Rancho Gordo: Experiments from my mostly New World kitchen and gardens

Shrimp and Rajas Taco

The town of Juchitan, on the isthmus of Oaxaca, is most famous for it's strong women and hot climate. It's a fascinating place for many reasons. 

On the main zocolo, you'll find Casagrande restaurant. It's a fine old colonial building that could be a nasty tourist trap but instead it's a very good restaurant serving regional food. 

Especially nice was the taco amuse bouche that was shrimp tossed with onions and poblano strips and topped with some guacamole. 

 

2nd Annual Beans Tour and Ag Workshops in Mexico

I'm late posting the photos but here are some scenes from the Beans Tour ealier this spring. I actually stopped taking photos when I saw how good the photos were from some of the guests, but you'll get an idea. 

We announced the trip via email and we sold out within one and a half hours! The year before it took a full day. It makes it seem a little like winning a Willie Wonka ticket but the food is much better.

The group was really fun and there wasn't a sour grape in the bunch. I was very happy to introduce them to my Mexican friends. We had a few trips, some workshops and a lot of really great food. 

This was a trip to meet one of our bean farmers. 

There were many littel signs that the fields were beyond organic. 

I don't think it's an exagerration to say that everyone fell in love with Araceli. She makes our chocolate (in her village in Guerrero) and she traveled a full day to teach her workshop on making chocolate. Here she's toasting the canela (true cinnamon) on a large clay comal. She's very sweet and softspoken but I'd bet this woman can do anything she sets her mind to. 

Here's Lucas (who has a Mexican restaurant in New Zealand!) proving that maybe he better keep his day job. 

The oregano growers from the Huasteca came down to sing and say hello!



One of the most fun meals was the barbacoa. The men line a pit with roasted maguey leaves and then roast goat meat underground for 10 hours. The results are spectacular. 

That's my god-daughter! I plan to spoil her rotten! 

Araceli with Yunuen and the baby. 

Lupe serves her famous nopal salad. 

Finally, the whole staff who made it all possible, in one of the three kitchens. 

We'll do it again next year and we'll even add a second group if all goes as planned. I wish there were an easier way to pick who goes but it's first come, first served after we do our email blast. 

 

 

Escamoles: Ant Eggs Are Delicious

They wouldn't make it on a vegan diet but if you have an open mind and an appetite, I don't think you can help but love these. 

These were sauteed with onion and garlic but I've had them at Patricia Quintana's restaurant in Mexico City, Izote, and they were soaked in hot butter. Either way, they are delicious and worh the bother, except maybe to the poor guy who has to harvest them. 

For Food Entrepreneurs: A Course From the Food Craft Institute

I'll be participating in this course on the food business. I wish this was around when I got started. I've made a lot of mistakes and you can learn from them. I do hear a lot of people say they want to do something like this but I've discovered over the years it's one thing to complain about your job or to be full of good ideas and it's another thing to be a real entrpreneur and make it on your own. It's scary and it's intimidating. What's worse is most of the "help" out there is either for a franchise (ZZzzz.......) or for tech start ups that expect to make millions of dollars when they go public or are bought out by Google. Where do you go for help if you want to make fig jam? 

If you are ready, there is help. 

The Food Craft Institute is proud to announce our Jams, Sauces and Condiments Master Course!

The 11-week course runs June 8 – August 10, 2013 (approximately one day per week) and is specifically designed for food entrepreneurs.

Jams, Sauces and Condiments is taught by known chefs and food business owners who will open their doors for Food Craft students to learn the real behind-the-scenes in their kitchens, commissaries and shops. Six course days are in practitioner's facilities around San Francisco, including Azalina’s Malaysian Sauces, Red Boat Fish Sauce, Cultured Pickle Shop, Rancho Gordo, INNA Jam and Magic Curry Kart.

This course will also cover all the business basics; Business Accounting, Finance and Raising Capital, Legal, Permitting, Facilities, Certifications, Business Operations/Planning, Marketing and Branding, all taught by Food Craft Institute expert instructors.

 When: June 8 – August 10, 2013

Where: 11 week intensive in Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco and Napa.

Who: Aspiring business owners seeking to build food craft skills and business expertise in how to own and run a jam, sauce or condiment company. 10 aspiring cooks and entrepreneurs have the incredible opportunity to learn from the best in the business, immersed in all aspects of the jam, sauce and condiment business, from procuring ingredients, to prep, to cooking and processing, to bottling, packaging, shipping and selling to the retail shop.

Course Fee: $2,750 includes the Master Course, snacks and lunches on all days of the course, materials and graduation reception. We offer financial aid for those with financial need. Please contact us for more information. 

More information on our website: http://www.foodcraftinstitute.org/courses/sauces-and-condiments-2013

Instructors: Haven Borque, HavenBMedia; Jill Epner, Coaching for Cooks; Azalina Eusope, Azalina’s Malaysian Sauces; Betsy Fox, Red Boat Fish Sauce; Alessandra Ghini, Alessandra Ghini Consulting; Connie Green, Wine Forest Wild Forest; Alex Hozven, Cultured Pickle Shop; Brian Kimball, Magic Curry Kart; Dafna Kory, INNA Jam; Harold McGee, author of On Food and Cooking; Christina Oatfield, Sustainable Economies Law Center, SELC; Anjali Oberoi, Bernoulli Finance; Ellen Roggemann, McEvoy Ranch; Steve Sando, Rancho Gordo; Elizabeth Ü, author Finance for Food 

 

Frijol Xculibul: A New Heirloom from the Yucatan

Some of our projects take longer than others to come to fruition. When I had these beans in the Yucatan, I knew I wanted them, but the growers there ran a very small co-op and it's taken awhile to get Xculibul beans into the Rancho Gordo warehouse. 

No one here really knows exactly how to pronounce Xculibul. My version always ends up sounding like Ish Kabibble, the old Borscht belt comedian. But they do deserve a little more respect as they are delicious, dense and they have a bean broth with hints of chocolate. 

Like most good busines transactions in Mexico, this one started with food: a delicious lunch of chicken in a chile sauce with potatoes and rice. The cook and her son were pretty bored of us but I appreciate her excellent skills in the kitchen! I remember thinking this wouldn't be too hard to duplicate at home and I loved the plain steamed rice instead of the ubiquitous "Spanish rice" served almost everywhere. 

It was really hot out and after eating, we were told it could be quite a long wait. All the chairs were taken so I ended up in a hammock, as did Gabriel. The next thing I knew I woke up to the sound of my own snoring! I was so embarrassed and as I woke up startled, everyone laughed. 

My narcolepsy was a good turn, it turns out. One of the farmers had been suspicious about working with a gringo (me) and he was sure that anyone who could sleep as easily as I could had a clean conscience and was a good person to do business with. There were a few fits and starts but now we present to you the Xculibul bean. Dig out your best recipe for Cochinita Pibil or Guajalote in Escabeche and enjoy the fruits of our labor. 

Frijiol Xculibl on the Rancho Gordo website. 

I Guess I Like to Shop for Wooden Things

I was looking through some old photos and found this shot of my bounty from a trip to Michoacan. I don't conciously buuy wooden spoons and bean mashers but I suppose I must. I have dozens and dozens. I didn't think I was all that into masks, either, but it seems I'm helping the mask comminity as well. 

 

Rancho Gordo / Cavallo Point Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last winter, we had a little house-party here at Rancho Gordo. We had thought there'd be enough food but our friends and neighbors here in Napa came with real appetites. Naturally everything was good but what stole the show was the cookies. 

Ethan Howard is the well-respected pastry chef from Cavallo Point's Murray Circle restaurant in Sausalito. He took some of our piloncillo and stoneground chocolate and came up with these delicious cookies. The chocolate was great, but oddly enough, it's the piloncillo that's the star! 

I grew up in nearby Sausalito and in order to have access to Cavallo Point, you needed to know someone in the military. Now it's open and it's one of the most beautiful places in the Bay Area. And what a kitchen! Murray Circle just runs rings around most fine dining and I'd jump at any opportunity to eat there. 

Rancho Gordo Chocolate Chip Cookie

Yield: 3 dozen cookies 

• Unsalted Butter (room temperature)  2 ½ cup
• Evaporated Cane Sugar (piloncillo)   5 cup
• Vanilla Extract  1 Tablespoon
• Eggs (room temperature)   4 each
• Kosher Salt   2 Tablespoons
• Baking Soda  1 Tablespoon
• Ground Coriander  1 Tablespoon
• Pastry Flour 6 cup
• Bittersweet Chocolate chips  1 ½ cup
• Rancho Gordo Cacao (chopped)  1 ½ cup
• Milk Chocolate chips  3 cup

 

-Preheat oven to 350° f.

-In a large bowl, lightly mix the flour, salt, baking soda, and coriander together. Set aside.

-In a table mixer, cream the butter with the sugar. When the butter and the sugar are emulsified, slowly add the eggs and vanilla extract.

-When the eggs are thoroughly mixed in, add the flour mixture in 3 stages. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula periodically. When the flour is incorporated, add the chocolate chips and mix until the batter is just combined.

-Using a spoon or a medium sized ice cream scoop, scoop cookies onto a greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart from each other. Bake for 14-18 minutes.  Transfer cookies to a cool surface.

 Recipe provided by Ethan Howard

 

Let's Go to the Movies! Oaxacan Masa Fantasies

 

Morelia Market Shots

Some random food shots from the Mercado Independencia in Morelia, Michoacan. 

Eating Veracruz in Mexico City

Whenever I'm in Mexico City, I hint to my friends that it sure would be grand to make a stop at La Fonda del Recuerdo. They have good food from the region and lots of singing and booze and I always end up having a good time. 

At my age, this is what I want a party to look like. A huge platter of oysters and seafood and lots of beer to wash it all down. 

The music of the region is pretty wonderful too. Musica Jarocha has influences of the Caribbean, Africa, Spain and of course the rest of Mexico. The players often sing a call and response type of music and the harp is a monster, keeping the beat and the harmony on the long strings with the left hand, and the melody and improve is on the upper, smaller strings with the right hand. I can't get enough of it.