Summer in LA

I've been in southern California for one week now, since my last expedition up to norcal for a job interview and somewhat successful job hunt. The first few days were quite nice- I went to Santa Monica my first day back to have lunch with my former boss from my summer job and then went to the valley to see my family and have a nice homemade meal. My aunt had been cooking a roast in the pressure cooker all day and even though I try really hard to stay away from all meat, I knew I was helpless the moment I opened the car door in front of their house. Though I'm not planning on cooking any meat myself, I have kept in mind her sweet potato fries: crispy, tender, thick strips of orange and white potato perfectly baked in oil and salt. She told me that the potatoes came from the nearby farmers market and I made a mental note to search for some at the farmers market near me. I'm not a huge fan of fries- in fact, I hate fries, but these sweet potatoes were perfect.

Since visiting my family, I've been staying with friends in my college town. I haven't left the town again, yet. But I have been cooking and baking nonstop. There are two huge gardens here, well one is my school's own garden and the other is another school's "Farm." It's not exactly a farm, but there's an abundance of food all year round, and especially this time of year in particular. And best of all, no one seems to be reaping the benefits, so I've been at it all summer, bringing back food to cook for myself and for friends, and always bringing food to whom ever I go visit. It's always a tough decision between bringing food or alcohol, but I think food is the right way to go. Everyone needs it.