Hill of Beans

For Christmas, my mom gave me 5 pounds of beans. These weren't just any beans...but Rancho Gordo beans. (Check out their website for the full range of products and great recipes.) Rancho Gordo beans are the darlings of the food blogs right now. I hadn't heard of them before I received this leguminous present, but I have since read lots of posts praising their qualities and some wonderful recipes. The photo above is of the Christmas limas, which were the most beautiful of my gift pack.

I have to say, the jury is still out. I've tried the midnight black beans, the Christmas lima beans, and the yellow-eyed pea beans. They were all very good, and I enjoyed the dishes I made with them a lot, but I'm not sure they are out of this world.
This is the French-style roast lamb and beans I made with the Christmas limas. While the beans did taste slightly of chestnut, as the blurb about them promised, I find the color of them cooked somewhat repellent. Maybe they just don't go as well with lamb as flageolet beans.
I still have the vaqueros and the pebbles to try from my gift, but I'm really still hankering for some creamy pale flageolet beans. I think I will have to try Rancho Gordo's, and then I can make my final judgement. Thanks, mom, for the excuse to cook up more beans!