Heirloom Beans

Great cookbook if you're a fan of Rancho Gordo dried heirloom beans, which I am. I would say these recipes are medium on a scale of super simple to very complex. None require a ton of ingredients, but some are more involved than others. I eat fish but no other meat, and I'd say about a third of these recipes are vegetarian, and a third can be modified to be vegetarian (removing the salt pork or ham bone). I made the Santa Maria style beans last night and they were excellent.Keep in mind most of these recipes mention Rancho Gordo beans along with some alternatives, but if you don't have a good selection of beans handy at a store you may need to order some varieties online (Rancho Gordo does sell their beans on their web site, and you can buy some types on Amazon).

I love the information in the book, but the font is too small and very lightly printed against a mostly colored background. Difficult to read without extra power glasses.

I've made several recipes. They've been delicious. Even the tepary bean and summer squash stew - which I made as a test because it didn't sound very good. It was good.

If you aren't in the Rancho Gordo bean club, get on the waiting list. Seriously amazing. Their recipes are great, too. If you do get in the bean club (subscription delivery of curated beans and samples), you will want lots of recipes cuz' you will have beans coming out your ears. Many of the recipes have meat ingredients but would be easily enough modified to be vegan or vegetarian. If you love beans, you'll almost certainly enjoy this book.

I love this cookbook. My grandmother always made amazing beans. When you ask her how she does it...."simple ingredients, simple food." Finally I asked what else. Oh, I get them from Mexico. So I came across this cookbook. The cooking is simple but there are few rules to follow. This cookbook laid it out for me. I also buy RanchoGordo beans and it makes a big difference.