A Simple Soup

D already posted the photo, so I'll tell you about the recipe. Basically, we weren't doing anything with these beans, even though they had a wonderful aroma and flavor. So one night, I bit the bullet and resolved to cook something with them. As usual I turned to soup. As usual I had kale in the refrigerator. I also found the core of a head of celery. I combined these in a light vegetable broth, topped with olive oil and parmesan. It was filling, tasty, and healthy - the trifecta!

Yum

We chose our next bean!

Rancho Gordo has this to say:

"Our harvest of Good Mother Stallard was again not great and we're already pulling it off the website for sale. It's such a shame as it's one of my favorites. It's big and meaty and has a bean broth that is as good as the bean. Hopefully we'll have production problems solved by next year and in the meantime enjoy what we like to call the 'you'll be back' bean."

Bayo Chocolate

We've recently been enjoying pinto beans a lot, so when we were choosing a bean to start with, I was drawn to the Bayo Chocolate. The warm brown color was appealing to my eye.

It turned out they were also the first bean described in the Rancho Gordo newsletter:

"Bayo beans are very popular in Michoacan. They are very mild and soak up any flavors you might want to add. These Bayo Chocolate are pretty rare. I've only seen them in a market in Puebla. I know you want advice but all I can tell you is that they are mild and creamy. In Michoacan, you can make a Sopa Tarasca which is one third each pureed beans, pureed tomatoes and chicken stock. Fried tortilla strips on the top would add some nice crunch and a few cubes of queso fresco or fresh farmers cheese would be welcome as well."