Hello Friends,

I hope the great majority of you weathered the rain with relatively little damage and I feel for those who have had to contend with mud on top of everything else. 

I started out this week with a lunch meeting at Saby's in Venice, a great little Mexican place that I wish I had more of in my neighborhood. It's been a while since I had huevos rancheros and a cup of café de olla and perhaps never on a weekday. It was actually a great way to jump-start the week. The impending rain caused me to dine at home the rest of the week and disassociate by continuing the unending project of organizing my space.

I am a disorganized person. Every horizontal surface in my home is fodder for clutter. Therefore my organizational mantra for this year is “don’t put things down, put them away.” In the past, this has always been out of reach since I didn’t have organized places to put things away. Two key elements of my kitchen redo over the past couple of months have been to add a bank of drawers to a very deep open cabinet and a pull-out pantry in an easily accessible cabinet. I should be ecstatic right? But no, I’m terrified that my chaotic self will seed the new drawers and pullout incorrectly and soon they will become another physical manifestation of my ADHD brain. I find myself researching “how to organize kitchen drawers.” Part of the problem is how much stuff I have. How many lemon/lime squeezers do you need? Not four, a result of not being able to find any and buying another one. Some stuff is redolent of personal history like the simple spring whisk with a wooden handle that I’ve used since I was two. Or the contraption that loosens jar lids that my mother started using as a young bride. Let's not even talk about the number of spices. I know I will have to take everything out of its current space and make many choices. Is anyone good at this? I clearly am not. Meanwhile, I can’t find my red-handled wrench. Sigh.

While you weren't looking, this year's Tortilla Tournament happened in a low-key way. We four judges ate our way through 64 corn and flour offerings and crowned a winner. To find out who won, check out Gustavo's Substack. The tournament always leaves lots of tortillas behind in my freezer, perfect to pair with my completely out-of-control bean pantry. They have a shelf unto themselves. But this week's conversation with the team behind Rancho Gordo's The Bean Book is inspiring me to work my way through them. Tough work it is not.

On the local restaurant front, more than one listener has reached out about Chef Onil Chibas' Deluxe 1717 in Pasadena, literally yards from the Eaton fire’s southern edge. They're open all day with something on the menu for everyone. Go support!

And, if you think you'll need a break later this year, why not join me in Italy? I'm doing another tour, this time it's Parma in September. Scroll down for details.

Putting one foot in front of the other, Evan

With all the problems associated with chocolate production like child labor, extremely low wages, and challenges due to climate change, it's not surprising that the possibility of creating chocolate in the lab is being explored. Good Food's Julia Child intern Gabriela Glueck visits California Cultured and talks to those involved.

For some, the disappearance of eggs from the supermarkets is a mystery. For those of us who have been watching the Bird Flu make its way across the globe, the mystery now is — will the virus leap to humans? We get updated on the situation by New York Times science and global health reporter Apoorva Mandavilli.

With eggs hard to find and priced at a premium when available, it's a good time to have some substitutes in your back pocket for cooking and baking. Eggs are a complex little bundle adding richness, moisture, and binding ability to your bakes. Genevieve Ko, deputy editor of NYT Cooking and Food at The New York Times offers some alternatives.

There are beans, then there are Rancho Gordo Beans. Each time I think I've been lulled into a cult, all it takes is for me to make a pot of the beans to affirm the excellence. Now there is a book for all bean heads. The Bean Book: 100 Recipes for Cooking with All Kinds of Beans from the Rancho Gordo Kitchen. I talk with co-authors Steve Sando and Julie Newberry about the possibilities with this perfect food.

Just when the dark, richness of winter foods starts to weigh us down, lemons explode in all their variety at the farmers markets to give us some zing. Producer Gillian Ferguson talks to farmers and produce sourcer for the Gjelina Group, Bethany Harris, about the characteristics of different varieties from the giant Ponderosa to the Santa Teresa which is getting a lot of chef love for its Starburst candy pop.

Feel like running away? I've added another Italy tour to my schedule this year. This one centers on the region of Emilia Romagna. We'll be staying in the elegant treasure of a town, Parma, and venturing out each day from September 21st–27th. If you love the triad of Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto, and Balsamico set amidst glorious art and architecture this is the trip for you! One thing to keep in mind if you’re vegetarian, vegan, lactose intolerant, or celiac. Emilia Romagna is a meat, dairy-centered, and gluten-heavy region. Click through for more info, photos, and itinerary.