Hello and good morning!

Can you believe it’s already September? I cannot, but I am also ready for cooler temperatures in Los Angeles whenever those arrive. I spoke to someone who has lived here for 3 summers and moved here from Oregon - she said that her first summer here was unbearable. Still, her body got used to it by the second summer, and now she’s one of those LA people that wears a sweater when the temps hit 70º. Personally, I wanna be that person! Homeostasis NOW! ☀️

I ate delicious things this week, most memorably, was the pizza bagel I had at Courage Bagels, which I admit is delicious.

bagel with burrata cheese, pepper, olive oil, squash blossom, tomato, parm and salt — Courage Bagels.x Pizzana

The second delicious thing I ate this week was the dinner I made tonight, Garlic Sauce Eggplant via Made with Lau on YouTube. If you haven’t checked them out yet, please do! It’s such a great show; it highlights the cooking of Randy’s dad (Daddy Lau), who worked at a Chinese Restaurant for many years. Daddy Lau teaches the recipes then the whole family (3 generations!) sits together to enjoy the food and talk about what memories they have of eating it or tips on making it at home. It’s charming! I totally oversteamed my eggplants, but it was still delicious; it tasted just like, if not slightly better, than take out! 🥡

Would you be interested in a beginning of the month guide on what’s in season in North America for that month? Please reply to this email or comment on the substack post :) 🍎

I was able to secure 50 pounds of beefsteak tomatoes. I am heading to Orange County with Chris and his sister, Camilla, to process them and save tomatoes for winter. That’s if Chris and I don’t run through our take-home batch before fall is done. Pics of the process next week! :)

I hope that you are safe and healthy and that your family is also safe and healthy. I want to take the time and send my love and thoughts to my friends in New Orleans and my family/friends back in New York.

I will speak to you next week!

XX AX

thoughts from the kitchen

warm September nights...