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What food is high in protein, has virtually no fat and has more fiber than most whole grain foods? The answer is beans! Now a new U.S. dietary guidance message says that diets including beans may reduce your risk of heart disease and certain cancers. See? They really ARE good for your heart! (We’ll deal with the other part of that equation in a moment!)
When it comes to beans, we are huge fans of Rancho Gordo Beans for MANY reasons. First and foremost is flavor. These heirloom beans pack a punch in that department that you just can’t get out of a can. Simply cooked with a little sofrito/mirepoix of vegetables and in water, you get an amazing pot liquor, or as Steve Sando calls it, free soup! We also love the fact that RG is a local company, and most of their beans are grown in California or Washington. They also work with small farmers in Mexico to protect both small family farming and specialty heirloom varieties of beans.
And the love is mutual! From Steve Sando's blog:
"Chamba was my first unglazed clay that I fell in love with. It's from Colombia and I first saw it in Half Moon Bay at a great shop that has since morphed into Toque Blanche. They've become the leaders in supplying the fanciful cookware, in their store and over the internet. The website even has information about how the unique pots are made."
There are a few types of multi-chain sugars in beans that are harder for us to digest, and when these start fermenting it causes gas. The benefit of this is that it helps create more good gut bacteria, so eating more beans (increasing gradually) will help these effects decrease, and more good gut bacteria has been shown to help with many other health issues as well.
Personally, we think it tastes great and helps “lighten” up the dish. (A bean burrito without rice just seems a little heavy.) But there is a real practical side Beans contain most of the amino acids to make up a complete protein. The few they are missing are found in seeds and grains. While research has now shown that the two complementary items don’t need to be eaten at the same meal, certain things have been combined culinarily in the past such as beans and rice or chickpeas and tahini (sesame seed paste) to make hummus. Which leads us to….
Stuart has combined recipes and techniques from Paula Wolfert’s Clay Pot Cooking book, Laura Pazzaglia’s Hip Pressure Cooking and depending on the result you want, an Alton Brown recipe to come up with his take on the classic recipe.
Take a very beany trip around the world in this wonderful collection of recipes from the kitchen of Rancho Gordo’s founder, Steve Sando.
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Fagor Multi Cooker- Have it your way: beans in 40 minutes (pressure cooker) or 4 hours (slow cooker)! From $129.95 |
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Chamba Medium Soup Pot- It looks and cooks like a bean pot should! Great size for cooking 1 pound of beans. On sale, $49.95 |
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RSVP Veggie Masher- For making refried beans you'll love this handy tool. $9.95 |
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Lodge Cast Iron Skillet- What's the best pan for frying those refried beans? Nothing beats cast iron! From $24.95 |
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RG Deluxe Gift Set- Let's get started right away with a great selection of beans and the bean book. $58.95 |
This sampler box features two pounds of new-crop Cassoulet beans, grown in the USA from French Tarbais seed, and a copy of the new book, Cassoulet: A French Obsession by Kate Hill, published by Rancho Gordo Books.
To enter the drawing, go to our Half Moon Bay or Santa Cruz Facebook page and comment on the giveaway.
