Tag: holidays

4 Pietastic Baking Tips for the Holidays
Four tips to make baking a pie that much easier

The holidays are ideally a pleasant time spent with family or friends, sharing gifts and eating good food, but the festive days are only as good as the desserts. If you are a baker or simply enjoy the act of baking, here are a couple tips to help you complete your holiday pie with ease and perfection.

1. Make sure your ingredients are fully incorporated. Things like butter or salt are easy to forget about, but they are crucial to the composition of the pie. Cooking is a science, and if you mis-measure or mis-incorporate your ingredients, the whole pie can be ruined.

2. The pie crust is the most delicate and intricate part of the pie. Try making the crust from scratch. Pre-made pie crusts can be good, but homemade is better. As long as you use a good quality butter you are left with a wonderful, flaky and crisp crust. When mixing the butter and flour of the dough, don’t over do it! Pie dough is made flakey by layering the butter and flour on top of each other, but over-mixing the dough can cause too much gluten to form and can make the crust hard. Fun fact, leaving small clumps of unmixed butter in the dough makes it flakier.
- Making your dough from scratch makes for scrumptious crusts. | Photo by Rachel Marty
- Spreading aluminum foil can prevent the crust from burning. | Photo by Rachel Marty
- Spices can be key additions for a tasty pie. | Photo by Rachel Marty
3. Cooking your pie can come with some trial and error. Always make sure to have aluminum foil handy because the middle of the pie cooks slower than the rest, in which case the top starts to darken and can become too crisp. Layer a sheet of aluminum foil on top of the pie to avoid the edges from from overcooking. In this situation, you can do what I did and cut a hole smack dab in the middle of the foil. This technique protects the edges of the crust from burning while the middle of the pie cooks.

4. The last tip I have is the most important. Don’t be afraid to use seasonings and spices. For a pecan pie, nutmeg and cinnamon turn out to be great additions. Seasoning can make or break your pie. Even a little pinch of salt can accentuate the flavors in the pie. Of course, don’t over do it. Remember, you can always add more, but you can’t take any out. Choose the best spices for your pallet and always be cautious of people’s food allergies.
Saturday, December 14, 2019
Finding Cheer Amid the Holiday Blues

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. For some, anyway.

Despite the enthusiastic spirit and excitement, the holiday season can be challenging for people to get through. For many folks during the holidays, the time and costs of traveling, balancing end of year responsibilities and potential conflicts with relatives all trigger a degree of stress, drama and anxiety.

The advertised illusion of the holidays as a joyful and easygoing time of the year discredit the holiday blues. Holiday stress ignites emotions completely opposite to for many people. The emotions are real and ought not to be ignored or made to seem unimportant.

The joy and ease of the holiday season may not match up with your personal feelings, and that can easily be seen as a betrayal of the holiday spirit.

Visiting places and people you rarely see, or attending parties and partaking in festivities can be overwhelming. The holiday season may be an extended break from school or even work, but it adds the responsibilities you generally don’t have the rest of the year. Many people are expected to be present and into holiday festivities with family, but sometimes it’s necessary to set up boundaries.

Remember what makes you happy. One example may be curling up in some blankets with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book. Whatever kind of downtime works for for you, take advantage of any time off to give yourself that much needed break.
Ben Zawilski

Telling yourself that holiday stress is uncommon or invalid isn’t helpful. Even though it is a season of generosity and giving, make sure to be generous and give yourself the time and care that you need. And set boundaries with loved ones if necessary.

The holiday season should be enjoyable for all, including you. Even even if the celebrations and responsibilities consume your time and energy, they shouldn’t interrupt your happiness and peace of mind.

Find the root to the chaos and what you can do to avoid or overcome it. If a family member is giving you grief, or a gathering takes up too much energy, ask yourself if you should be there. Pleasing everyone is not always the best move, especially if it is overwhelming or too much to handle.

Remember what makes you happy. One example may be curling up in some blankets with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book. Whatever kind of downtime works for for you, take advantage of any time off to give yourself that much needed break.

And remember, a visit to see friends and family doesn’t have to push your physical and mental health to the back burner. The holidays aren’t designed to bring anyone misery. We have the potential to make it both a time to celebrate with others and a time to take care of ourselves.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Making a New Year’s Eve resolution

By Domanique Crawford

This sounds familiar, right?

You wake up and smell the fresh air. It’s a new day, a new year, and there’s definitely going to be a new you. You whip out a pen and paper to jot down your master list of improvements. When you’ve completed the list, you feel that just by writing it down that you are a champion and have already accomplished something.

You post the list on the fridge to remind you of your goals. One week passes. Two. Finally three. The list has fallen to the ground and been trampled so much, its only refuge is the crevice that divides the countertop and refrigerator.

Following through with resolutions is harder than actually making them, and though the first month might be hard going, there are 11 more months that you are still able to work with.

Lorenz Hernandez, Humboldt State environmental resources engineering major, said alternatively to creating a list of things to start on, she makes a list of things that can be improved.

“I start a new journal,” Hernandez said, “and January first, I actually write a note to myself and actually say what I want to do that year.”

Hernandez uses the journal to monitor the negative and positive experiences when working toward achieving her resolutions throughout the entire year.

What is the point of New Year’s resolutions if we seldom take the time to fulfill them?

New Year’s resolutions today are a way of self-motivation to stimulate personal improvement. Ironically, statistics show only 45 percent of Americans say they will make a resolution, while 8 percent of people will keep them. Considering that New Year’s resolutions are self-imposed, it makes me think our resolution should be something we will actually accomplish.

Marc Ornear, a student in the teaching credential program, suggests reaching for smaller, very specific goals that are easier to achieve. This way, he doesn’t feel the pressure of failure.

“I come up with very vague [goals] that are not very solidified,” Ornear said. “Like, try to get more exercise time in or try to get more relaxation time in.”

Rather than losing exactly 20 pounds, promise yourself that you are going to simply start exercising. Now don’t get crazy and plan to work out 10 hours a week/five times a day. Again keep, it simple; maybe 30 minutes, three days a week.

When choosing your resolutions, we must remember that change is a long and ever-evolving process. It can’t be completed overnight. Sometimes we fail on the first try but don’t give up. Or give in.

Rachel Bowkley is another HSU student in the teaching credential program.

“I got disenchanted because it doesn’t feel like it’s new,” Bowkley said. “It’s just sort of the same stuff. I try to improve throughout every year and just use the new year as, what could I do better this year instead of continuing what I did last year.”

Wednesday, January 18, 2017