I’m not a picky eater by any means, but for some reason I’ve never exclaimed, “Gee, I could really go for some goat tonight!” as I do with, say, lamb. Perhaps that’s because when I was twelve the farm that my parents moved us to came with a goat named Nanny. That shouldn’t have dissuaded me though – I also had a French Lop Ear rabbit named Nicholas, and I’ve eaten rabbit (albeit not too excitedly). We had chickens – I eat chicken. And I had a beloved horse named Pronto. You see where I’m going with this. In my defense, I had no idea I was eating horse. When I asked our waiter in Paris what kind of meat it was he made a sound I took more as a baaaa than a whinny. Sorry, Pronto, clearly I need tutelage in international animal sounds.

Back to the goat.

Barnaby finally convinced me to give it a try. I actually had tried goat once before and, though Nanny never won many points with me due to her frequent need to make hard contact with her horns and my rear end, I found it too gamey, a taste that always stayed with me. But he purchase some high-quality, grass fed goat from Thundering Hooves and I was won over. As with our other grass fed meats it was incredibly flavorful and tender.  We slow cooked a shank all day with white wine, rosemary, garlic and Alubia Criollo beans, a white Spanish runner bean with an amazing rich and creamy flavor. When we got home we were greeted with the heavenly aromas of wine, rosemary and garlic. The beans, a wonderful heirloom variety from Rancho Gordo (my new favorite bean purveyor), were perfectly cooked, the goat meat falling off the shank in delicate morsels.

A memorable meal indeed.

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Cooking in a slow cooker (or crockpot, as we used to say in the “old days”) is not only easy and convenient, but it’s wonderfully spectacular to come home with your dinner cooked and ready to eat. And no one got your kitchen all messy. I like to “forget” that it was I who placed all the ingredients in the pot that morning. Instead, I imagine that I have deep pockets and can afford to throw money at a personal chef who prepares healthy, organic meals for us when we’re tired.

Reality check.

Personal chef-prepared or not, your family will enjoy this hearty and delicious, yet light, vegetable chili. I’d call it Vegetarian Chili but we also did a batch with lean ground turkey, which made a tasty version as well. Add fresh chopped parsley or basil on top for a burst of freshness.

Click here for the recipe:

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Editor’s Note: We are happy to welcome Tracy Sarich as a new contributor to the Foodista blog.

Photo: Lucianvenutian

For many, family recipes are secrets – passed down father to son, mother to daughter – preserved for only the intimate few.  But there are a few family recipes so precious that they are passed only to those family members who understand – the chosen few.  I know of one such secret – held tight-fisted by my friend Michelle – who has entrusted me to be named the godmother of her children but unworthy of the secrets of the sauce.  Somehow – this makes sense to me – though I am on a perpetual quest to impress her with my barbecue sauce…. I’ve gotten close a few times.  I have never quite reached the heights of Jack’s 4th of July sauce.

Last 4th of July, I was invited to the family barbecue and given the task of bringing – THE BEANS.  The pressure was on.  I was nervous.  I knew that it would be eaten by a long line of experts, who knew.    Girl. Boy. Whoever you are.  I was about to enter a 4th of July BARBEQUE THROWDOWN.  There would be judges.  I’d know by the silence if I’d failed.  And while there would be love in the room, we’d all know they might have been good, but not necessarily GOOD.

So when my 4 year-old godson, the boy who teethed on short ribs drippin’ with sauce, took a bite and said “Good beans, Tracy”… I knew I had been to the mountaintop.  I had arrived.  Tastee!

1 pound dried small pinto beans
4 ounces bacon – diced
1 medium onion – diced
5 medium garlic cloves – minced
1 cup strong black coffee
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespook molasses
1 ½ tablespoon mustard (I think that prepared brown mustard works well, though any good mustard will do)
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon ground cumin (or to taste)
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
½ teaspoon ground coriander (or to taste)
½ to 1 cup of a good – I mean it – barbecue sauce (I like Bone Suckin’ Sauce – http://www.bonesuckin.com – we think it’s the best sauce in a jar on the market)
Hot sauce to taste
8 cups chicken broth (you may use water – but I think the chicken broth adds nice richness)
Salt/Pepper to taste

1.    Soak your beans – or – if you’re like me and forget to soak the beans, boil your beans in water for 2 hours.  I like to add a chopped onion and a few crushed garlic cloves to the water.  Do not add salt at this stage.
2.    In a large pot, brown bacon.
3.    Add onions and garlic in the bacon grease until lightly brown.
4.    Add beans and the remaining ingredients.
5.    Simmer low for at least 4-5 hours – this can sit on a low simmer for quite a while and works very well in a slow cooker/crock pot.  Just be sure that you don’t burn it with a heat that is too high.

This recipe requires you to adjust several ingredients to taste.  The hot sauce, barbeque sauce, salt, pepper, and mustard are items that you should adjust after a few hours – again, taste it – play with it – and you’ll have Good Beans, too.

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My mother’s friend brought the seeds of these beautiful runner beans back from Italy sometime last year, and they were finally harvested. I have to admit, I kinda like the idea of her secreting seeds away in her purse and steeling across international borders. All for the love of gardening. Actually, it was all probably on the up and up, but I still giggle at the idea of a sweet bespectacled lady responding innocently to the Customs agent, “Only a liter of Chianti, sir.”

Really, I absolutely do not condone smuggling or any illegal behavior. I promise. I blame it on my evil twin who likes the naughtiness of it all. Like drinking Cuban rum.

Anyway…

These beans are huge! And they are so tender and buttery. We steamed them until slightly soft, but still with some crispness, then simply tossed them with a little butter and salt and pepper.

I love when food takes the least amount of preparation, yet tastes more divine than anything.

(And, I swear, smuggled beans from Italy do taste just a little sweeter. But don’t tell!)

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