June Heirloom Bean and Grain Club

As the temperatures have turned warmer we’re thinking about black bean burgers on the grill, cold wheat berry salads and a nice pot of Frioles De La Olla served with some warm tortillas. This delicious collection of beans and grains will be just what your Memorial Day BBQ is looking for. 

Family Box Includes

Organic Flor De Mayo from Kandarian Farms

Buckeye from Rancho Gordo

Rouge de Bordeaux Whole Wheat Berries from The Mendocino Grain Project

Midnight Black Beans from Rancho Gordo

Organic Arikara from Chili Smith

Small Box Includes

Flor De Mayo from Kandarian Farms

Buckeye from Rancho Gordo

Rouge de Bordeaux Whole Wheat Berries from The Mendocino Grain Project

*Gluten Free Substitution Garbanzo Beans from Rancho Gordo

Flor De Mayo

This purplish pink heirloom bean isn’t well known north of the border but is an essential in Mexican cooking. Flor De Mayo are small, tender beans that have a delicate flavor and give off a velvety bean broth making them ideal for Friolles de la Olla. For thousands of years this bean has been a staple food in northern Mexico. In southern Mexico they tend to prefer black beans but northern Mexico prefers pink. In this delicious recipe both black beans and Flor De Mayo are combined in a traditional chili con carne. 

ABOUT THE FARMER

When it comes to ancient grains and farming, Larry Kandarian is legendary. Meeting Larry at the Santa Monica farmers market feels like meeting an agricultural prophet. He can talk to you all day about varieties of beans and grains you've never heard of and how going beyond just organic to fully sustainable and regenerative farming creates better tasting food. His deeply weathered hands from over 50 years working in the fields, let you know that he's the real deal. Unlike others, Larry doesn't just own a farm, he is a true farmer. He is passionate about growing better tasting food that is also better for us and the planet. His incredibly diverse array of grains, legumes, herbs and spices grown in Los Osos, California are all carefully chosen heirloom varieties that work together to create a self-sustaining eco-system that requires no fertilizer, pesticides or weed killers. All of this leads to better soil health, and when you grow food in better soil it just tastes better. You can listen to Larry on a podcast by Consumed here. 

Rouge de Bordeaux Whole Wheat Berries

Rouge de Bordeaux is a 19th century grain once beloved by French bread bakers for its nutty flavor with hints of cinnamon. It is very unusual to find it as a whole wheat berry and it makes for a delightful addition to salads. The high protein that makes the wheat a favorite of bakers also makes it a healthy whole grain to substitute for rice or barley in all of your recipes. We are loving it as a If you’re a real over-achiever in the kitchen you can mill this grain at home for baking as the French do. We’re not that ambitious these days. We boil it, freeze it and toss in a salad with some fruit, nuts and greens. If I’ve got any left in the freezer on a chilly day I’ll add it to a soup. 

About The Farmer: Mendocino Grain Project

In the midst of the pandemic young farmer Rachel Britten took over the Mendocino Grain Project from the retiring founder. The Grain Project began in 2009 in an effort to provide their community with healthy grains and local food security. Rachel grows and mills grains like The Rouge de Bordeaux in Mendocino County, California and because they have the capacity to clean and process grain for other farmers the ultimate goal is to provide what is necessary so that other local farmers can join the effort to grow more staple crops in Mendocino County.

Arikara Yellow Beans

The Arikara Yellow heirloom bean is creamy and very flavorful with a hard shell that holds its shape when cooked. They are a favorite in soups and stews as well as the Three Sisters Mash.

This Slow Foods Ark of Taste ingredient has a long cultural history. First documented by Lewis and Clark, these indigenous beans were once the primary food source for American Indian tribes in the Missouri Valley. Thomas Jefferson grew the Arikara Yellow Beans in his own garden at Monticello. There he described it as “one of the most excellent we have had.”Unfortunately after being moved to the Fort Berthold reservation near Bismarck, North Dakota, the Arikara tribe has relatively little land to farm. Thankfully seed savers and small scale farmers have saved the Arikara Yellow from extinction so that you can enjoy it. We’re loving this flavorful gem in this Spanish style bean spread and a three sisters salad that connects the ingredient to its past.

Buckeye Beans

Most people know this little golden bean by the not so politically correct name, Yellow Indian Woman but in 2020 Rancho Gordo adopted one of her other more culturally sensitive names, Buckeye. Whatever the name, this bean is incredibly creamy, almost more like a classic black turtle bean than anything else. It's dense without being intense. It's thought to be originally from Montana, known for its short growing season. This is one of the staff favorites and we included it in June because it makes delicious baked beans for your memorial day barbecue. It’s creamy texture make it ideal as a bean dip. We also love this little guy with It’s also a great idea to cook up a pot and keep them in the fridge to toss into salads all week long.

Midnight Black

Midnight is a true black turtle bean from Rancho Gordo with a rich, traditional black bean flavor and texture. They have a light, thin skin that allows its flavors to mix with your aromatics and create a delicious bean broth. The beans and their broth are great with simple rice. The liquid coats each kernel of rice, adding flavor, protein and pizzazz. These are delicious in black bean salads, as the basis for a black bean burger, and of course just a side of Mexican black beans to go with that meat you're grilling this summer. 

About Rancho Gordo

Steve Sando started Rancho Gordo out of a love for cooking and a frustration with the lack of ingredients, especially those that are native to the New World. One of the things that originally drew him to beans was the fact that they are indigenous to the Americas. Rancho Gordo began in 2000 as Steve’s passion project. Steve started with no experience farming or selling food products, yet his passion has led him to be the largest grower of heirloom beans in the world. He's by far the most well known champion of heirloom beans.