Good Food

Chef and food justice activist Zoe Adjonyoh returns to Ghana to explore her cultural ancestry and gather recipes. Julia Sherman has entertaining ideas and candy alternatives for Halloween. Delilah Snell shares traditions of Día de los Muertos, including the construction of altars and the significance of offerings left to welcome back the souls of deceased relatives. This week’s “In the Weeds” features Jonathan Yang, who opened Thank You Coffee in Chinatown to give back to the community and draw people back to legacy businesses. Christine Tran of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council explains a new county report showing better food insecurity statistics but trends with unemployment rates. Finally, Naomi Shim is making pastry with farmer’s market pears.

Attorney Joanne Lee Molinaro went vegan five years ago, modernizing the traditional Korean foods of her childhood and documenting the journey on TikTok as the Korean Vegan. She shares recipes and her family’s immigrant story in her new cookbook. Burritos La Palma is the winner of this year’s Great Tortilla Tournament of Champions, and owner Albert Bañuelos has been receiving congratulations from Jerez, where his father started the tortilleria over 40 years ago. At the farmer’s market, a Mexican delicacy known as huitlacoche is making a rare appearance. Kristina Cho uses her background in architecture to bake a perfectly versatile milk bread. There’s no looking back for pastry chef Hannah Ziskin who opened the doors of House of Gluten during the pandemic, and shares what’s next for “In the Weeds.” Finally, LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison visits Agnes in Pasadena.

The gloves are off as Gustavo Arellano breaks down the Fuerte Four finalists in the flour and corn tortilla categories leading up to Sunday’s final judging at Smorgasburg for the Great Tortilla Tournament. Food and travel journalist shares her picks for top boba spots in the San Gabriel Valley. Luv 2 Eat chefs Noree Pla and Fern Kaewtathip brought their Thai cuisine from Phuket to Hollywood, and chronicle their journey in this week’s “In the Weeds.” Chef and restaurateur Peter Hoffman explains why restaurants and diners need to work together to improve the industry. It’s date season at the farmer’s market. Finally, LA Times restaurant critic travels to Little Ethiopia for a global pop-up.

What’s the old adage — there’s no use crying over spilt milk? The same goes for burnt toast, according to Cal Peternell. He offers hacks and fixes for the most common kitchen flubs. Next, mother and daughter Maria and Cindy Vera share their battle with the city to keep their family business called La Gloria, which has been making flour tortillas since 1954. Gustavo Arellano returns to share the Eso 8 in the flour and corn brackets of the Great Tortilla Tournament of Champions. H. Claire Brown reports on herbicide’s losing battle against superweeds. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison bites into an array of savory pancakes in Koreatown. And quince is having its day at the farmer’s market.

Eighteen months into the pandemic, the days of hoarding toilet paper are mercifully over. But that’s not to say there aren’t disruptions in the supply chain causing shortages on grocery store shelves, along with inflation. Laura Reiley reports on the business of food and why groceries are going to cost more through the end of the year. Gustavo Arellano is back with the annual Great Tortilla Tournament , which has been narrowed down to the Suave 16 . Katerina Nitsou shares comfort food recipes from Macedonia that are perfect for the cooling forecast. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison discovers homestyle Lebanese recipes made from a kitchen in Hollywood. And market correspondent Gillian Ferguson tracks down guava and perilla at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market that are ripe for this Indian Summer.

In her new book “ We Are Each Other’s Harvest ,” author Natalie Baszile brings together the narratives and histories of Black farmers in America. She co-hosts this edition of Good Food with Evan Kleiman, as they speak to those who are tied to the land and profiled in the book. “Farmers are living ancestors for Black people,” explains Baszile, whose personal history includes a connection to farming.

Clyde W. Ford provides a historical account of how the American government has failed Black farmers. Willie Earl Nelson and his son Adrain explain the discriminatory tactics deployed to deny Black farmers of capital to purchase land. O’Neal Bluefort remembers early days on his family’s tobacco farm and his grandfather’s final gift, and shares how he plans to continue his legacy. Baszile recounts a visit from her grandmother and her recipe for dirty rice. Finally, Naima Penniman, an activist behind Soul Fire Farm, reads her poem for future generations.

Photographer Lucy Schaeffer captures the nostalgia and personal memories behind school lunch. Internal medicine doctor Rupa Marya and research professor Raj Patel discuss the disconnect between health and social justice in their book “Inflamed.” Iconic chef and restaurateur Alice Waters celebrates the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking Berkeley institution, Chez Panisse. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison runs down the best breakfast burritos in the city. Finally, cue the sweet peppers at the farmer’s market.

Books and movies have acted as a balm during the pandemic. Food writing provides a sort of fantastical consumption that requires using your imagination and wonder. In a new film starring Nicholas Cage, creators Michael Sarnoski and Vanessa Block worked with Portland chefs in creating the lead role of a truffle hunter in the Oregon wilderness. Science fiction writer Eli Lee taps into personal food memories and the familiar to create imaginary meals in her latest work. From “The Hobbit” to “Star Wars,” Leslie Bilderback recreates dishes described in favorite childhood stories and films in her new cookbook. Stuck on the couch, Folu Akinkuotu started a newsletter during the pandemic that combined her love of snacks and itch to travel. For this week’s “In the Weeds,” Beny Ashburn and Teo Hunter talk about what's on tap at Crowns & Hops, a Black-owned brewery in Inglewood. Finally, it’s apple season at the farmer’s market.

Why would coffee smell like gasoline and fried chicken like garbage? People are experiencing troubling sensory side effects from COVID. Dr. Nancy Rawson of the Monell Institute of Smell in Philadelphia explains the difference between anosmia and parosmia. Journalist Sarah Everts gets up close and personal to discover the curious science of sweat. LA Times restaurant critic reviews Morihiro in Atwater Village. “In the Weeds” follows the mother-daughter duo behind Sazòn in Huntington Park. Finally, it’s the final days of mangoes at the farmer’s market.

Chef Jenee Kim of Park’s BBQ recalls opening the restaurant nearly two decades ago and how she persevered during the pandemic for a new edition of “In the Weeds.” Paul Greenberg has tips on lowering carbon emissions by consuming consciously. Chef Alan Bergo forages the familiar and exotic with new ways of looking at a sunflower and milkweed. Tomatoes are all the rage at the farmer’s market. Beth Dooley shares how a newly developed grain is regenerating the land in the Upper Midwest. Finally, Bill Addison reviews the Brentwood location of Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne’s second outpost of A.O.C..