‘Tis the season for holiday parties and potlucks. What better way to celebrate than to dish up a little local history with your meal? Below are some seasonally appropriate recipes taken from the Elizabeth Gilmour recipe book started in 1908. The recipes are written exactly as they appear in her handwriting, but there are … More Holiday Recipes
This project was started to educate ourselves as well as residents and visitors to the region about how we are all connected to this place through the foods we grow, cook and consume here. I was expecting to learn lots of interesting facts about lots of interesting people, influential people, people who lived lives that … More The Best Vegetable Pie Since Pumpkin!
I’m sure many of you are looking for some ideas to help use up the glut of apples you are finding yourself surrounded by this time of year. Why not try a Dorset Apple Cake? This recipe is from Libbie Gilmour’s cookbook, started in the mid 1910s. It is a collection of recipes from family, … More Fall Desserts
On September 21st we were honored to present to the History Forum at the Museum of Art and History. We told an audience of around 50 people about our project so far, the grants that we have applied for, and our next steps. You can view the presentation here. If you are interested in hearing … More Presentation Time!
The objective of the Santa Cruz Heritage Food Project is “telling the story of local food”. But throughout the last four years, this blog has become a venue to tell the adventures of amateur historians with full-time jobs, families, and social lives, trying to write an amazing book. We wrote about starting in the archives, … More Telling the Story of Telling the Story
I just finished reading “Blueberries for Sal” for the fourth time in about as many hours, so you have my daughter, Ellery, to thank for the inspiration for today’s post. Unlike Little Sal and Little Bear, we don’t have a Blueberry Hill in Santa Cruz where we can forage and feast on blueberries to our … More Strawberries for Elle
Today we achieved a major milestone in our efforts: we submitted a complete first draft of the book as our deliverable for the Dolkas award. This is the culmination of efforts that began not just in November of 2014 when we got the grant, but in the spring of 2012 when the idea first presented … More I Blame the Drought
As you consider which snacks to eat during Super Bowl 50, might I suggest tasting a little history? Here are a couple local recipes that would make an excellent addition to any food table: Popcorn Balls (from the recipe book of Libbie Gilmour) Extra Good 2 qts freshly popped corn 2 cupfuls chopped nuts 1 ½ cupfuls … More Have some History with the Super Bowl
Researching food history does not often land you on particularly well-worn paths. For much of the history of historical inquiry, the topic of food was relegated to the category of daily existence and rarely considered as a valid or robust subject. However, we do often see that history records food as a commodity—as it was moved or traded—but those were … More Food History: When Research Paths Diverge
As we finish up recipe testing for the book I must admit it has been trickier than expected! In previous posts we’ve discussed our difficulties with older recipes, such as adapting instructions written for wood burning ovens to use with modern appliances. But even recipes from the mid-twentieth century can be hard to follow. Last … More Recipe Testing and Guessing
