Pepitas are Everything

I’ve always liked roasted pumpkin seeds, but I’ve mostly enjoyed them when they’ve “stayed in their lane,” with dishes like pipian and Sikil Pak. Lately, I’ve been putting them on everything, and they add gravitas to the most boring dish that is remarkable.

Buy the raw, shelled variety and then briefly pan roast them. A salad is an obvious new home but keep experimenting. I had some wild arugula from my CSA box. I added some cassoulet beans and olive oil and then topped the whole thing off with some pepitas. I couldn’t have been happier.

You need to be judicious. Too many and it’s too much of a good thing. Start with a spoonful and keep adding them until you’re happy. They won’t be the star of the dish but the make the original better than it would have been without them.

Kitchen Object Fetish No.3: Steel Pans from Santa Barbara Forge

I’ve loved my old cast iron skillets but they are a little clumsy to use. They’re heavy and they take a good long time to heat up. I’m not throwing them away, but I have been straying. A few years ago I started buying pieces from Blu Skillet Ironware and I’ve loved the pans. The problem is the company has become too successful and good for them, but to get a pan, you have to enter a lottery. I’m too old.

The handle stays cool to the touch when you cook stovetop.

A friend told me about Santa Barbara Forge and as a fan of Spanish Revival architecture and style, I want them to make everything go for me. The things they produce are just amazing. I have a wish-list ready for them. Now they’re taking their ironwork skills and making hand-forged skillets and their sense of design is replicated in each pan.

Cooking cauliflower “rice” in brown butter.

I love all my pans but I dare say this is now my favorite. I love that you can see the hammer marks and the pan is substantial but not as cumbersome as cast iron. Someone made this. Not a machine in China but someone who loves what they do. And being as superficial as I am, they just look great and that’s important, too.

I’m sorry but there’s not much cooler looking than this pan.

At home, we’ve been searing a lot lately. Take a chop or chicken breast, sear it on all sides and then let it finish in the oven. As the meat rests, deglaze the pan, make a quick sauce and warm up your beans. Add a salad and there’s dinner. You wouldn’t want to do this in a toxic non-stick and the clean up with a traditional metal pan would be a mess. The carbon steel from Santa Barbara Forge is perfect. The pan goes right into the oven after browning the meat on your stovetop. And the deglazing does most of the cleanup. Check out the book Searing Inspiration for more on this technique.

The pan loses its blue color but only looks better than more you use it.

You can get the pans online and if you’re lucky enough to be in Santa Barbara, there’s an open house on 4/13/19 from 12n to 4pm.

The ended up being the cauliflower “rice” with spinach and beans cooked with some pancetta.

For what it’s worth, I’m not really into influencer marketing. I like to support fellow entrepreneurs when they do excellent work. I purchased this pan myself and have loved telling everyone about the company.

Rant: Let’s Go Mexican Countries!

A few years ago, a friend’s teacher daughter described a situation where her students were intensely debating whether they could call people Mexicans.

“You can’t call them that!”

The teacher was confused, as she should have been. But really, Mexican for some of them was a dirty word. The probably heard the phrase, “those damned Mexicans!” and in case there’s any doubt, that’s not good.

Fox News recently had a graphic declaring that Trump had cut aid to “3 Mexican countries.” For the record, Mexico has a group of states within its borders, not countries. I think the subtext of this is Poor Brown People. Racists think of Poor Brown People, and they think of Mexico and other Latin American countries. It’s all one aid-sucking mass, from their point of view. I believe this was slip up more than an actual mistake.

Fox News doesn’t have an exclusive on laziness or closet racism. World of Wonder, the production company that does some great shows like RuPauls’s Drag Race published a tribute to Marlon Brando and they declared: His activism caused widespread boycotting of Brando’s films. He was also outraged by U.S. foreign policy, particularly covert military and CIA operations in several of the Mexican countries.

For the record, again, there is just one country called Mexico. Tell as many people as you can. We are terrible neighbors and we should be ashamed.

A Rant: We Are Not Normal

This was in our newsletter a couple of weeks ago and it clearly had an impact on some of our bean buddies. I thought I’d reprint it here. Maybe you recognize yourself. – Steve

It’s easy to like our customers. People who cook and appreciate heirloom beans tend to be more interesting, nicer, and enjoy a better quality of life. I live in a bubble of delicious food and like-minded people so I sometimes lose track of life in the “real world.” I prefer hanging out with my fellow bean freaks.

You may not realize it but as time marches on, we home cooks are becoming rarer and rarer. The fact that we get excited about a new bean, a cooking pot, or even a new wooden spoon, puts us in the minority. Most of us think of cooking as fun and a great way to bring people we care about together. We see a pound of beans and we imagine how we’ll be cooking them, how we’ll be serving them, and maybe the smiling faces that will be eating them. I have a constant vision of leaving the kitchen and walking towards the dining room table with a huge pot of something good between my hands as I ask for help finding a trivet. This is possibly my favorite moment of the day. I try and do it most nights.

A meal kit is fine, I suppose. A frozen dinner is an emergency. Are there good ones? I don’t know that I’ve ever had a decent frozen dinner. A dinner out is fun and sometimes inspirational. But a refrigerator full of cooked beans, roasted vegetables, stocks and broths, pickles and condiments, is like a palette waiting to be put to use to create something new. I have cooked Garbanzos, cold chicken, and squash. A soup is born. Chard, black walnuts, and wild rice? There’s a dish right there. I can even ask my 17-year-old son to make his own lunch just by picking out what looks good. (He can cook just fine without my help but a loaded fridge helps avoid the temptation of cans.)

I lovingly packed a lunch to bring to the office today and of course, I left it on the table at home. This was a real drag but I keep cans of sardines in my desk and today the Rancho Gordo store was sampling Marcella beans so I had a nice bean and fish dish, made even better by a pinch of our Burlap & Barrel Smoked Spanish Pimentón Paprika. A wee dash of olive oil? Heaven, and it beat Taco Bell by a mile. 

I know you have your tricks like this. And you’ve noodled around to find your favorite technique for making beans. You probably love to share your bounty with friends and if you’re like me, they can give you the “eye roll treatment” from too much information about your favorite beans, but almost all of them love being a guest at your table. Sometimes it may seem thankless but you need to know that our kind is getting to be rarer in a time when what we do is more important than ever. What can make more sense than sharing food at a table with people who need a good meal, simple or fancy? We have a job to do and a role to play, and I thank you for being a part of it! We’re all in good company. 

Guest Post: Julia’s Preserved Meyer Lemon Relish

The two Meyer lemon trees in our backyard went crazy this winter. My family has been enjoying the harvest in every way that we can, and handing them out to friends by the bushel. (Okay, I don’t actually know what a bushel is, but thought it sounded cool and homestead-y.)

When we are rich in Meyer lemons, I usually make a batch of preserved lemons using a method that a friend shared with me, which came from her Persian family recipe vault. They are super secretive about the recipe—she’s one of my best friends and I had to pry it out of her—so I won’t get into specifics, but the gist is that you dry lemon slices in the sun with a bunch of salt, then you preserve them in olive oil. They are incredible, but a little labor-intensive. And they require sunshine, which we do not have at the moment in rainy Northern California.

So, I decided to try a different method this time, where you let the lemons sit in salt and their own juices until the rind becomes soft and flavorful. I found many recipes for this method, and they all seemed quite similar. I used the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving as a general guide.

My twist on the basic recipe is that I’ve front-loaded the work of chopping the preserved peel every time you want to use it. Once the preserved lemons were ready, I threw the rinds into the food processor and now I have a chunky relish that I can, and do, spoon on nearly anything: a bowl of beans and greens (of course), soups, salads, sauces, marinades, dips. The options are endless! Last week, my husband and I splurged on fresh Dungeness crab and he stirred a spoonful of the relish into the melted butter that we used for dipping. Wow. Just wow.

Note: A little of this stuff goes a long way. When you’re adding it to a dish, start off with less than you think you’ll want. You can always add more if it’s not enough.

Rancho Gordo Large White Lima beans, baby arugula, and preserved lemon relish.

Preserved Lemon Relish

12 organic lemons, preferably Meyer lemons (about 3 pounds)
1/2 cup sea salt
One quart jar or 2 pint jars
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil (optional)

  1. Sterilize the jar(s) by boiling in hot water for 10 minutes. Keep hot until ready to use. Wash the lid(s) and band(s) with warm, soapy water.
  2. Juice 6 of the lemons. You should end up with about 1 1/2 cups lemon juice.
  3. Wash the remaining 6 lemons well, then pat dry. Cut a thin slice off the stem end of each lemon. Starting with the cut end, cut each lemon into 4 quarters, leaving the bottom end connected by about half-inch of fruit.
  4. Pour 1 tablespoon of the salt into the bottom of the sterilized jar(s). Hold one lemon over the jar, fan open the lemon quarters, and pour about 1 tablespoon of salt into the middle. Rub in the salt a bit so it adheres. Place the lemon in the jar and repeat with the remaining lemons and salt, packing the lemons tightly into the jar(s). I was able to fit 6 lemons into a quart-size canning jar. Cover with any remaining salt.
  5. Fill the jar(s) with the lemon juice. The juice should reach to about 1/2 inch of the top. Add more if it doesn’t. Add the lid and screw the band on tightly.
  6. Store the jar(s) of lemons in a cool, dark place, or in the refrigerator, for about 2 weeks. Shake the jar(s) every day or two to evenly distribute the salt.
  7. After about 2 weeks, the lemon rinds should be soft and ready to use.
  8. To make the relish, remove and discard the pulp and membrane from each lemon. Place the lemon rinds in a food processor and pour in about half of the liquid left in the jar. Pulse until the rinds are roughly chopped. You can add more liquid if you like, or discard it, or save it for another use. You can also chop the rinds by hand if you don’t have a food processor available.
  9. At this point, I divided the lemon relish among smaller (sterilized) jars so I could share some with friends. You could also return it to the original jar and keep it all for yourself (which I probably should have done). If you like, you can top with olive oil to mellow out the flavor.
  10. Store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

Julia Newberry is General Manager of Rancho Gordo and is the co-author of The Rancho Gordo Vegetarian Kitchen (Rancho Gordo Press, 2017)

I’m So Very Groovy: A Braise of Cauliflower Stems and Leaves

Like a lot of people, I have cauliflower fever. One of my favorite things to make these days is cauliflower rice. I’ve had people ask me to suggest a brand but I am very confused. It couldn’t be easier to make. You just grate it and cook it in browned butter or olive oil for about 10 minutes. I’ve also heard it’s a mess. Just grate it in a large bowl. It’s that simple. And there’s no packaging waste. And you can grate exactly the amount you want. I know a lot of people like to use their food processor but mine is in the basement collecting dust. If I were having a big party or it was easier to clean, I’d consider this method. Until then, I just grate.

The rice is made with just the florets and this leaves you with a lot of the big stalks and some of the greens. They can be woody but mostly they’re fine. After a few heads of cauliflower, you can have quite the collection and I’ve been saving them up all week.

I chopped them and then added them to a casserole pot with sauteed onion and garlic. This pot is a favorite rarity from Los Reyes Metzontle in Puebla but you can use any pot you like. If not clay, enameled cast iron, like Le Cruset, is probably a good choice. You want to go low and slow.

At some point I added salt, pepper, and thyme.

I was prepared to go longer but an hour was about right. The pieces hold their shape and look as if they’d be tough but they just melt in your mouth. Being forever cheap, I mean, value oriented, the best part of this is that these are parts of the caulliflower than most most people toss. So it’s like getting a meal for free. Hey, you get your kicks where you can!

Experiments with Garbanzos, Spinach and Smoked Paprika

There was about a cup of garbanzos and a cup of their broth sitting in the refrigerator. I was starving. Well, quite hungry. I added some frozen spinach, olive oil and a teaspoon of our new Smoked Spanish Pimenton Paprika. Once heated through, a drizzle of my best olive oil and a scant squeeze of lemon. Holy cow.

There was a moment when I thought to add some rendered pancetta for body and substance but I didn’t feel like dirtying another pan. Hush! I’m confessing. I will say there was no need to worry. The pimenton adds a little smokiness and good olive oil makes most everything substantial. There is a temptation to add even more pimenton but a teaspoon is perfect. I am not the biggest spinach fan so I only had frozen on hand. I don’t dislike it but I prefer it when other people make things with it. I plopped some of the frozen spinach into the simmering garbanzos and waited while they made friends. I reached for the parmesan but thought, so far so good, let’s make this vegan. The lemon was the kicker.

I absolutely loved this.

A Sincere Attempt at Tofu “Chorizo”

I had some major doubts about Mark Bittman’s “Chorizo” tacos, as they are made of tofu. I like Bittman a lot and I like tofu but I really love Mexican food, so this was a bit hard for me to embrace. I do try and keep an open mind and this was my attempt at his “Chorizo” tacos.

I’m not going to repeat the recipe as it’s here on Bittman’s very good site. You basically fry the tofu until it’s almost dry.

I opte out of the optional red bell peppers as they seemed wrong for such a traditional Mexican dish. The chile powder was from that wonderful Rancho Gordo we keep hearing about. The instructions suggest a non-stick pan but they’re creeping me out these days so I ended up using my Blu Skillet forged steel pan and it’s a good thing because I found you really want to crank up the heat to make the tofu drier.

It takes a good long time to get the tofu cooked down and dry enough to have some body. And while it’s kind of good, it’s just almost nothing like chorizo. After the disappointment of the fist taste, I actually started to like it, but probably not enough to make again. If I were a vegan, maybe.

I will say that these were 100% better than the jamaica (hibiscus flower) tacos I attempted earlier. They were like eating wood pulp. Very dry wood pulp.

It did get me thinking, what if you took extra firm tofu and fried it a bit and then added it to a chile sauce? That might be terrific.

Check out the Mark Bittman site and subscribe to his newsletter. Every delivery brings at least two or three ideas that are great. He’s a friend of the bean, too!

Calamari Stuffed with Chicharrones Prensados in a Guajillo Chile Sauce.

I have to say that this was one of the best things I’ve made all year. I was browsing through a book by chef Aquiles Chavez on Mexican fish and seafood cooking. It’s a nice book on things that have been covered elsewhere many times. Except for one dish: Calamares rellenos de chicharron prensado y salsa de chile de arbol

Chicharrones prensados can be made at home but maybe you’re lucky like me and your Mexican butcher has them on hand. I took many shortcuts with this and the chicharon prensado was just the first. If the concept is too daunting, use carnitas.

I used frozen calamari. The package I had contained only tubes but you could easily add the tentacles and cook them along with the stuffed tubes. I also had a guajillo chile sauce on hand. 

Take about half a pound of chicharron presnsado and chop it up as best you can. Saute an onion and a few garlic cloves in olive oil until soft. Add some canned plum tomatoes and the chicharrones. Stir until the the chicharrones become soft, about 5 minutes. 

Stuff the calamari tubes with the mixture (easier said than done, but not impossible!) and cook them for 5 minutes in the hot chile sauce.