I’m going to use these 3 beans since they are approximately the same size. Will probably do about 1/3 of each bag.
We have plenty of ground beef, onions, garlic and all the seasonings. We stay fairly traditional.
I have an old recipe from Kenji that I’ve never used. He puts in a lot of items that all probably serve a purpose but I’ve never been adventurous enough. OJ. Raisins. Fish Sauce.
I think those are perfect. Same size & pretty sturdy.
Yeah, OJ & Raisins sound more like Mole ingredients. Fish Sauce? Sometimes you can taste it too much, sometimes it just adds nice flavor, like anchovies in the sauce on my Alubia Blancos.
Agreed, although I’ve found Kenji’s use of the stuff to trend towards the latter. An interesting alternative I’ve been using lately is this fish sauce available at Epicurus. It’s a whole different animal (literally, I think) than Thai fish sauce- much milder and sweeter. I should also say I bought it out of curiosity and don’t know if I’ll repurchase even though it’s more available than Japanese ayu fish sauce and cheaper than Italian garum.
Still, while I’m trying to use it up I’ve been putting it in a lot of stuff and it reminds me of a Korean soup soy sauce a buddy uses so it seems to hold up well in those kinds of dishes.
I’ve got a really old recipe from the latimes that I’ve been saving for a million years. Looks like a good starting point.
Recipe: Bowl of red chili
Servings: This makes 20 to 24 (1-cup) servings
Note: The chili is best made 1 day ahead to allow the flavors time to marry. Achiote paste is available at Latin markets. For a deeper, smoky flavor, roast the dried chilies until aromatic before rehydrating. Dried chiles are available at Mexican markets.
6 ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
2 guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
3 dried New Mexico chiles, stemmed and seeded
2 dried chipotle chiles (not packed in adobo sauce), stemmed and seeded
3 cups boiling water
6 1/2 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons ground cumin, more as desired
1 tablespoon ground Mexican oregano, more as desired
2 teaspoons ground coriander, more as desired
3 poblano chiles
3 jalapeno chiles
1 pound thick-cut bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4 -inch strips
3 large onions, diced
2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 12 cloves)
1 tablespoon achiote paste, optional
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 (12-ounce) bottle dark beer, preferably stout
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
6 cups beef broth, divided, more as desired
2 teaspoons celery salt, more as desired
Tabasco (or another vinegar-based hot sauce), or cider vinegar
That Iwashi Fish Sauce looks great. Why wouldn’t you buy it again? Price?
You’ve got a lot of my favorites too 
I absolutely adore the Alubia Blancas. I think they are one of the most versatile beans. Use them for baked beans, in soups (U.S. Navy Bean Soup anyone?) . They’re great as a base for salads with a light vinagrette, theyre even great plain with a splash of olive oil and chopped herbs of your choice. Other options would be something like a tangine/Moroccan style stew with lamb, or something like Sicilian white beans and escarole, white beans and sauteed calamari. You’ve got lots of options with this bean
Domingo Reds surprised me. I didn’t think I’d like them but fell in love with them. Use them for Red Beans and Rice, chili or in any hearty soup or stew. Makes a nice bean broth. Pairs well with sausage
Cranberry beans are a great all puprose bean. You can use them in soups, stews, salads or plain by themselves. This bean works extremely well in Italian dishes and Italian flavors
Midnight Blacks are an outstanding black bean. I cook them pretty simply with onion, a lot of garlic and a big sprig of fresh epazote. If you’ve got well stocked Mexican markets in your area, that is your best bet for finding it. Penzy’s has a dried version that’s I’ve heard is decent, but I can’t speak from experience with it. I have no trouble finding fresh epazote where I live. They’re good in tacos, burritos, tamale pie, or a riff on Cowboy Caviar . They’re equally good mashed into refried beans and used for tostadas and sopes, or blended into a black bean version of hummus.
I put off cooking the first bag of Yellow Indian Woman that I received. I didn’t think I’d find them terribly interesting. Boy was I wrong! They’re mildm creamy and a little seductive. Use them in summer salads, with seafood, in soups, baked beans. This bean holds up well and would work in chili, especially a vegetarian chili or a white chili (i.e. chicken or turkey, no tomato).
Yellow Eyes I think need some help in the flavor department. They’re pretty mild but on the up side they can get pretty creamy. They work well in recipes for white bean dips and spreads and salads. RG recommends using them for baked beans but I prefer Alubias for that and haven’t tried Yellow Eyes for that.
Black-eyed peas are not a favorite of many people and there are complaints about it when we get them in a box. But, if you like BEPs, and I do, they’re a nice product. I made this recipe, Blacked Eyed Peas with Walnuts and Pomegranates and seasoned with Dukka
Marcus Samuelson has a recipe using BEPs, coconut milk and Ethiopian spices that everyone on the RG Faebook page is in love with. I’m out of BEPs so I haven’t tried it yet. The recipe is online, you can Google for it if you’re interested.
I haven’t cooked the Moros yet so I can’t comment on those. And I saw your post about the Caballeros. I loved them, but they are not the easiest bean to cook, as you found out. This is what I did with my Caballeros. Not the greatest photos, but I think you’ll get the drift
I love popcorn, but I am not a huge fan of the RG red popcorn. I think it’s fiddley and tends to be tough. You may have an entirely different experience, I think mine is in the minority. I do not have an air popper, which I understand works well with this product.
It took me a while but I finally figured out how to make it on the stove top. I use a 3 qt. Cuisinart saucepan with a glass lid. I put a couple tablespoons of avocado or coconut oil in the pot and let it heat up. Meanwhile I measure out 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels and then add 2 or 3 individual kernels to the pot. When they all pop I add the popcorn and remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for about a minute. This lets the kernels come up to temp without having the oil get over heated. I put the pot back on the flame, put the lid on and wait for it to start popping. When it begins popping I adjust the lid so that it is slightly ajar allowing the excess steam that is developing to escape and leave the lid ajar until the popcorn finishes popping. I found letting the steam out during popping lessened the toughness I was experiencing. I can say that when you toss in some melted butter and sprinkle on the RG Stardust is it really good popcorn.
In Mexico old fruit is not generally thrown out, it is converted into something. That’s the basis for both the banana vinegar and the pineapple vinegar. Neither has the same acidic bite as regular vinegar. In fact, in recipes calling for pineapple vinegar the usual substitution is to use half the recipe amount of regular distilled or apple cider vinegar and make up the rest of the fluid volume with water. These vinegars add a slight, somewhat fruity or tropical flavor and can be used in vinagrettes, marinades, a splash in a bowl of beans, a splash or two in caramel sauce. I prefer pineapple vinegar to banana vinegar.
PS…you asked about lentils.
The RG French Green Lentils are outstanding. They hold their shape wil cooking and have a great, earthy flavor. I have a recipe for a French Lentil Salad that I like and the RG lentils work really well in it.
The Beluga Lenitls are worth ordering when they are in stock. They were really quite good.
Also worth ordering are the RG Wild Rice and the RG Spelt (which is farro). I’m currently out of both and waiting to reorder as they’ve been swamped with pandemic orders.
I often add a couple of tablespoons of wild rice to other grains when I cook them and it adds a nice, nutty flavor and some texture.
It’s not bad, it just doesn’t taste interesting enough to restock and the whiskey barrel thing really didn’t seem to contribute anything. If I didn’t already have Ayu fish sauce, Red Boat, and colatura… maybe I’d buy again. As it is, it seems like that spectrum of fish sauce is covered enough I’d rather make fridge space for something else or even just try the Korean soup soy sauce that seemed similar.
Still, it has been useful for bean and vegetable dishes so maybe I’ll miss it when I run out.
Bookmarking @aaqjr! That is a bomb chili recipe! I love recipes like that. I file them under the “When I Retire” category, along with a few other things like making Mole from scratch. 
I do have most of those chilis in the cabinet… already in powder form, though, lol. I use them to make a Chili Powder Blend including Cumin, Coriander, Oregano, Smoked Paprika, then throw a couple of Dried Chili Pods into the pot and let the cooking process do the reconstituting, and add some Mole from a jar. Big A loves Mole. I use mostly Lager-style Beer, but will use Dark Beer next time. Sometimes I use Chuck or leftover Pot Roast. The Chuck reminds me of Tito’s Tacos. Peeps stand in line for the tacos but I love the Chili con Carne. I’m gonna’ try to hack this recipe with Chili Powder and MAYBE roast Chilis like the recipe and buy a few other ingredients like canned Chipotles. I’ll call it Lazy Woman’s Red Chili. So I can post it here I’ll add some beans. 
Agreed. I prefer to have a super old school recipe and hack It out myself than have a cookbook author hack it for me.
Gotcha’. I hear ya’. I have sooo many condiments. Like buying Colatura is tempting but I have 3 jars of Anchovies to go thru.
Great @DiningDiva! Thanks! I’ll read after I finish getting dinner on the table. The natives are hungry.
Exactly! It’s a real privilege living in LA and having access to so many things but we’re also trying to be responsible and not snatch up things just because we don’t know if we’ll always be able to
Mole is easy. Other than Chichilo and Mole Negro, the rest of them are a whole lot simpler than you think.
Goodness… they are out of a lot!
My standard items aside from the beans are the Pozole, Wild Rice, Mixteca Salt, They used to make the BEST Piloncillo. Sadly they lost that relationship and now I deal with the awful one from Northgate. UGH.
For the beans, my favorite is the Ayocote Negro for my Frijol con Puerco which is an essential Yucatecan Dish… It’s a largish bean, so it’s really the star of the dish as it should be… but if cooked right, it has this amazingly tender skin…
You make the pot of beans your standard way.
Cube up some pork shoulder (I use country ribs because usually you don’t need that much) and cook in the identical manner.
Both will take about 2 hours to get tender but not fall apart. And once they are both done… Clean up all the spent veggies from the bean broth. Then take out the pork from the pot pork pot and put it in the bean pot. Then take some of the pork broth (I use about a cup or two, you want a soupy consistency to your dish) and put it in the bean pot to thin the liquor. Put it back on the heat for about another 20 minutes so the flavors really meld. You can put it in the fridge to mellow it over night… or just serve…
You serve with in a bowl with rice (Garlic Rice is best!) and garnish with chopped white onion, cilantro, squeeze of lemon or lime and a sprinkle of dried chile.
This. Homie likes Mole Negro. I saw a woman in Merida make her famous recipe on TV. There were so many steps and so many ingredients… even animal crackers! I basically just buy it from various places and doctor it up. He’s happy. My work partner brought back some wonderful Mole from Oaxaca, no doctoring needed, but it’s gone. 
A great post @DiningDiva! Thanks. So much good stuff.
When they become available try the Moros. 
Oh @Dommy! The Frijole con Puerco sounds great. Question: cooking the pork in the identical manner means simmering in a separate pot with aromatics?
Bummed the Le Creuset Sale is cancelled. It had to be done but I need the pots!
So true about RG being out of so much, but I’m happy for their business. I’m going to check if the Mixteca Salt & the Ayocote Negro are still available.
Are they Black Caviar Lentils? If so, they’re in stock now.
Yes, Belunga Lentils = Black Caviar lentils. Do order them.
I think the Ayoctoe Negros might be out of stock, but the blancos are in stock.
