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."

Jacob's Cattle Bean

Our CSA farmer has recently branched out into dried beans, and we've loved her black beans. Last week, she sent us a new treasure: local, organic Jacob's Cattle Beans.

Searching the internet brings up this information:

"Jacob's Cattle bean is also called a Trout bean or an Appaloosa bean, but Jacob's Cattle bean is the oldest name for the variety. It is a plump, white and red speckled, kidney-shaped bean with vivid maroon splashes. It is full-flavored, holds its shape under long cooking, and stands up well to plenty of seasoning. The bean has a rich aroma. It is a little tannic on the tongue and tastes almost like a green bean with a slightly fruity aftertaste. The aftertaste was also described as rich and nutty."

It looks like I should have used sage as the herb, based on the recipes online. I went with oregano, just from instinct.

Here are the beauties at the beginning of soaking.

Before the boil:

All ready to eat.

We found them to be a mild, pleasant bean - more suited to being sauteed with greens than tossed in tacos.