Meet Your Maker: Farmer John Muller and his 1,200-pound pumpkins

Half Moon Bay is home to Giant Atlantic pumpkin enthusiasts, who grow squashes that can weigh in at more than 1,000 pounds (a world record was recently set by an Ohio farmer with a 1,725-pounder). One of the town's famed growers also is its mayor, Farmer John Muller. He lives for two things, he says, "politics and pumpkins."

At last week's weigh-off, one of his hybrid pumpkins weighed in at 1,200 pounds, setting a record for the county.

Muller also imports rare Italian pumpkin seeds that date back to the 1700s and uses them to grow over 50 colorful, oddly-shaped varieties of squash on his farm just off Highway 1. You can see some of these big boys at the Half Moon Bay Arts & Pumpkin Festival this weekend.

Check out video, photos and the full article at Brand X.

--Krista Simmons

Photo: Farmer John Muller and one of his Giant Atlantic pumpkins, which he's named Miss Pretty Ida. Credit: Aaron Avila

The Find: Amalia's Restaurant in L.A.

Just north of the traffic-tangling intersection where Beverly, Temple, Virgil, Commonwealth and Silver Lake merge sits Amalia's Restaurant. Secreted away in a refurbished bungalow on a shady stretch of Virgil, it's a surprising oasis where Amalia Zuleta's longtime dream, one that began with her arrival from war-torn Guatemala in 1984, is finally being realized.

The little house has been opened up to create an airy dining room. There are fine wood tables, a modest chandelier over the long service bar and specialty herbs growing outside the kitchen. On the adjacent leaf-shaded patio, tables draped with Guatemalan weavings under glass give a hint of the cuisine's Mayan origins.

Zuleta owned a small catering company in her homeland, but here in Los Angeles, as a kitchen helper at Mi Guatemala, she made little use of her skills. Later, her talents blossomed as head cook at Rinconcito Guatemalteca. There she attracted a loyal clientele that followed her when, in 1995, she opened a simple cafe (not far from her current one), Antojitos Chapines Amalia's, which has since closed.

Those familiar with Guatemalan food won't find Amalia's menu unusual. It's Zuleta's elegant refinements, her talent for fine-tuning mole-like sauces and her selection of good ingredients that turn what is basically rustic cooking into an urbane cuisine that's a magnet for her longtime devotees.

To read the rest of Linda Burum's story, click here.

Photo: A chile relleno at Amalia's Restaurant. Credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

On the hunt for truffles in Western Australia

Reporting from Pemberton, Australia -- The treasure lies in the Great Southern Forests region, in groves of oak and hazelnut trees, away from the typical tourist spots of Oz. Sometimes, I think I am the sole proprietor of this secret, but then I remember that Thomas Keller, Ferran Adrià and Michael Mina know it too -- so well that they're already using Western Australia's Périgord black truffles, this black gold, this diamond of the kitchen, in their restaurants around the world.

France has historically been king of the Périgord truffle, but unexpectedly low yields there, coupled with a huge projected harvest from the Southern Forests township of Manjimup, have turned this corner of Australia into the promised land for foodies, chefs and mycologists, the branch of botany whose focus is fungi.

As a curious gastronome and hands-on-learner, I've come here to learn more about the cultivation of this fungus, which, with a few swipes from a grater, transforms a dish from "ho-hum" to "oh yum!" It's been a few years since my last visit to Western Australia, where I worked at vineyards and sustainable farms, trying to absorb as much gastronomic knowledge as possible. The emergence of the black truffle industry -- and the hunts organized for tourists -- has brought me, and other travelers, here:

Photo: Krista Simmons / Los Angeles Times

Pack your bags: the cheapest cities in the world

San José, the capital of Costa Rica, caters to a bustling tourist industry. Foreign visitors enjoy its lush green mountains and forests, which are ideal for taking canopy tours and volcano hikes and seeing exotic wildlife. It's also one of the cheapest cities in the world -- here's a photo gallery look at some other budget destinations.

Looking for something a little more upscale? Well, it will cost you. Here's a look at the world's most expensive cities.

Photo: A busy Saturday afternoon at the Mercado Central, San Jose. Credit: Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times

Under the Tuscan Sun... with Michael Pollan

Imagine walking through the verdant Tuscan countryside discussing the ethics of burrata production with one of the world's foremost thinkers on the politics of food, his every word a pearl of wisdom spilling from lips undulant as an archer's bow. Suddenly, he says, "Signora. Please stop being so sad. If you continue like this, I will be forced to make love to you."

Rewind. Sorry. Got my dreams all mixed up.

Yes, there will be Tuscany, Michael Pollan and plenty of sunlight, but probably no Hollywood-style romance at the Petraia Sessions, a series of foodie retreats. Hosted by La Petraia, a 900-year-old organic farm in the Chianti Mountains that's been owned and operated since 2001 by chef and author Susan McKenna Grant ("Piano, Piano, Pieno") along with her husband, Michael Grant, each retreat will feature an "intimate week" with a leading chef or food lover.

Hoping that the sour economy hasn't curdled the market for luxury agrotourism, the first Petraia Session will take place in mid-July and feature five days of cooking classes, formal lectures, hiking, foraging for mushrooms and more. You'll get to prep and eat food (not too much, mostly plants) with the author of "In Defense of Food," "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and "The Botany of Desire" as you explore how to best nourish the global population. There are only eight spots and each costs 4,995 euros ($6,777) per person (airfare not included), so sign up now. Or perhaps you prefer to wait for the second retreat, which will take place in October and will star Jamie Kennedy (the chef, not the prankster comedian).

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Michael Pollan (Credit: Library Foundation of Los Angeles)