rancho_gordo

Just don't rent the film Touch of Evil before you go!

There's a thread here somewhere. You can get nice red ceramic comales from Nuestra Tierra in Half Moon Bay. They do mail order. They also have black chamba comales as well. They laughed here at eG but I use my ceramic comal a lot! Edited to add: you can get cal at any good Mexican store, along with a metal comal which is preferable for tortillas.

Isn't part of the problem that this cow went down NINE months ago? Isn't it kind of naive to think there were only two? Isn't it completely avoidable? Just asking!

I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean.

I've heard this a hundred times and I suspect that's why certain folks like it. He may like Britney Spears singing the Kurt Weil Songbook but that doesn't mean it's good! From Bombdog, my old neighbor who has deserted us for the Deep South: Well, if you really think I should....

He must have done it for the inflight meals!

Is anyone else confused by the appeal of In-n-Out? What's the big deal? Carnival sized dry hamburgers and chalky white fries. The lettuce is crunchy but so is the underripe tomato slice. And they are the opposite of fast food. It takes forever to fill your order. I never eat at fast food chains so maybe I'm no judge but I've tried this place three times and the last will be the last. I can't imagine wasting a meal in Napa (or anywhere except out of deperation) at this place. If you twist my arm I'll tell you what I really think!!!!

I'd love to do a side-by-side comparison one day! My initial thought is that it's the freshness of your source rather than where the beans are grown but I know different vegetables are affected by soil, daylight hours, etc. So comon over and bring some of your Anasazi and let's do a taste test!

That's so great! After all this time, my site is moving up the Google ladder! I'm not clever enough to that myself! I don't ship outside the US yet, but PM me as I know some travellers who might be able to get you a pound or two. Mabelline wrote: Pretty and delicious! I know the yield in the southwest has been very low because of drought, but I do know where you can get California-grown, fresh from last summer......(shill, shill, shill)....

But they are special! And that's why beans are so romantic. You can pack a couple in your pocket, travel around the world and start a new tradition. Also, they're a pretty obscure bean and I don't know of anyone else growing them commerically (although there may be someone, somewhere). I don't have favorites (the other beans would be so hurt, if I did), but these are one of the best. On their own they're fabulous and need no help beyond some onion and garlic in the water.

Ain't beans grand? Cranberries are a whole family that includes various types of Borlotti, plus Madeira (the biggest I've ever seen) and Wren's Egg (the smallest). They look a little like Pintos but are not a very good sub. Cranberries tend to be dense and velvety but never starchy. The exude a very pleasant pot liquor (bean broth) which is why they are so popular in many pasta e fagioli recipes. But saying "Cranberry bean" is kind of like saying "red tomato". It's probably enough information for most people but there's more to the story. Runner beans grow on long runners (as opposed to pole or bush variteties) and tend to have thicker skins and creamier insides. I also find that once cooked, runner beans can have three or four changes of flavor and texture. They're alive, I tell you. They also tend to be huge. Scarlet Runners are one of the oldest documented beans. Swedish Browns aren't related to Cranberries/Borlotti at all. They're softer and a little bit mealier and have a sort of old-fashioned "comfort food" flavor. I've seen a lot of "cheater" or quick baked bean recipes using these. Adam, does your family's Goats Eye look like this?: If yes, these (and all of the above, even the Italian beans) are new world beans, indigenous to the Americas. Even flageloet! I hope I don't sound pedantic!

The final straw may be CA's customer service should something go wrong. It took months for them to replace a faulty unit that broke after a week's worth of use. It was really a drag. I wouldn't buy from them again.

I subscribe to most and dislike most, but I think Gourmet is better than ever. i found the older version incredibly boring and fussy. The new graphics are almost there but not quite and I'm never sure if I'm reading content or ads. But the articles are much more interesting and I think the recipes are better-written. And the WalMart article shows there's some spine there. There was a piss-elegance about the old magazine that made me roll my eyes. I am not in love with the current cover (although I'd eat the food in heartbeat if served it) but what about the cover before? It represents everything I love about Italy and it captured it without being obvious. I know a wonderful Italian girl who was as beautiful as the girl on the cover and I have so many memories of eating al fresco in the summer with her entrire family much like the photo (although we were in Liguria, not the south). I'd cut them some slack and write to crap mags like Cooking Light and Bon Ap and ask them to step up to the plate. Typical Cooking Light feature 5 Ways to Lose the Pounds 1. take time for you! Indulge in a spa bath at home 2. Drink lots of h20- it's super good for you! 3. Eat Veggies- they are good. 4. Take a long walk- it's fun and healthy! 5. Avoid fattening food- it's really bad!

At this point, it might be refreshing to see any show that was informative, "real", or PC on a major network, or Food TV for that matter.

Is anyone else having trouble with this sentence? Is it just me? Alice Waters, sure. Trotter and Bayless? Doesn't mean that they're not great or even influential, but transforming American cuisine?

I'm confused. Are you saying growing local food in a concious manner is a false conceit and yet it tastes better? If the organic/local movement is creating better food, what is the problem? I'm missing your point, I think.

The Small Farms thread was closed so I thought I'd post this here. The Napa Register just did a story on the unique problems of farming among the vineyards here in Napa. The article (which isn't all that interesting) I know lots of grape growers and their issues are completely different than mine, as mine are differnt to a citrus grower as his are to a taxi dancer in a border town.

As the song says, I'd rather drink muddy water.

I don't think anyone is arguing that growing grapes is not ag. I have one neighbor who grows grapes and grows them beautifully and I'm thrilled to have him next door. My other neighbors razed several acres of forest so they could have their vineyards. They visit on the weekends in the summer and a vineyard management company takes care of things. There are countless locals who are displaced by the high cost of living in their home towns and people from other regions with money come here and have their vanity vineyards. So what's a farm? It's just what's happening here in Napa and without putting words in her mouth, it's what Tana is seeing at the moment and I don't think she'd want to say that all food farmers are good and all grape growers are yuppie scum.

Sorry- what you are stating is not fact. It happens.

Golly- I keep having it die every winter. It never comes back and I have given up!

Space Food Sticks and Tang! Love her anyway.

Very local news, but all the Napa farmers markets are starting this week. Sat: Napa Sat: Calistoga Tues: Napa Wed: Yountville Fri: St Helena I'm planning on only doing Yountville, which starts tonight, rain or shine. And at this point it looks like no shine!

But the Oprah book club read real books, for the most part. And sometimes difficult ones. This argument used to work for me but now it seems like all these people do is lower our standards even more.

More beanery: I have a very good client who uses Runner Cannellini as part of his signature dish. He was happy with the taste but he told me too many of the beans were falling apart, making for a delicious soup but that's not what he was after. Runner Cannellini are even softer than regular cannellini ("bush" beans) and there is some breakage, but nothing like 50%. I cooked the beans again and couldn't replicate his problem. We talked and it turns out he salts right out the gate and I always wait until I can smell beans (which is almost completely cooked). We switched and he tried my method and I tried his and we were able to replicate the other's beans. Moral: salting up front can change the texture and stability of the beans. There is a wonderful moment when your pot smells not so much like the vegetables or stock you seasoned them with but actual beans. They are almost finished at this point and I think this is when I'd suggest salting. I've also been experimenting with the Wolfert/McGhee method of cooking with only a little water and I think I prefer it. I soak covered by 2 inches and cook covered by 1 inch, which is a lot less than I used to do. I love pot liquor but there's still plenty and what you get is richer and deeper flavored. I haven't noticed the beans cooking faster but I've also switched exclusively to clay pots and the technique generally takes longer anyway. A few notes from the laboratory. I cook beans almost daily, FWIW.