Rancho Gordo

Napa, California's Rancho Gordo farm produces beautiful beans -- butter beans, marrow beans, runner beans, Anasazi beans, and many other kinds. And proprietor Steve Sando knows exactly what to do with them. Not only does he sell his gorgeous array of heirloom legumes (and corn and chiles and herbs) at fine stores, farmers markets, and online, but he also cooks with them at home. What else would you expect from a bean baron? Of course, you're welcome to visit Steve's "New World Kitchen" via the Rancho Gordo blog to see what he's cooking up. It might be delicious enchiladas cobbled together from leftovers. It might be a batch of hand-ground tomatilla salsa. It might be a video tutorial detailing the basics of bean cookery -- required viewing for anyone who has yet to internalize the mantra "Soak the beans!"