A month after we married in the late ’70s, my husband Barry Evans and I decided to stop eating meat. Which wasn’t that difficult because, although I was raised on fried chicken, Southern ham, pork chops and ribs, I never learned to cook meat myself. As a single woman in my 20s, the closest I […]
Louisa Rogers
Posted inEat + Drink
Chicken Soup for the Vegan Soul
Like cooks everywhere, I scan recipes in newspapers, magazines, cookbooks, online. But I also have a private habit I don’t tell many people: If I’m drawn to a recipe in a cookbook in a store, I have been known to scribble down the basic ingredients and their ratios without buying the book. Back at home […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
The Best Medicine
I was not in a light mood the damp Monday afternoon when I headed over to the Om Shala Yoga Center in Arcata to attend my first laughter yoga session. It was two days after the Paris attacks, and the troubles of the world, not to mention my own private worries, hovered over me. That […]
Posted inEat + Drink
‘Tis But a Trifle
The United States is one of the few ex-British colonies that never claimed the venerated holiday Boxing Day. Fools that we were! The day after Christmas is the perfect time for munching on leftovers, embarking on a massive jigsaw puzzle and enjoying a leisurely stroll in the park. True, we U.S. residents can still choose […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Goodbye, Granola
Malaysians start their day with coconut rice wrapped in banana leaves. Egyptians prefer slow-cooked fava beans in olive oil, lemon juice and garlic. In Myanmar, the traditional breakfast is fried rice with peas, whereas a normal Japanese breakfast is also rice, but with fish and pickles. As this global snapshot attests, the act of breakfast, […]
Posted inEat + Drink
No-Fail Risotto
One evening while stirring arborio rice, I thought of an old friend who is married to an Italian. While the rice simmered, I fired off an email to her: “Molly, I’m cooking risotto. Any special insider tips from your Italian relatives?” No such luck. She wrote back that she didn’t do risotto. “Too much time, […]
Posted inEat + Drink
No Shame in Cans
Has cooking always been so complicated? When I look at recipes in magazines like Cooking Light and Bon Appetit, the pages themselves seem weighed down with all the ingredients to be prepared in intricate separated stages, then elegantly choreographed for assembly, like a culinary ballet. If I weren’t comfortable with my keep-it-simple-stupid style of cooking, […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Take it Outside
The gym: That altar to fitness, that sanctuary where we’ll transform our flabby triceps into taut, tight muscles. Surely, at the gym we’ll achieve the gleaming body of our dreams! Well, maybe. Recent studies show, the gym may be an actual obstacle to fitness. Why? It turns out that overall accumulated activity in the course […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Walking on Water: No Faith Required
Looking out at the bay from the Eureka boardwalk, I could barely believe my eyes. In the mist I saw a figure walking on water. He looked mythic, out of biblical times. Could all those Sunday School stories be true, after all? That was a few years ago, and I soon learned the name for […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
The New Magic Carpet
We are long-term cyclists and ride our handy folding bikes a lot, both around Humboldt and beyond. Purists, we never thought we’d succumb to an electric bike. But last July, we surrendered and invested in one that we now share — and love. We walk as much as possible, and do most errands either on […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Open Water Swimming
Why would anyone choose to swim in an indoor pool with nothing to look at but painted stripes and concrete ceilings? Especially when right outside are the big, wide, inviting waters of Humboldt Bay and Stone Lagoon. Mention “bay swimming” at a party, though, and you’ll hear, “Yuk,” “It’s way too cold,” “Are you kidding? […]