It has drawn national attention to Humboldt County and now marijuana is part of Nancy Only’s cookbook “Managing the Munchies: A Celebration of the Phenomenal Fare of Humboldt County, California.”

The Eureka resident and food columnist will sign copies of her book on Saturday during First Saturday Night Arts Alive! in Eureka from 6-9 p.m. at Pacific Flavors at 516 Second St.

The book is more than a how-to for the kitchen. Each chapter or “course” focuses on a different kind of food or drink, from “Appetizer” to “Eighth Course” and does so with a story that includes interviews that precede individual recipes.

The book’s creation is also a collaborative venture between Arcata photographer Matthew Filar and the author. Filar tailored photos he had already taken and created new ones for the book.

The book also includes a directory of local restaurants, as well as a calendar of food events.

“It’s not a recipe book; it’s Humboldt County history,” Filar said.

Filar said it was enjoyable for him to take pictures with a specific purpose in mind.

He said he is particularly impressed with Only’s inclusion of many local restaurateurs and chefs.

“If you lived here in the last 40 years, you know these people,” he said.

Only has included fish, shellfish, farmers’ markets, local food and libation producers ­­­­­— a decision which might not seem surprising to local residents or visitors familiar with the area and its history.

What might seem surprising to some is the eighth chapter, “Cash Crop.”

“It has put Humboldt County in the spotlight for a long time and it is ingestible,” Only said. “I thought it would set the book apart from a lot of other books.”

She was speaking about the cannabis sativa plant, or marijuana.

In 1996, the state’s voters passed Proposition 215, making marijuana legal for patients with prescriptions. The people with whom Only speaks are legally growing and/or supplying it.

“In the traveling that my husband and I have done, we say, ‘We’re from Eureka,’” Only said.

When someone finds out Eureka is in Humboldt County, he or she is liable to inquire if Only has any marijuana, she said.

Two of the recipes are “Nurse Deborah’s Butter Recipe for Patients in Distress” and “Ganja Lasagna,” courtesy of the Humboldt Patient Resource Center in Arcata.

Only spoke with the center’s receptionist, Linda Ann, who told her that the center encourages patients to ingest marijuana.

Another interview is with Eurekan Shawn Whelihan, who grows his own marijuana. He has been eligible to do so since 1999, according to Only’s book.

Only talked with Whelihan about his growing operation, which is outdoors part of the year and then indoors the rest.

Native American Vietnam veteran Robert (Standing Bear) LaFrance has two medical marijuana prescriptions. He told Only that he makes pastries with it.

Only included his recipe for “Bear Oil.”

But “Cash Crop” is just one of many chapters in the book, which has 45 interviews and 80 recipes.

This is the first cookbook, or “foodbook,” as Only prefers to call it, that she has written.

“I am passionate about Humboldt County, I really am,” she said. “I wanted a way, first of all, to let the world know the wonderful things we have here.”

Only said that she doesn’t understand the common use of the word “poverty” by local residents.

“I think it’s the richest area,” she said. “It’s not about dollars and cents. It’s not about having water. It’s about an ocean and six rivers.”

Some of Filar’s photos included in the book “just show off Humboldt County,” Only said.



(Wendy Butler can be reached at wendy@eurekareporter.com.)