Tamale friendly Rancho Gordo Heirloom Beans

You haven't had beans until you've had Rancho Gordo Heirloom Beans. Seriously.

Steve Sando, owner of Rancho Gordo Heirloom Beans, has single-handedly resurrected the humble legume from the brink of the land of forgotten foods. His tireless enthusiasm has brought a new market, a new generation of bean lovers to the table. In doing so, Steve has changed the public's perception and appreciation of beans. And if you're a bean lover like me, this makes you very happy.

Because of Steve's commitment to providing a wide variety of always fresh, unique and never genetically altered beans, Rancho Gordo's success has outgrown its Napa Valley warehouse, and spread well beyond California. Here's an excerpt of what the New York Time Magazine had to say about Steve:

Ingredients are the new chefs on some level," Steve Sando, the founder of Rancho Gordo, summarized with a naughty chuckle as he bounced around Napa in his messy pickup truck recently. He has reason to be happy: thanks to him, long-lost legumes with names like Good Mother Stallard, Eye of the Goat and Yellow Indian Woman appear on menus at the French Laundry, Manresa, Ubuntu Restaurant and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and are selling out through his Web site and his farmers'-market stand to the tune of 250,000 pounds a year.

Steve is clearly passionate about what he believes in - and we're so happy he believes in A Taste of Tamales by the Bay. In this, his third year with A Taste of Tamales by the Bay, in addition to offering tastes of his Rancho Gordo beans, Steve will be on hand to give a presentation and talk about his new book Heirloom Beans , a wonderful collection of delicious recipes, pictures, and amazing stories about beans and the people who love them. Copies of Steves book will be available for purchase at the Omnivore Books on Food booth. Buy your copy - Steve will be happy to sign it.

A selection of Rancho Gordo beans will also be available for purchase. So, sample the beans, ponder the possibilities, then take home a bag and cook them using one of the many recipes in the book , or give them your own spin and see for yourself what so many already know - you haven't had beans until you've had Rancho Gordo Heirloom Beans.

You can trust that whatever beans Steve brings to taste, they will be an excellent choice to pair with the many varieties of tamales and other tamale friendly foods at A Taste of Tamales by the Bay

!Buen Provecho!

this action shot of Steve Sando explaining the complexities of his Rancho Gordo Heirloom Beans is attributed to Bunrabs at bunrabs.com