JANUARY 2025 HEIRLOOM BEAN AND GRAIN CLUB

Welcome to the January edition of the Heirloom Bean and Grain Club! As we embrace the new year, we’re thrilled to share a trio of ingredients that celebrate both culinary tradition and exceptional flavor. This month’s selection includes Organic Blue Moro Beans, prized for their velvety texture and rich, earthy taste; Organic Papa de Rola Beans, a rare heirloom variety with creamy, nutty notes; and Heirloom Purple Tibetan Barley, a strikingly beautiful grain steeped in ancient heritage and full of wholesome goodness. Together, these ingredients invite you to explore hearty, nourishing recipes that warm both body and soul during the winter season.

Organic Blue Moro Beans, Organic Papa de Rola, Heirloom Purple Tebetan Barley

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Organic Blue Moro Beans, Organic Papa de Rola Beans, Anasazi Beans

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NEW TO THE CLUB? Check out our blogposts with everything you need to know to get the most out of your membership in the heirloom bean and grain club. 

Welcome To Beantopia

How To Cook A Perfect Pot of Beans

The Definitive Guide To Cooking Beans

Bean Recipes

ORGANIC PAPA DE ROLA

These Organic Papa de Rola Beans are a unique heirloom variety originally bred in Portugal where their name tanslates to Dove's Breast. One side of the bean is a bright white, while the other features earthy beige and deep maroon markings, reminiscent of their namesake. 

This heirloom bean is adored for its mild flavor and creamy texture, making it an excellent choice for soups and stews. They are a key ingredient in traditional dishes like Caldo de Feijão, a comforting Portuguese bean stew enjoyed during festive occasions and colder months.

ABOUT BLUE HOUSE FARM

Blue House Farm grows drop dead gorgeous beans from the gorgeous, fertile land in Pescadero and San Gregorio, California. Ryan Casey became interested in farming in college while taking agriculture courses. After completing an apprenticeship at the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems and working on several farms, he decided to start an organic farm. The farm started in 2005 on 2 acres and has steadily grown to over 75 acres in production. Farming in two different microclimates allows Blue House Farm to grow over 50 types of certified organic farm products. Among the lettuce, tomatoes, herbs and peppers Blue House Farm grows excellent organic beans. 

WHAT TO DO WITH THEM

With a creamy delicate flavor Papa de Rola soaks up flavor. They are excellent in any soup or stew but a traditional Portuguese Bean Soup is the perfect vehicle for these Portuguese beans! Few dishes embody the soul of Portuguese cuisine like Caldo de Feijão. This rustic bean soup is simple yet deeply satisfying, offering a taste of the Mediterranean in every spoonful. Perfect for a cozy night or as a part of a hearty family meal, this soup will warm you from the inside out. 

ORGANIC BLUE MORO BEANS

This very rare bean comes from Brazil. It's one of those beans that is so beautiful you don't know if you should cook it or put it on the table as a centerpiece. The dappled steal blue color is striking. Don't be tempted to leave them in the pantry or turn them into jewelry though because you'll be missing out on a rare treat. The moro is like a cross between a pinto and a black bean with a creamy dense texture and thin skin. The flavor is closer to a black bean with earthy undertones and a broth so velvety and delicious you'll be lapping it up. Fifth Crow Farms got their hands on the seeds for these gems from Brazil through a seed exchange and they are growing them organically. 

WHAT TO COOK

Brazilian Beans is somewhat of a national dish. Different from traditional Latin bean dishes with cilantro and lime, this uses white wine vinegar and parsley, more European ingredients from the Spaniards that settled in the region.  You may want to enjoy the national drink of Brazil with it, the caipirinha.  Brazilian beans are very similar to the cuban favorite, Moros Y Christianos (Moors and Christians, so named after the dark beans and white rice). 

BRAZILIAN BEANS

1lb of Blue Moro Beans

6 Cups of Water or vegetable or chicken stock

2-3 bay leaves

olive oil

1 yellow onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic, diced

3-4 Tablespoons of white wine vinegar (we like the chardonnay or rosé by American Vinegar Works)

1/4 Cup diced parsley

salt and pepper to taste

2 Cups Delta Belle Rice 

Directions:

1. Soak the beans then cook in a large pot with water and a liberal sprinkle of salt and bayleaves until tender (about hour), or cook them from dry in a pressure cooker on high for 40 minutes. If using a pressure cooker reduce the amount of liquid. You need just enough to cover the beans with an inch to spare.  This step can be done up to 3 days in advance, just refrigerate the cooked beans in their liquid until you are ready to make the rest of the recipe.

2. Begin cooking your rice. I sort of cheated and used Carolina Gold Rice because it's so darn delicious, but long grain white rice is traditional. 

3. While the rice is cooking, cook the bacon (if you are using) in a pan until the fat renders and it starts to brown. Pour off all but a tablespoon of fat, add the onion and sauté until tender, add the garlic and sauté another minute, adding olive oil as needed to keep the mixture very moist.

4. Mix the onion and garlic mixture with the beans including their liquid and add the vinegar. Cook for 5-10 minutes to meld the flavors and warm the beans if they had been in the fridge. Take a 1/2 cup of the beans and liquid out and blend them in a blender then mix back into the dish to increase the thickness of the broth. Add the parsley, taste, add salt and pepper and additional vinegar if needed. Serve with rice. 

ABOUT THE FARMER

Fifth Crow Farms is an organic family owned farm in Pescadero, California. Grounded in a values-based approach to land stewardship, Fifth Crow Farm is a dynamic and diversified organic farm in Pescadero, CA. Founded in 2008 with a shoestring budget, a supportive local community, and ambitious dreams, they strive to bring eaters the highest quality, best tasting, and most nutritious food possible. 

Fifth Crow Farm wants their farm to be more than a business: they strive to make it an engine for positive change in the food system. They are stewarding the land in a way that not only respects but improves habitat for wildlife and builds better soil for future farmers. They also believe in creating a healthy, fulfilling, and fair work environment, and providing their customers with the best tasting, most nutritious, highest quality food possible.

HERITAGE TIBETAN PURPLE BARLEY

Heritage Tibetan Purple Barley has a deep, earthy flavor to match its distinctive color. The deep purple grain is high in antioxidants. Discovered in Tibet, this variety of purple barley was first brought to the United States almost 100 years ago but was locked away in seed vaults with little attention. Luckily farms like Hayden Mills are bringing back this nutritious whole grain. With a stunning color and a delicious nutty flavor it's a favorite of ours in grain bowls, salads and soups. It can be used as a substitute for rice and makes a delicious faux risotto. Barley is not gluten free but it is low in gluten making it a healthy alternative for people who can tolerate some gluten in their diets. 

WHAT TO DO WITH IT

Deliciously nutty, purple barley makes excellent salads, grain bowls like the colorful vegan Tiger Bowl pictured above. Barley substitutes for rice in this yummy risotto recipe from the New York Times. It's the perfect way to elevate a mushroom barley soup. In this hazelnut elderberry purple barley salad, we combine it with hazelnut oil, elderberry balsamic, pecans and berries to create one of our favorite cold salads to enjoy all year long.

ABOUT THE MAKER

Hayden Flour Mills was started by a father-daughter duo, Jeff and Emma Zimmerman. Their vision was to mill some of the world’s forgotten ancient and heritage grains using sustainable methods at every level of the process, from seed to table. Their mill is located in Queen Creek, Arizona on the farm where most of their grains are grown.