It happens overnight. The clocks roll forward, and suddenly, sunshine joins the guests at the dinner table and I no longer want any part of slow-roasting or braised fare. All culinary vestiges of winter are most unwelcome, save for one:
The heirloom beans stored on an open shelf in glass jars for their aesthetic value still beckon, their allure as strong as when their glossy, colorful coats first caught my eye last fall at the farmers market. Red and white mottled Christmas limas; brown and gold striped eye of the tiger; black and white calypso beans spotted like painted ponies. They look like the cat’s-eye marbles I used to collect as a kid only edible.
American culinary tradition tends to relegate bean cookery to the cold winter months. Teresa Phipps from Pescadero’s Phipps Country Store and Farm, which grows and sells heirloom beans, notices a considerable drop in bean sales once spring hits.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: The Oakland Tribune
