Curator’s Corner: Purslane

Curator’s Corner: Purslane

by Amanda Mather, Curator of Collections As spring springs around here it makes me think of all the green things I have missed over the winter that are now starting to bud and come back to life. Here is to one of my favorites, and some green I can’t wait to see! This...
Curator’s Corner: Agave

Curator’s Corner: Agave

by Amanda Mather, Curator of Collections As we continue on with our gifts of the West series I want to talk about one of those gifts that keeps on giving. It gives us fiber, food, booze, awls, needles. I mean what can’t this baby do? I am talking about our friend:...
Curator’s Corner: Cranberries

Curator’s Corner: Cranberries

by Amanda Mather, Curator of Collections As part of our ongoing series about all the good stuff that came from the west I present to you: The Cranberry. What would our turkey be without our beloved cranberry? Especially all the leftover turkey sandwiches that follow...
Curator’s Corner: The Pineapple

Curator’s Corner: The Pineapple

by Amanda Mather, Curator of Collections We continue on with our series about all good things that originated in the Western Hemisphere I present to you: the pineapple! The pineapple was indigenous to South America but spread wherever it could grow, which is a pretty...
Curator’s Corner: Chile

Curator’s Corner: Chile

by Amanda Mather, Curator of Collections There are certain cuisines and specific foods that are almost impossible to imagine without chile. Thai and Chinese cuisine, pasta arrabiata, I mean what did they even do in Szechuan before they had chiles? Before contact,...