Pride Month is hitting a little different in 2025.
There are still rainbows, of course. Lots and lots of rainbows. There are also drag queens and kings and signs proclaiming “Love is Love.” That much hasn’t changed.
What’s changed is the mood. Since Jan. 1, the LGBTQIA+ community has been under siege from all sides. The Iowa legislature just finished a session in which it debated one bill after another targeting queer folks. There were bills that criminalized drag performances and the mentioning of queer subjects in our state’s schools. Most (thankfully) didn’t pass. Some – including one that removed gender identity from the state’s civil rights code – did.
Nationally, the story isn’t any better. There have been efforts to ban transgender people from serving in the military as well as a push to ban the teaching of diversity, equity, and inclusion – which involves efforts regarding sexual orientation as well as race – in the nation’s colleges and universities. There have also been symbolic attacks. Earlier this month – Pride Month, no less – the Defense Department announced a plan to strip the name of LGBTQIA+ legend Harvey Milk from a naval vessel. The timing of the announcement was hardly coincidental.
And yet, Pride Month persists because queer individuals persist. Erasing our names from the history books – or from naval vessels – doesn’t erase our existence. Instead, it motivates us to fight back. As Harvey Milk, himself, said, “Rights are won only by those who make their voices heard.”
Which is appropriate, because the first June Pride celebration wasn’t a fair or a parade. It was a protest. All of those rainbows and “Love is Love” signs can trace their roots back to June 28, 1969 when patrons at the Stonewall Inn – a gay bar in Greenwich Village – fought back when police raided the establishment. It wasn’t the first protest by gay patrons against police raids. It wasn’t even the first gay rights movement. But Stonewall galvanized something in the LGBTQIA+ community that previous incidents had not. Exactly one year after Stonewall, Pride marches occurred in New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
Locally, 1970 was also a big year for queer liberation. According to Think Iowa City’s “A History of Inclusion,” the University of Iowa’s Gay Liberation Front was the nation’s first gay rights organization to be recognized by a university. That same year, the GLF was included in the U of I’s homecoming parade, the beginning of what would become the Iowa City PrideFest.
This year’s PrideFest is scheduled for Saturday, June 21. If you go, expect plenty of music and dancing – as well as the ubiquitous rainbow. You can also expect to find some great food. It’s no secret that queer folks are great cooks and bakers.
If you are looking to celebrate your own Pride this year, I’ve included a few recipes that should get you started. None of them are that hard to make. Nor do they require special ingredients or skills. They do, of course, feature lots of bright colors.
Rainbow Jell-O
What better way to “taste the rainbow” than with Jell-O?
I love Jell-O, and I especially love a colorful layered Jell-O dessert. This recipe comes from Food Network, and it is a boozy variation on the traditional Jell-O salad. But don’t worry. If you don’t want the booze, you can substitute the vodka with plain water (the variation is in the recipe).
Before you start, however, let me give you a few tips. First, this recipe – while easy to make – does take time. You will need at least 15 minutes of setting time per layer. That’s several hours, so plan accordingly. Also, you will need space in your refrigerator for the eight glasses of Jell-O. If you’re like me, that can be a challenge.
Ingredients
For the Panna Cotta:
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
3 cups half-and-half at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Jell-O Layers:
One (3-oz.) box strawberry-flavored gelatin
One (3-oz.) box orange-flavored gelatin
One (3-oz.) box lemon-flavored gelatin
One (3-oz.) box lime-flavored gelatin
One (3-oz.) box blue raspberry-flavored gelatin
One (3-oz.) box grape-flavored gelatin
6 teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatine
6 cups boiling water
1 ½ cups vodka (or replace with water for a non-alcoholic dessert)
To make the panna cotta:
In a medium saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water. Let stand until absorbed – about 3 minutes. Place the saucepan over low heat until the gelatin dissolves (about 1 minute). When the gelatin is liquid, whisk in the half-and-half and sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is melted and the mixture is hot and just steaming (about 5 minutes). Stir in the vanilla extract and remove from the heat to cool for about 15 minutes.
To make the Jell-O layers:
Place each color of gelatin in its own medium, microwave-safe bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of the unflavored gelatin to each; whisk until combined. Pour 1 cup of the boiling water into each bowl and stir well to dissolve the gelatin. Add ¼ cup of the vodka (or water) to each container, and stir to combine.
Gather eight (5-oz.) wine or martini glasses. Pour 1 tablespoon of the liquid panna cotta in each glass. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Next, pour in about a ¼-inch layer of the grape gelatin. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Repeat the pouring and chilling ¼-inch layers of panna cotta, blue raspberry gelatin, panna cotta, lime gelatin, panna cotta, lemon gelatin, panna cotta, orange gelatin, panna cotta, and strawberry gelatin, making sure to refrigerate 15 minutes before adding each new layer. Note: If the gelatins begin to set before it’s time for that layer, microwave for about 30 seconds to return it to a liquid.
After you add the final (strawberry) layer, refrigerate for about 2 hours. Serve chilled.
Rainbow Rice Krispie Treats
This is a variation of a DeLuxe Rice Krispie Treats recipe I’ve shared before. Many Pride versions of this classic recipe use all Fruity Pebbles cereal in place of the regular plain Krispies. I think that’s overkill. This recipe swaps out one cup of Krispies for Fruity Pebbles to add a rainbow-dappled look without changing the flavor too much.
Ingredients
7 cups of Rice Krispie cereal
1 cup of Fruity Pebbles cereal
12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) butter
2 packages of miniature marshmallows
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Spray a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray. Set aside. Spray a large mixing bowl with cooking spray. Set aside.
Combine the Rice Krispies and the Fruity Pebbles in a large bowl. Stir to mix the two together. Set aside.
In a large pot melt the butter. Let the butter continue to cook until it just begins to brown. Remove from the heat. Stir in both bags of marshmallows. Stir until melted. Stir in the kosher salt and vanilla.
Pour a few cups of the cereal mixture into the mixing bowl that has been coated with cooking spray. Stir in about a third of the melted marshmallow mixture. Stir to combine. Add more cereal and more melted marshmallow, stirring after each addition.
Press the cereal and marshmallow mixture into your prepared 9×13-inch pan. Allow bars to cool completely before slicing and serving.
Jake Cohen’s Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs with Icing
Jake is a gay baker whose recipes have been featured on TV and in a variety of cookbooks, including his own, “Jew-Ish” and “I Could Nosh.”
This recipe is a great one for basic sugar cookie cut-outs. I’ve removed the almond extract from the original recipe, leaving these with more of a vanilla flavor. I do recommend, however, that you include the vodka in the icing. You won’t taste it, and it will help the icing to dry hard and shiny.
As for decorating, I think the simpler the better. I’ve given up ever making beautifully piped cookies. Instead, I just dip the tops of each cookie in the icing and go with that.
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
¾ cup white sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
For the Icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
¼ to ½ cup half-and-half
1 tablespoon vodka
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of kosher salt
A variety of food colors/gels for decorating
To make the cookies:
Cream together the butter and sugar in your electric mixer. Add the egg, followed by both extracts. Add the flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix until just combined.
Use your hands to separate the dough into two roughly equal balls. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for an hour.
When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Roll out one ball of dough to roughly a 1/8 to ¼-inch thickness. Use a glass or a biscuit cutter to cut out cookie rounds. Repeat with the remaining dough (you may also re-roll scraps of dough). Place cut cookies on your prepared baking sheets.
I like to refrigerate my rolled and cut cookies to help them keep their shape in the oven. If you have the refrigerator space, chill them for roughly 30 minutes.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they just begin to brown. Cool completely before icing.
To make the icing (and ice your cookies):
Stir together all of the ingredients except for the food coloring. Jake says to use ¼-cup half-and-half, but I found it necessary to use a bit more to give the icing the correct consistency.
When you are ready to ice your cookies, divide your icing into six bowls (or however many colors of cookies you want to make). Add a few drops of food coloring/gel to each bowl and stir to combine.
Dip the top of each cookie into the icing and place on a piece of parchment or waxed paper to dry.
Michael Knock is a food columnist for the Iowa City Press-Citizen.
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