rancho_gordo

Fate keeps on happening. I had some leftover Bayo beans and decided to use them to make Diana Kennedy's Sopa Tarasca, halving the recipe as I only had one cup or so. I made the soup and it was delicious and then I vaguely remember some discussions on the list re Sopa Tarasca and several different methods. Kennedy only calls for "pink or pinto" beans but from reading the threads here, more common is the Bayo. What luck that I had some! The Bayo we grew looks very clearly to be a cranberry family bean. It looks like a pinto but is pinker and when cooked, I'd say it's a little more dense, less creamy but more velvety. Does this sound right? What confuses me is I was told several times that the name is a bastardization of bayou. I guess what I'm asking is if you can tell me a little something about this bean. The soup was beyond swell, by the by.

Not speaking for NulloMondo, but I don't think he said he was denying care, just not willing to pay for it. Dangerous sex isn't a part of being gay (I'm assuming it's not a choice, just who you are.) But should the rest of us pay for someone who knowingly has unsafe sex after say, 1986? We know how you get exposed to HIV. We know what happens when you point a loaded gun. My point is I don't think people know exactly what the cause and effect of eating fast food is. I'm not speaking in absolutes here. Just thinking out loud about personal responsibility. Can I say how much appreciate the tone of this discussion? What a nice change after seeing NBA players and fans beat each other up.

I think we agree more than we disagree. But before I take a hardline approach, I want all the information out there, presented as persuasivly as a new McDonald's campaign, helping the not-so-food-obsessed to understand the costs of their non-dairy shakes. Related to al this, as a father of 2 boys, (3 and 6 years old), the worst part of this war is the toys. Kids get great toys and and for my two, it's about 90% of the appeal. They pick at the food but love the boxes and toys you get with a kids meal, usually promoting the latest Disney movie. My oldest was shocked when I finally told him the food was horrible but we get actually get a better toy on our own without having to go to McDonalds. Their brains just can't make that leap without a little help, even though it seems so obvious to us.

Sorry, I'm not being very clear. I too would like to take the stance if you don't like it or it's bad for you, don't eat it. But my point is that because of those things (corporate welfare, the deregulation of the media, government subsidies to favorite states and industries, labor conditions in countries that make your food and blue jeans, etc), fast food is gaining ground. The prices are artificially low, media doesn't want to offend a major sponsor (or is owned by a major sponsor), et al. Re the govenment sticking its nose inot our personal habits, I'm just playing devil's advocate here and don't know exactly how I feel about this but does your right to smoke supercede my right not to be around it, especially if it's a health hazard? Does your right to eat super-processed high fat crap reign supreme if this lifestyle is proven dangerous and adds an additional burden on our health care system? Just asking. I walk or drive by a McDonalds and see the throngs and wonder, Can't you smell that putrid scent? Are You folks nuts? If it were simply a matter of taste or personal responsibility, I'd say fine, but these guys have the upper hand and it's assisted by the government.

Sounds good to me. I don't know what Panera is but i think I assumed it was some kind of artison sandwich. I think we mostly agree on things. I was thinking a higher fat/higer cal "real" meal is more often than not a better "deal" than McAnything, nutrionally. aesthetically and spiritually. Robyn writes: Farmers markets? At least it's somewhat better. UFW-picked fruits and vegetables form California? NulloModo wrote: I wish you anti-govenment types were as equally outraged by corporate welfare, the deregulation of the media, government subsidies to favorite states and industries, labor conditions in countries that make your food and blue jeans, etc. Level the playing field a little bit and then we can get pissed off.

I'm old enough to remember when everyone smoked. If obesity is really such a problem, the industry can be brought down or tamed if we keep talking about it. But for you to suggest that a Krispy Kreme makes a better meal than a bagel and cream cheese makes me do a double take. Beyond the fat and calories, there's the subsidies, the other nutrition, the fiber, the mad cow, the slave wages, the bad aesthetics, the mind control over young children, etc.

Education really is the key here, and making nutritional information easily accessible is the most important first step. Sure, any idiot can see that a Monster Thickburger is too much food. But, without nutritional info available on site, one might be inclined to think that a Tuscan Chicken sandwich from Panera is a healthier choice than a Big Mac. Wrong - the Panera sandwich is 860 cal/52 g fat, while a Big Mac is 580/33. How many people decide to be "good" and get a bagel with cream cheese from a bagel shop (appx 500/22) instead of a Krispy Kreme glazed donut (205/12) or an Egg McMuffin (300/12)? Even trying to make good choices sometimes backfires in the absence of information. I know all these calorie figures because I went out and bought a book that lists most fast food menus with nutrition information when I joined Weight Watchers. But if the nutritional information were easily accessible at the restaurants (perhaps even displayed on the menu) I might not have needed Weight Watchers. ← But there are so many other factors than fat and calories. Like the fact that a real bagel and fresh cream cheese are food and the crap from McDonalds is not. If you eat real food, I think you can simplify your life and be satisfied avoid obesity.

Hi and Welcome, Randall. I love your name. When was the last time you ate at Marimba? I almost lived there when it first opened. It was the most exciting thing- my cuisine finally done right and beyond my expectations. They even catered my wedding* at the Maritime museum with a whole suckling pig. But then slowly it started going downhill and then Reed left and then there were burritos on the menu and the atmosphere was more like a Tijuana frat weekend than a culinary adventure. I haven't been in 5 years but I haven't heard anything positive since then either. I would love to hear that they've gone back to their roots. *Buy me a drink sometime and I'll tell you THAT story!

From the NYTimes: I had such a great dinner there that I started to question my own tastse. Did I like itso much because I don't eat out as much as I used to and this was a special gig? Because other eGulleters liked the place (save Melkor who thinks it's good for a luncheonette)? I knew her a little personally from a Slow Food event? This review makes me think it was as good as I thought. I realize I don't care much about eating in "concept" restaurants like Martini House, even though I'm sure it's excellent. Almost like going to farmers market to get produce from the someone closer the growing process, I prefer to eat in places where I'm closer to the chef. At Pilar you get a sense of the thought process that produced your meal. I should say I have never eaten at Martini House (although I've been to the bar three or two times!) and I have no idea how much control the chef has over the menu.

Great link- thanks! Some clever person should import chocolate from Oaxaca. Ibarra and Abuelita are fine but the stuff I drank in Oaxaca was other-worldly!

Well, I got some! Don't ask- don't tell- but let's just say you may find a Rancho Gordo brand of Miel de Maguey on my website within about 6 months. To me it tastes like a cross between honey and molasses. I like it! Apparently it's also very healthy. Should I dilute it first for the allegria?

Well, I'm just back as of last night. I spent a few days in Amsterdam to pursue the best croquet and herring in the spirit of Slow Food! I know a lot of people like Amsterdam for the pot and beer but I really adore the fish! If I had known what my schedule was going to be it would have been fun to meet up with other eGulleters but the whole thing whizzed by and as a delegate at the Terra Madre conference, I was a guest and not really in charge of my own time. Salone di Gusto was great but it was a lot like a trade show and I really burn out after about 2 hours. Although I did manage to buy two big bags of goods, mostly beans! This pic is of a bean grower from nearby Cuneo I met. I was "networking"! The Terra Madre conference was great and makes me oddly emotional when I think about it. Meeting small cooperatives of women from Benin to cheesemakers in Switzerland to a nursery 1/2 an hour away from my home was a gas. The speakers were sometimes inspirational but the real kick was sitting in this huge center with 5000 other like-minded producers. The workshops were pretty weak but a great way to meet interesting people. Some of us stayed quite away from the center but it was worth it. I stayed with a wonderful winemaking family and let's just say the meals were glorious. I'd say about 20 of us stayed in the town of Dogliani and it was a mutual love fest. The last night's dinner was help in the local wine co-op and included the mayor! I'm still high from the trip and have a new appreciation for Slow Food. Yes, it can be a little precious and self-congratualtory but how many other groups encourage you to go ahead and indulge rather than tell you what not to do? And I can also assure the cynics (my former self included!) that a lot of good came from the Terra Madre meetings. I'll go into more detail as my plans develop. edited to add this link for more pics and details

One of the finest things I ate in DF was outside a subway station on a busy street. How's that for specific? I sweet woman was making quesadillas from fresh masa with ingredients to order, on a old steel drum type thing. The smell was so great that I had to try them. And I did again and again. There was a little voice in me that said that one probably shouldn't but the look and smells said to go for it. So she patted away and made such a memorable meal. Knock wood, I have never been sick in Mexico. I'm careful but not anal and I take lots of lime which I have convinced myself is they key, based on my ignorance!

I think masa should have corn, water and lime and nothing else. Normally it comes in coarse for tamales and fine for tortillas. There's also masa preparado with the lard already added. Normally, this is kind of nasty, at least in my area. Hey you Mexico Girls- I will be careful from now on to refer to masa as masa and reconstituted masa from Masesca as masa harina. Did I get it right? Please correct me. Fifi- one time I made a tortilla out of masa preparado and fried it on my comal. I am embaressed to admit how much I like it!

Sorry for the confusion but in my haste to express my joy for my makeshift stew, I wasn't clear. I actually work with a family that makes tortillas and fresh masa and I sell them at farmers markets on the weekends. The masa is a beautiful thing and it strikes me as almost alive. So I have access to fresh, ground "wet" masa normally. But not last night. So I mixed a little Maseca in cold water until it was a thick gruel and then dribbled it into the stew.

How authentic is using a little wet masa as a thickener? I have seen it used in mostl recipes for Mole Amarillo but then it's absent in a few. I made a stew of leftover vegetables and pozole and it was too thin so I mixed as little Maseca with cold water and then dribbled it into the stew. It thickened a bit but what I really love is the taste. It's like adding fresh tortillas! Is this done often?

Is cotilla the same as cotija? Is this an important cheese in Mexico or is it's role exagerrated in the US because it's often made here? I have a friend who drives down to Tijuana to pick up cheese that's come from Gudalajara. I thought it was cute until I tasted it and it's worth the drive from the Bay Area. Well, almost. But my point is yanqui cotija is nothing like the Mexican.

As the soul singer Millie Jackson says to one of her lovers in one of her songs: If you stops now I'll kill 'ya!. Keep this post going. It's fascinating!!!!!

Sounds better than rice to me! Smart idea!

...and how much more difficult is it to wrap the American tounge around HAL-I-PAIN-YO than HAL-I-PEE-NO?

First of, I'm thrilled to learn the plural of comal! Thanks- I had no idea! I was using my steel comal and an escobetilla, assuming that's one of those cute mini brooms. But I was doing it with way too high a heat and with way too many seeds. Without much trouble I have several cups of popped seeds! And a huge mess. They pop all over the place, especially when I started out with too many seeds. I know it's simple but do you have a recipe? Is it just honey and water reduced? I'd love to know what you think is easy and what you think is best- perhaps the same thing. As soon as I master the basics..... Thanks for this. I have a 6 year old FUSSY eater who loves alegria and I think if I can get him to help me make it, it would be a kick. It was our daily treat when we were vacationing in Mexico. And a candy loaded with protein, minimal sweetener and from a native plant that I grow.... well, that's about all one can ask for!

Whenever I'm in Mexico I hunt down this snack made from popped amaranth seeds and I assume either honey or piloncillo water. I have a recipe in one of my cookbooks but I have a lot of trouble popping the amaranth. I love the taste, texture and the fact that it's loaded with protein. I have a few pounds of unpopped amaranth seeds and wonder if anyone has made this at home? Any techniques? I'm going to try a wok today and see how that goes.

And Melkor, wasn't that masa used in the tamal rather light, fluffy and pure? Was it really a plate of tamales or were they butterfly wings? NB: I sell them the masa.

Well to celebrate the end of my radio career, I ordered foie gras as an appetizer and scallops in a foie gras reduction as a main course. I ate at Pilar downton Napa. (By the by, Melkor, you are NUTZ. This place is just great for dinner!) My European friends who dined with us were very confused by the fuss re foie gras. I dreaded explaining it to them. I had a friend email me this today: It shouldn't matter but I'm glad at least some people percieved the encounter the same way I did! Gary Soup writes: I know you love to be provacative, but I find the exact opposite. My gut feeling is still: if you don't like the practice, don't support it with your dollars. But all this controlling legislation and self-righteous animal rights stridency just makes me want to defend a position that I don't really even care that much about. Banning foie gras is chickenshit. It picks on one small artisan producer and hurts the "rich" so it's the "good fight". But the way we farm pork, fish, beef- these are areas that need real work. The fact that we have to zap the beef to make sure it's edible is a fight worth doing.

Every Monday morning for over a year, I've been a guest on the local radio. For about a half hour I talk about farmers markets, local politics and offbeat music. I have never been late, never missed a show. This morning the host talked about the 15-person demonstration outside the French Laundry against foie gras, right after the news story. I was expecting to talk about how apples are in season and play a little Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys but instead I was defending the serving of foie gras, suggesting if this were a serious campaign, they should be attacking the pork and beef industries. But I couldn't make a point because the host told me (and the newsreader who admitted foie gras was "yummy") that we had out heads up our butts. On the air! She was actually yelling at me. I tried to make light of it and switch subjects but she wouldn't let it go, yelling louder until I would agree with her. I thought about a line in a movie I had just heard and could adapt- "Your opinions are like treasures. Bury them!" but I restrained. I have a local business and no matter what side of the fence one is one, it wouldn't do me any good to get in a fight with my hostess. Rather than get in a fight, I left in the middle of the broadcast. She has every right to hate the process of making foie gras but she crossed a line for me and she did it on the air. I guess my point is that this is a very emotional issue. I wish they had the same kind of guts to tackle the pork industry rather than a lone artisan producer of foie gras. The funny thing is all this does is make me want to eat foie gras more!