Creative Gifts from the Kitchen The pandemic and supply chain issues have many people seeking out more personalized, thoughtful, homemade gifts. Creative gifts from the kitchen in the form of recipe and food items, provide ideas for many gifts through food history. Framing Family Recipes Chrissy Smith, a home economics teacher and graduate of the […]
Archive | Food for Holidays and Special Occasions
Food for Holidays and Special Occasions
Summer Strawberries
By Linda Peterat on June 7, 2021 in Food for Holidays and Special Occasions, Food Processing and Marketing
Summer Strawberries Before the end of May, the strawberry stands opened along the roads in Chilliwack and now we are well into the peak season. It’s an exciting moment when the first strawberry stand opens. There is anticipation of the delicious flavour and assurance that summer has indeed arrived! In an earlier blog, […]
Christmas cheer
Christmas Cheer Here we are past the first week of December and Christmas is very present in my house. The tree is up and my whole neighbourhood this year turned on the outside decorations early to cheer the mood and brighten the dark dreary days and nights of December. It’s hard to know what people […]
Halloween Tricks and Treats
Halloween Tricks and Treats There is a lot of discussion these days about whether or not Halloween will be celebrated in 2020. Worries about children missing out on the fun and candy makers fussing over lost profit makes one wonder about how this holiday evolved. Most accounts agree that what has become known as […]
Easter Ham: Scruffy Hospitality
The Easter Ham was a tradition in my family. Neither 12-foot drifts, 75 mile-an-hour winds, or the prospect of having to walk up to 25 miles could stop our dad from getting home to carve it. On March 15 and 16 of 1951, a huge snowstorm swept through Central and Northern Alberta. On the first […]
Plum puddings and Proust
Plum puddings and Proust Marcel Proust ate a madeleine – and a flood of memories resulted in a deep philosophical text about making memory conscious through one’s senses. In fact the madeleine has become a symbol of memories that arise unintentionally. The practicalities of baking give another dimension to memories, requiring skill, equipment and for […]
Wedding Cake Recipe Search
Wedding Cake Recipe Search Few food historians can resist the urge to help someone find a recipe. When the BC Food History Network received a request for a wedding cake recipe, we all tried to help. Here’s the request: Hi there, I had a lady make my wedding cake in 1989 in Victoria BC. The […]
Pi Day
By Mary Leah de Zwart on March 12, 2019 in Food for Holidays and Special Occasions, What’s Making Food History
Thanks to KB for this information about Pi Day: *Pi Day is celebrated on March 14th (3/14) around the world. Pi (Greek letter “π”) is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant — the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter — which is approximately 3.14159. Pi Day is an annual […]
Getting Organized for Christmas
Getting Organized for Christmas In 1943, BC Electric Home Service[i] produced a Home Service Bulletin booklet titled Christmas Festivities[ii], eight pages of menus and recipes. It began with a time-table: What stood out for me on this list was putting up the decorations on December 22. I am already seeing decorated Christmas trees and outside […]
Potluck – Friendsgiving
Potluck – Friendsgiving The saddest potluck I ever attended was in a Yaletown condo in Vancouver. The hosts had contributed a tablecloth and a stack of plastic glasses; my friend brought a bag of taco chips; and I, somewhat showing my age, brought shrimp cheese puffs (they have a creampuff base if you’re interested). Otherwise, […]