaded with six pounds of beans (your choice), a bottle of our reknowned Very Hot Sauce, a pound each of quinoa and amaranth and perhaps best of all, a Rancho Gordo wall calendar for 2007. Visit Pecks and Posh to bid. It’s a really great event and everyone wins.

Runner Beans and Clams

Who knew? One of the best dishes I made this year was a simple pot of white Cellini runner beans and clams. You could use any white runner like Runner Cannellini or even Emergo. Cook them in a simple mirepoix and once cooked, add some chopped tomatoes, a little chorizo, and some parsley. After the flavors are happy and carefree, add fresh clams. Cook until they open. Of course throw out any bad ones that stay closed and refuse  to indulge in this glorious mess of a dish.

I think this would be a great meal for Christmas Eve. You could also improvise and add some chiles for a kick.

Florida Butter Bean

I grew up hating Lima beans. The fact is that they are starchy and have thick skins and I believe my mother overcooked them to make them seem more appealing. It didn’t work! Rediscovering Limas has been a real treat. They’re actually good and it’s not hard to make them great.

Pictured here are Florida Butter Beans, also known as Calico Pole Beans. A butter bean isn’t buttery but a Lima bean that is to be buttered.  I’ve seen some runner beans labeled as "Italian Butter Beans" but this is erroneous. Pure and simple, Butter Beans are Lima’s. And Limas are from Peru, originally. As are Peruano beans, which are not related to Limas. It’s fun, isn’t it?

Cook them simply, with onions and garlic and make sure the lid is slightly ajar. When they’re ready to serve, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle on some parsley. The pot liquor is rich and dense and the beans themselves are deep and rewarding.

Florida Butter Bean

I grew up hating Lima beans. The fact is that they are starchy and have thick skins and I believe my mother overcooked them to make them seem more appealing. It didn’t work! Rediscovering Limas has been a real treat. They’re actually good and it’s not hard to make them great.

Pictured here are Florida Butter Beans, also known as Calico Pole Beans. A butter bean isn’t buttery but a Lima bean that is to be buttered.  I’ve seen some runner beans labeled as "Italian Butter Beans" but this is erroneous. Pure and simple, Butter Beans are Lima’s. And Limas are from Peru, originally. As are Peruano beans, which are not related to Limas. It’s fun, isn’t it?

Cook them simply, with onions and garlic and make sure the lid is slightly ajar. When they’re ready to serve, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle on some parsley. The pot liquor is rich and dense and the beans themselves are deep and rewarding.

A Gift From the Tarahumara Bean Bag

I met my pal Christopher Ann on one of the online food forums and we’ve been buddies ever since, even taking two trips to Mexico together. In fact, I wouldn’t consider going without running my itinerary by her in case there was a chance she was free.

She often haunts the border towns between Mexico and Texas and if she’s driving, she is always kind enough to do some obscene shopping for me (see the entry Cooking With Clay). This last trip she toured the famous Copper Canyon and while scouring the markets of the Tarahumara Indians, she came across these legumes that look eerily like rattlesnakes. I about fell over when I saw them. They seem to be some kind of runner bean (as opposed to a bush or pole) and I really will have some trouble waiting for Spring to plant them. If you know the name, I’d love to know.

To Soak or Not to Soak?

That is the question. Or at least the most popular question. In Mexico, most cooks don’t soak. In Italy, the soak and change the water. What do you do? Does it work? Then I’d say keep on doing it, up to a degree.

I recently received this email from a cooking school instructor:

I am an instructor at [a college] where we have a Natural
Chef program and we have had two bad experiences with your beans.  We are so
excited about them since they fit our style perferctly so I wanted to follow up
on our disappointments.

 

The problem:  On two different occasions with two different beans (sorry
don’t remember the types) with two different cooks we did this…

 

Soaked the beans 28-24 hours.

Cooked the beans in filtered water with a little oil added.

Cooked and cooked and cooked for up to 4 hours.

 

The beans never softened to a point where they were edible.

 

Note:  we have successfully cooked 3-4 types with no problems and enjoyed
them immensely!

 

So – being a cooking school we need to know.  What is happening?  People
just assume the beans are old but I’m not going for that.

Can you spot the clue? The only time I have ever heard of a problem with the beans taking so long to cook is when someone has given them a 24 hour soak. I’m not sure why but I’ve had two or three people say the beans took forever and just a little digging will reveal they were oversoaked.

You can cook fresh beans, which I’d define as within two years of harvest, maybe three under optimum storage conditions, without soaking. I used to be adamant about not soaking but I’ve done side by side comparisons and the soaked beans have a better texture. I don’t change the water. In general, I soak in the morning and cook in the afternoon. I cook beans 2-3 times a week. I believe the optimum soaking time is from four to six hours for most beans, a full six for runner beans like Scarlet Runners, Cellini, Runner Canellini and that family.

You will hear about the "Quick Soak" method. Just smile and act interested when you hear about it. You cover the beans with hot water, let them soak for an hour and then strain the water and start cooking with new water. If the beans are in hot water, you’re already cooking so why not just cook them? It doesn’t make much sense but if it’s been working for you, go for it.

It may be there are better ways to cook commercial store bought beans but with fresh, heirloom beans, you’re working too hard!

Menu For Hope

From the Menu for Hope site:

Every year, Food Bloggers from all over the world get together for a
fundraising campaign.  We call our campaign ‘Menu for Hope’.  Last
year, we raised $17,000 to help UNICEF.

This year, Menu for Hope III raises funds to support the UN World Food Programme.
To us Food Bloggers, food is a joy.  On our blogs, we celebrate food as
a delight and even an indulgence.  Unfortunately, many others who share
our world do not share that privilege. For them, food is a matter of
survival. This "Menu for Hope" is our small way to help.

I was happy to donate some Rancho Gordo items. This auction is being hosted at the seminal Pecks & Posh site. Please take a minute to learn more about what these bloggers are doing and of course, it would be nice if you bid on some of the items.

Cooking With Clay

My favorite way to prepare beans is in a clay pot, right on the gas stove. It looks great and there’s an element of  "Look Ma! No hands!", but it’s also a clever gentle way to slow cook food.

My friend Christopher Ann emailed me from a recent trip to Mexico and told me that there were a lot of pots that I might like. I told her I’d prefer a few big, good pieces more than a lot of little ones, so she went on a wild shopping spree and drove back from Mexico with the most glorious bounty of clay pots, cazuelas and bowls that I could imagine.

I "cured" a few of them right away by soaking them in water overnight and then frying a little olive oil and garlic. Ta-da! Ready for use. Paula Wolfert, who is working on a book on the very subject, suggests never exposing the clay to rapid temperature changes. Start a cold pot on low and gradually turn up the heat if needed. But the really nice surprise is how well the clay pots cook things. You can saute things almost as quickly as in a regular metal frying pan once the pot is heated up.

To celebrate, I had Chris and some other friends over for dinner. I made a chile sauce with Ancho and Guajillo chiles and when well-cooked, added several bags of assorted seafood. It was swell and I think I should consider opening a store.

Borlotti Beans and Chicken

This was surprisingly delicious beyond description. I haven’t had Borlotti beans in months and found half a bag in the pantry. They are a cranberry type bean which means they have a mottled pod when fresh and when dried and cooked, they are velvety and rich. They also have a nice pot liquor, which is why they are so popular in Pasta e Fagioli in the north of Italy. And the twist is they come originally from Columbia!

After the bean were cooked (they cooked all day in a slow cooker), I poached a whole cut up chicken in water with some celery. onion and carrots. As the breasts finished, I shredded the meat and added to a bowl the beans, some broth, the chicken, some diced red onion and some parsley. Finished with a splash of Bariani (or your choice) olive oil. Simple but out of this world.