Rancho Gordo Beans and Bean Club

[fzxdoc]

Welcome to the RG Bean Club, yakima . I highly recommend the RGBCLite subscription. You get the May and December deliveries, which totals 12 bags of beans and extra goodies, like spices, lentils, popcorn, etc. thrown in. The cost is about $50 per box plus you get free shipping on one order twice a year. The only thing I don't like about it is that the December shipment always contains Christmas Limas and Lucky Black Eyed Peas. I love both of those and use them often, but I like surprises with new-to-me beans, and these two varieties are pantry staples for me.

It's not a bargain; RG Beans are spendy. I still like the Club because they often ship beans that are not available on the website, which I enjoy. For example, in last week's shipment, a pound of the hard-to-get Good Mother Stallard beans was included to members. They're an unusually delicious bean, different from the others in taste and broth, and very round in shape too. They often ship to RG Club members batches of rare beans that are too small to offer online for very long, if at all.

I recommend calling Rancho Gordo to ask about the Lite option. They may offer that option to you.

Back in the day before the dreaded 30K waiting list, I canceled my Bean Club membership for 2 shipments so we could catch up on eating all the beans. When I called to reinstate my membership (no waiting list was mentioned), I mentioned my pantry bean glut as the reason for having halted my membership in the first place. They offered me the Lite option, onto which I pounced.

Kathryn

[yakima]

SheilaAnn. So, if a 30k waitlist, what is actual membership? Hit your sources. Sounds like a market opportunity to expand. I am growing soybeans this year in central Nebraska. Could round up a few family quarter sections for heritage beans.

[yakima]

For next year.

[SheilaAnn]

Steve said around 23K.

[yakima]

Am signed up for bean club. The written materials indicate cannot pause or modify subscription. If cancel, go back on waitlist. Have not talked to anyone.

Between bean club and olive oil club, I figure will have ample gifting opportunities.

[Dan Deter]

I am now in as well. Same info in welcome email as yakima saw.

[fzxdoc]

Note to new RG Bean Club members: Try to go easy on your orders, if you can. Keep telling yourselves you'll be getting 24 bags of beans a year.

In true do-as-I-suggest-and-not-as-I-do mode, I would get excited about one bean type used in a recipe and order up a couple more bags and repeat that behavior with subsequent bean varieties. Before long I had 30 bags of beans in my pantry, which now is pretty much a steady-state condition.

The kids take some bags home when they visit (this time I'm hiding the Good Mother Stallards ) , I give them as hostess gifts when we're invited to friends' homes for dinner, and of course I make a couple of bean dishes a month, so that helps to keep up with the inventory most of the time, but hardly to reduce it.

That said, I like seeing my battalion of beans lined up on the pantry shelf, sorted by color, ready for anything I ask of them.

Kathryn

[klflowers]

Sorted by color? Wow talk about organized! Mine are haphazard, in a couple of different cabinets. I need to get myself together!

[Alan Brice]

I see it this way, as long as I rotate my stock, I do not have bins full of freeze dried whatever. As long as I have access to water, celery, onion and carrots, and spices n herbs.
These are my survival food stores. I do not see them as expensive, just necessary.

I may have 15 or twenty bags of beans plus the extra things that come. Popcorn, Garbanzos, Lentils, chipotle peppers etc and yes you get great reading material n recipes.

[yakima]

BCS. Bean Club Syndrome. Just received inaugural bean club shipment, including Spanish Pimenton. The recipe packet includes paella, just in time for our church auction dinner. Another gal and I auctioned off a Duelling Paella event.
My partner is much more experienced, and I made much of the fact that her PP (paella pan) is 2 inches bigger than mine.
Good times!

[barelfly]

Paella!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes! Seems like you have a paella down, but i have a recipe posted on here if you need it. Ha! I’m more excited about the paella then the beans…is that wrong

[yakima]

This dueling fracas occurs July 20. Stay tuned.

[yakima]

SheilaAnn, I am working on posting photos, so I get a simple procedure engrained in my Luddite brain.

[yakima]

Bean Club Lite.
K has posted about this secret deal. It actually is secret, not on website. As a member now, just received notice of limited openings for existing bean club elitists to go lite. 2 annual shipments in lieu of 4.

The paella dinner went well, in 100+ temp. No pics. I did not burn it, but socarrat not as crusty as I prefer.
More recently did a smaller one, in smaller pan. One cup Bomba, 3.5 cups stock. Perfect.

[yakima]

I suspect, SheilaAnn, that it does not make economic sense for you to get in the club, due to your wholesale connection.

[SheilaAnn]

yakima I get my employee discount. Which makes it about the same as buying from the website. I think if I wanted wholesale I would need to purchase a whole case. And that doesn’t work for me. We are only a party of two 😎

[klflowers]

Alan Brice my reaction too when I tasted them.

[yakima]

klflowers, be grateful that you are not forced to drive by local bean producers/processors when visiting kids. It is crazy for me to be in bean club. Local prices, central Washington, are more like $1/lb for some of the same beans. You only have 20 pounds; a fair start! But no Stallards locally. And RG's pimenton is great in paella.

[ecowper]

When my kid was going to U of Idaho, I used to pick up beans at the farmer’s market on my way to/from Moscow. It was awesome. I told him that he needs to move to Pullman or Moscow so I still have a reason to drive though central and eastern wa

[SheilaAnn]

Those of you in the bean club probably received info about this event…….

https://www.altabajamarket.com

This is my work! We pretty much sold out in less than 24 hours. I have extra seats (called CYA 😆) if anyone can make it.

[Alan Brice]

Love, love, love my RG beans! Just made a pot of Borlotti Lamon last night with some mex smoked paprika n garlic. Nummy numms.

[barelfly]

What a cool market!

[klflowers]

I recently got the email confirming I am now in the RG Lite club. My deliveries will be May and November. If I want to go back to the regular club, I have to go back on the waitlist. I can't see doing that though.

[Alan Brice]

I will let you know what yer missin out on, Kevin. Mebe one day fer me too.

[klflowers]

Alan Brice hopefully I won't miss out on much. My only worry is that it looked to me like the good mother stallards usually came with the 4th quarter delivery. Other than that, twice a year works better for me

[fzxdoc]

Kevin, klflowers , I've been the the RG Lite club for a few years now, and I've gotten Good Mother Stallard beans each year. Not to worry!

Kathryn

[Alan Brice]

My first package came in the last ship.

[Alan Brice]

klflowers RG came today. Marcella, Royal Corona, French Style green Lentils, Flageolet, Buckeye n Mayan Red Bean. Bonus bottle of
”Stardust” chile Dipping powder.
A mix of ground dried chiles, crystallized lime, brn sugar, sea salt, Mexican Oregano. Net wt. 2.4oz
(68grams) An all natural versian of Tajin.
The Mayan Red Bean is from the same co-op in Chiapas that grows the "Negro de Vara"

[Bkhuna]

yakima - You're confused? Try figuring out why Missouri and Oklahoma play football in the Southeastern Conference.

[Murdy]

Bkhuna -- makes sense when you consider that the Cowboys are in the NFC east.

[Alan Brice]

fzxdoc I will be making bloody Marys tomorrow morning. Great idea.

[fzxdoc]

Is it stupid that I save the RG printed paper that comes in each order, iron the big wrinkles out of it, and use it for gift wrap?


When I bring a bag of RG beans for a hostess gift, I wrap it in some of that paper.

Kathryn

[fzxdoc]

I feel better now, Alan Brice .

K.

[klflowers]

I like that idea

[ecowper]

sweet, now I have an excuse to save that paper!

[GolfGeezer]

Darn it! Reading this thread is dangerous! After reading these latest posts, I thought, "hey, check out Rancho Gordo Black Bean dip recipes" - 'cause there is a nice restaurant named South of Nicks in town that has a very tasty black bean dip they serve (for free!) with their tortilla chips. I tried to emulate it last nite, but not very successfully. Thus, this thread, and a search for "Rancho Gordo black bean dip" led to a just-now order of Rio Zape beans and RG's Felicidad Chipotle hot sauce.

You're killing me Larry!

Rio Zape-Felicidad Heirloom Bean Dip Recipe – Rancho Gordo

[ecowper]

That’s how it starts

[klflowers]

This is how I started

[GolfGeezer]

ecowper & klflowers Oh, I'm already started, for a couple of years now. Joining, or signing up to wait to join, the Bean Club, just doesn't make sense as I am cooking for 2. I still have several bags in the pantry from my last order some months ago.

[Mosca]

Not club related, but Rancho Gordo related: every single time I make something with these beans, Mary Joan says, “That was fantastic, you have to make that more often.” It doesn’t seem to matter which beans I use, either. But I think there is a slight preference for Christmas limas.