Kitchen Gadget Girl Cooks

At first, I thought it would be silly to include beans and rice in my 12 Days of Local Christmas series, but then two things happened. My sister gifted me a gorgeous clay pot cooker from Bram, and I decided that come the New Year, I am going to eat a little healthier. Beans and rice seemed to be a good solution for both!

I wrote about finding these two companies at the San Francisco Ferry Building last month. The selection available at the Rancho Gordo stall at the Ferry Building changes periodically, but their website always has a complete selection. You can also buy their beans in San Francisco at the Rainbow Grocery and Bi-Rite Market. A great addition to a bag or two of beans would be the Heirloom Beans Cookbook from Rancho Gordo, with recipes and tips for cooking beans at home. And, even if you don’t stuff a stocking with Rancho Gordo beans, remember to pick some up for your New Year’s Eve celebrations. Cassoulet, anyone?

And Massa Organics Brown Rice is a great accompaniment to the beans for a high-protein dish. It would be great if I could figure out a way to cook the beans and rice together in my new Bram clay pot! Massa Organics is offering nice gift baskets this time of year, with rice, almond butter and roasted almonds. Quite a treat! In addition to their website and the Ferry Building, Massa Organics products can be found at Whole Foods in Los Altos.

Photo courtesy of Bram Cookware.