I hope you are relishing tomatoes in all their glorious varieties, from sun-sweetened cherry tomatoes to larger, juicy heirloom ones. Every year, I imagine the arrival of tomato season as a northward migration. I ate the first tomatoes in mid-April during a visit to Los Osos, in San Luis Obispo County. There is a lovely […]
Simona Carini
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Hiking in the Headwaters Forest Reserve
On a Sunday in early June, my friend Lissa and I planned to hike the Headwaters Forest Reserve’s Elk River Trail, about 10.5 miles. At the time, I didn’t realize our timing was perfect, as this year marks the 7,472-acre reserve’s 25th anniversary. It was established in 1999, after a decade-long effort to protect the […]
Posted inEat + Drink
More than a Farmstand
The first time I drove along Hiller Road looking for the Sea Goat Farmstand (1450 Hiller Road), finally parking near its sign, what I saw reminded me of a fireworks booth, one of the plywood structures that seem to materialize overnight in the days leading up to the Fourth of July. Upon approaching it, I saw fresh produce neatly arranged […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
When Nature Gives You Rain, Visit a Waterfall
While I don’t mind hiking in a drizzle, particularly in the redwoods, where rainfall is broken by the canopy (“Forest Bathing in the Redwoods,” Get Out, June 15, 2023), the intense rain of recent months kept me away from favorite trails. Finally, on Easter Sunday, after a few days without a storm, I felt it […]
Posted inEat + Drink
A Green Dish for Earth Day or Any Day
Thanks to months rich in rainfall, everywhere I look is green: our yard, pastures, parks. My plate is also green, partly because I eat a large green salad every day (“Take Time for Salad,” March 23, 2023), partly because I cannot resist the bunches of glorious leafy greens available at the farmers market. Neat bundles […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Spreading Vegetable Joy
It’s January and “Eat more vegetables” is in the air. There are variations, of course. Fruits are mentioned as well, the Mediterranean diet makes frequent appearances, the gut microbiome may also be invoked. The core message from many voices remains the same: Eat more vegetables. The path to implementing that resonant piece of advice must […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
A Daily Dose of Awe
One of my favorite outdoor activities is running in Sue-meg State Park. I start on Patrick’s Point Drive; the stretch of road between the two beautiful wooden signs marking the turnoff and the entrance station is like a red carpet laid out by the park’s welcoming committee. Past the entrance station, I turn left at […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Classic Oatmeal Cookies Revisited
Winter has arrived, so far carrying buckets of rain. Spreading a sweet aroma around the house by baking cookies is an excellent antidote to seasonal claustrophobia, when I start feeling caged within the walls of short, wet days. Guided on one hand by my Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies (“What-if Cookies,” Jan. 13, 2022) and […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Fermentation Tales of Koji and Miso
“You may be interested in trying this,” Richard Wagner told me one Saturday morning in April while I was looking at the produce he had brought to the Arcata Plaza farmers market. He and his wife Lauren run Palmer Creek Farm, a biodiverse farm in Fortuna. “I’m always interested in trying something new,” I answered. […]
Posted inEat + Drink
A Simple Carrot Salad
On a recent evening, while grating a carrot for my usual salad (“Take Time for Salad,” March 23, 2023), I thought how much I like them. And it shows: A quick survey of the dishes whose recipe I have shared on this column brings up several that showcase the sweet root vegetable, including Indonesian orak […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Forest Bathing in the Redwoods
One of the reasons I treasure spending time in the redwoods is that “in the forest I do not feel small,” as I wrote last year in the title of a poem. Rather, I am encouraged to take up space, expand my reach. As I hike on the trail, I explore trees’ territory and also […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Seize the Day on the Bay
I pause and take in the surroundings: sky, water, light, boats, buildings. The word that most often comes to mind is “amazing.” Energized, I resume rowing. I learned to row nine years ago during a summer session for new rowers offered by the Humboldt Bay Rowing Association (HBRA). I learned in an eight-oared shell, practicing […]