Boston Flora

Tag: Boston University

  • Wednesday, May 13, 6:00 pm – The Taste of Germany – Exploring a Nation Through its Food History

    Defying popular perception of the meat and potatoes diet, Ursula Heinzelmann’s book Beyond Bratwurst delves into the history of German cuisine and reveals the country’s long history of culinary innovation. Heinzelmann’s May 13 talk, part of the Pepin Lecture Series in Food Studies and Gastromony, will discuss German food history, particularly the late and rapid industrialization as it is defined through cheese production. There will be German Alpine cheeses and German wine to sample as part of the discussion. Fee of $30 includes book. The class takes place at 808 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 117, and you may register online at www.bu.edu/foodandwine.

  • Wednesday, March 11, 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm – The Brookline Troika: Olmsted, Richardson, Sargent and the Planning of a “Model Community”

    The Massachusetts Historical Society presents The Brookline Troika: Olmsted, Richardson, Sargent and the Planning of a “Model Community” on Wednesday, March 11, at their offices at 1154 Boylston Street, with a reception at 5:30 and lecture at 6:00.  Keith Morgan, Director of Architectural Studies at Boston University is the featured speaker.

    Derived from the recently publish book, Community by Design: The Olmsted Office and the Making of Brookline, Massachusetts, this lecture will explore the close and dynamic relationship of the country’s leading landscape architect, architect, and horticulturalist in the evolution of Boston’s premier suburb. These three men lived within easy walking distance of each other in the Green Hill section of Brookline and used their private residences and landscapes as teaching and professional spaces as well. Their friendships and (occasional) conflicts informed the character of the suburban development for a community that called itself “the richest town in the world” and believed that its model was worthy of emulation.

    Keith N. Morgan is a Professor of the History of Art & Architecture and American & New England Studies at Boston University, where he has taught since 1980. He currently direct BU’s Architectural Studies Program and is a former national president of the Society of Architectural Historians. Written in collaboration with Elizabeth Hope Cushing and Roger Reed, Community by Design was published in 2013 by the University of Massachusetts Press for the Library of American Landscape History and received the Ruth Emery Prize of the Victorian Society in America.

    This series has been made possible by the generous underwriting of Stephen Stimson Associates Landscape Architects and is cosponsored by the Mount Auburn Cemetery and the Nichols House Museum. $10 fee (no charge for Fellows and Members of the MHS, Mount Auburn Cemetery and the Nichols House Museum.) Register online at https://dnbweb1.blackbaud.com/OPXREPHIL/EventDetail.asp?cguid=76FBBAD5-59FC-442D-8347-A5AE40DBF561&eid=50859&sid=28E3AC1C-BE75-4D62-BB6E-EC1C9D0EE6AB

  • Monday, February 23, 6:00 pm – Whiskey in America

    Drawing from the archaeological records of known whiskey production sites, Mount Vernon Assistant Director for Archaeological Research Luke Pecoraro will offer a brief introduction to distilled products made in colonial America, with specific reference to George Washington’s distillery. A five-still commercial operation on one of Washington’s farms from 1797 to circa 1802, the distillery burned to ground in 1814, and was lost until re-discovered by Mount Vernon archaeologists in 1997. Intensive excavations uncovered the entire structure, revealing information about the layout of the stills, drains, and living quarters, and sparking renewed interest in spirits distillation in America. A generous grant from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) helped enable reconstruction of the distillery, which is completely operational—one of the few places where whiskey is made just as it was in the early Republic. The recipe for Washington’s whiskey survives, and is faithfully reproduced in small batches, twice a year, at the distillery (pictured below.) Following the lecture on Monday, February 23, beginning at 6 pm, five whiskeys are offered for tasting. The Boston University free event, part of the Pepin Lecture Series in Food Studies and Gastronomy, will be held in Room 117 at 808 Commonwealth Avenue, Brookline. Enroll at www.bu.edu/foodandwine.

  • Thursday, February 12, 6:00 pm – The Future of Food: How Science, Technology, and Taste Shape What We Eat

    Food is as fundamental to human life as it is to the development of civilization itself. It is also a source of pleasure, a celebration of culture, and a foundation of health and well-being. To quote Kurt Vonnegut, “When it comes right down to it, food is practically the whole story every time.” From hunting and gathering to contemporary living in today’s fast-paced, digital world, how we produce food and what we eat is continuously shaped by scientific discovery and engineering ingenuity, which dovetail with our ever-evolving dietary preferences. In this lively and entertaining talk on Thursday, February 12, beginning at 6 pm, part of Boston University’s Pepin Lecture Series in Food Studies and Gastronomy, P.K. Newby, ScD, MPH, MS, reflects on the human journey from farm to fork, science fiction to science, and paints a picture of what our plate will look like as we approach a population of nine billion. Dr. Newby, co-author of the new book Foods for Health: Choose and Use the Very Best Foods for Your Family and Our Planet, is a scientist, educator, speaker, and food writer who teaches at several universities in Boston and communicates regularly with the public via her blog The Nutrition Doctor is In the Kitchen.  $20 fee includes book. Register online at www.bu.edu/foodandwine. Class is held in Room 117, 808 Commonwealth Avenue, the old Peter Fuller Cadillac building.

  • Thursday, February 5, 6:00 pm – Virgin Territory: Exploring the World of Olive Oil

    Discover everything you wanted to know about extra-virgin olive oils.  Nancy Harmon Jenkins, author of the just published Virgin Territory, will show you the ins and outs of one of the most important ingredients in the modern kitchen: what extra-virgin olive oil really is, how to choose it and use it, and why it’s critically important for good health and good food.  Together we’ll taste good and bad oils, try some tasty samples of fearless cooking with olive oil, and learn what to look for in the market.  $30, includes copy of book.  Sponsored by Boston University as part of the Pepin Lecture Series in Food Studies and Gastronomy.  Class will take place Thursday, February 5 beginning at 6 pm in 808 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 117, Boston. Register online at http://www.bu.edu/foodandwine.

  • Wednesday, February 4, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Searching for the Histories of Boston’s Public Garden

    The Friends of the Public Garden presents Searching for the Histories of Boston’s Public Garden, a lecture by Boston University Professor Keith N. Morgan. Explore the creation, evolution, criticism, interpretation and enduring value of the most unusual public landscape in the city’s circuit of parks. From its origins as a private botanical garden built on filled marshland to the public horticultural and educational gem of the mid-Victorian era, the Public Garden became a site for controversy and celebration in its nearly two-century history.

    Keith N. Morgan is a professor of History of Art and Architecture at Boston University, where he has taught since 1980. He has served as the Director of Preservation Studies, the Director of American and New England Studies, and the Chairman of the Art History Department. He is a former national president of the Society of Architectural Historians, and has authored several publications.

    The event will take place on Wednesday, February 4, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Suffolk University Law School, 120 Tremont Street. Admission is $15 per person and registration is required in advance. Please visit http://www.friendsofthepublicgarden.org to purchase tickets.  Image from 1904 courtesy of www.bostongeology.com.

    http://bostongeology.com/boston/images/BostonGarden_1904.jpg

  • Saturday, November 8, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm – Earthwatch Summit 2014

    You are cordially invited to Earthwatch Summit 2014, a Citizens for Science Exposition, on Saturday, November 8, from 9 – 4 at the Harvard Science Center in Cambridge.  Although the registration deadline has passed, please contact Nicole Barry at 978-450-1235 if you wish to attend.  The event is sponsored by the Earthwatch Institute. This FREE event is a great opportunity to learn about meaningful research from scientists around the world, including Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, a marine biologist and author of Blue Mind, Dr. William Moomaw, Chief Science Officer of the Earthwatch Institute, Dr. Richard Primack, Boston University biologist and author of Walden Warming, and Dr. Meg Lowman, Chief of Science & Sustainability at the California Academy of Sciences. You will also learn how citizen science research directly influences wildlife, the environment, and community members. At the Summit, you’ll have the opportunity to meet and network with some of the world’s brightest scientists.

  • Thursday, October 30, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm – The Japanese Kimono – Now and Then

    The Japan Society of Boston and the Boston University Center for the Study of Asia present The Japanese Kimono – Now and Then, on Thursday, October 30, from 7 – 10 at the Boston University Metcalf Trustee Ballroom, Ninth Floor, One Silber Way in Boston.  Performance and reception to follow.  Free and open to the public.  Welcome a delegation from one of the leading kimono schools in Japan, who will present a retrospective of kimono styles, from modern to ancient.  Performance will be from 7 – 8:30 in the Ballroom, and the reception, from 8:30 – 10, will be in the Lounge.  Sponsored by The Cultural Foundation for Promoting the National Costume of Japan.

  • Tuesday, October 28, 6:00 pm – From Acorn to Zucchini: A Squash Harvest Meal

    Nothing speaks the bounty of the harvest season like squash. Chris Douglass, chef/owner of Ashmont Grill and Tavolo, will demonstrate the vast diversity of squash as students work with him to prepare a variety of recipes, from savory to sweet. Students will then enjoy the fruits of their labor with a delicious and colorful squash-centered autumn meal paired with wine. This Boston University Hands On Cooking Class takes place Tuesday, October 28, beginning at 6 pm in the Kitchen Room (Room 116) at 808 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston.  The cost is $150, and you may register online at http://www.bu.edu/foodandwine/registration-manager/catalog.php?action=section&course_section_id=889. Image by www.horseandbuggyproduce.com.

  • Thursday, October 23, 6:00 pm – Sitting Down to Table: Visualizing the Daily Meal in a Pennsylvania Coal Town

    Karen Metheny, scholar in food studies, anthropology, and archaeology, will explore ways that material culture can be combined with oral and historical sources to interpret the content, context, and significance of the daily meal. Using archaeological evidence of food consumption from her nineteenth-century coal town study, Dr. Metheny will discuss the significance of food sharing and commensality in the context of household stability and community formation. This free lecture, part of the Jacques Pepin Lecture Series at Boston University, will take place on Thursday, October 23 beginning at 6 pm in Room 117 at 808 Commonwealth Avenue.  For more information visit http://www.bu.edu/foodandwine/registration-manager/catalog.php?action=section&course_section_id=895.