As we get deeper into the holiday season and the weather continues to get colder, we are gathering with friends, family, and loved ones over holiday dinners and celebrations. Last week we had a lovely Thanksgiving with our family and look forward to a cozy Christmas celebration. Gift buying can be a wonderful mindfulness exercise, in that it can be done thoughtfully and consciously, keeping the giftee as the focus of your attention. What do they enjoy? What would enhance their life and make them truly happy? Taking the time to think so deeply about gift-giving can enhance our connections with others and ourselves. We've recently begun sharing gift sets that we think make beautiful mindful gifts for those interested in conscious living. We're excited to show you this latest gift set which will make any conscious cook or food lover happy. The Primary Beans Discovery Kit!
It is a collaboration between ourselves, Primary Beans, a wonderful company focused on deepening our connection to the food we eat and the land it comes from, and Abra Berens who is an amazing chef. The kit includes The gift set includes one-pound bags of Primary Beans chickpeas and Flor de Junio beans, Abra Berens terrific cookbook Grist: A Practical Guide to Cooking Grains, Beans, Seeds, and Legumes, and of course one of our mustard yellow fused glass spoon rests! We are so thrilled to work with like-minded people focused on mindfulness and conscious living. We recently interviewed Lesley from Primary Beans to learn more about who they are and what they do. The interview is below and is a great read. And you check out the Discovery Kit here. Enjoy!
1). Your mission really resonates with us. How is Primary Beans deepening our connection to the food we eat?
We believe that dried beans are the perfect food! They're highly nutritious, good for the planet, easy to cook, and extremely delicious. Flavor and texture vary greatly among allll the different bean varieties and the beans available at the grocery store are so limited. As a direct-to-consumer online business, our goal is to shed light on these incredible, harder to find varieties and their origin stories. We source directly from farms and include harvest information on every bag.
2). What, in your opinion, is the best heirloom bean that we haven’t heard of and why?
Most people haven't heard of Ayocote beans, a type of runner bean native to Mexico. We carry purple (morado) and white (blanco) varieties and there are actually many more colors available in different regions in Mexico as well. Runner beans are traditionally grown as part of the milpa system– still used by farms in Central and South America today. In this famous companion planting technique, corn, beans, and squash are grown together on one plot to produce more bountiful harvests than if each were planted separately.
3). What do you love about working with your farm partners?
Farmers have one of the most important jobs in the world– one that’s deeply connected with nature and that requires an impeccable level of resilience to get you through the seasons. Managing a functioning ecosystem is costly and complex and I feel so lucky for the opportunity to absorb this institutional knowledge that's so important to share with Primary Beans supporters as well as pass down through the generations.
4). What is your favorite bean recipe for the holidays?
Love that you're asking this! Beans and chicories are our current obsession. There's something about crisp, bitter chicories and creamy, nutty beans (like our Cranberry beans) that go incredibly well together. We love tossing in roasted honeynut squash for some sweetness, some salty feta, and a splash of high-quality vinegar. It makes a great fall side or even main dish for the plant-inclined in the group.
As you can see from the interview, Primary Beans is doing great work. We hope that you'll click over to their website and check out the full compliment of their offerings.
Thanks for reading!
Drew + Alyssa