The night before the fair officially opens, the food stalls are up, signs ablaze with corn dogs and funnel cakes, but none of the fryers are going. Tonight, the treats are inside Belotti Hall, where, behind a flank of hanging quilts, felted wool bear sculptures and jars of jam, some 140 entries await judging in […]
Baking
Posted inEat + Drink
Chicano Bakes‘ Pan Dulce and Disco
The cover of Esteban Castillo’s second cookbook Chicano Bakes is like a panaderia dessert case set up in Studio 54. A flan that shines like Donna Summer’s lip gloss, a square of pink-frosted cortadillo cake is cut sharp as Bianca Jagger’s suit. It’s a departure from the signature style of sunny lighting, bright backgrounds, and […]
Posted inNews
NCJ Preview: Spectator Ban, Outgoing Health Officer, Cookie Perfectionism and More
There’ll be no spectators at Humboldt County school sporting events, at least for the next couple of weeks. We’ll go into how the Humboldt Del Norte League came to that decision in the face of quickly rising COVID-19 case numbers and the ensuing backlash. We’ll also get into where our county is in terms of […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Jinx Cake
We’re a superstitious newsroom at the Journal. We knock wood in unison at the mention of any good news. Because digital editor Kimberly Wear once went through a massive electrical blackout at the Times-Standard years ago after uttering the phrase, “Hold down the …” — you know what, we just don’t say it and I’m […]
Posted inNews
NCJ Preview: Election Baking, Mountain Lion Mamas and Upscale Climate Refugees
This week we’ve got Nora Mounce (and her son Leroy) on to talk about the history and resurgence of spicy, boozy election cakes. We’ll also get into how climate change, COVID and wildfires combine to impact the local real estate market, as people facing the prospect of rising temps, smoke and remote work look to […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Election Cake
In the highly charged political culture of the day, hardly a word has been left untagged with electoral rhetoric. Take “patriotic”: the darling of the conservative minority, coopting the red, white and blue, and displays of affection for our incredible yet terribly flawed nation. On the other hand, progressives have claimed “science,” once a benchmark […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Bake a Cake Already
Instagram and reality TV can crush your confidence. I’m talking about your baking confidence here. While endlessly looped video of buttercream smoothing over the sides of spinning six-layer cakes can be deeply soothing, they can also skew your expectations for your own baking. The same goes for binge-watching the Great British Baking Show — possibly […]
Posted inEat + Drink
The Cookies
My answer for any emotional extreme — sadness, joy, stress — is food. Recently my partner, who works in the production department at the Journal, was under a tight deadline. Naturally, the voice in my head was screaming: Must. Make. Cookies. But here’s the thing. Even though (or maybe because) I have a culinary background, […]
Posted inEat + Drink
The Watergate ‘Tricky Dick’ Cake
If you grew up in the Midwest in the 1970s, you didn’t attend a family holiday, barbecue, reunion or get-together without someone bringing a version of ambrosia salad: Some concoction of whipped cream mixed with gelatin, pineapples, marshmallows, raisins, nuts, maraschino cherries, fruitcake candied fruit pieces, sprinkles, coconut flakes, spam, canned mandarin oranges and on […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Huckleberry Scones
The sun was still warm on a crisp November afternoon. With buckets and gloves, we were on our fourth huckleberry picking trip of the season. Surrounded by fresh air and natural beauty, I felt so fortunate to call Humboldt my home. Living on the North Coast, we can start picking the huckleberries as early as […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Pucker Up
Just as the weather turns warm and citrus cocktails and desserts beckon, a triumvirate of forces — bad weather, crop disease and drug cartels — have created a lime shortage and skyrocketing prices. Bartenders, chefs and home cooks alike stand in the aisles, green fruit in hand, wondering if the old lemon can do the […]