When Memories Come Back to Haunt You by Karla Stover

Murder in Tacoma, Wa.

        

Historical/Gothic Mystery

Murder on Hood Canal

When a product probably not known to many Americans was mentioned in a novel I just finished reading, memories of forty-odd years ago sprouted up like mushrooms after a September rain. The product was Bird's Custard, a necessary ingredient in Nanaimo Bars. And so, I take a historical walk.

According to "foodnetwork.ca," the first recipe for the pastry appeared in the 1952 edition of the Women’s Auxiliary, of the Nanaimo Hospital Cookbook. Some fifteen or so years later, they made an appearance in Tacoma, where I live. The problem was, the recipe going around called for Bird's Custard, not something available here. 

British chemist Alfred Bird created the egg less product in his laboratory because custard calls for eggs to which his wife was allergic. His custard powder became so popular, Bird and his sons went into business, eventually producing blancmange powder, jelly powder, and egg substitute. British soldiers took the custard with them during World War I.

Back to my conundrum; in order to make the trendy new cookie, Mom and I had to find someone going to Canada who would bring a box of Bird's Custard back.

When I saw the custard mentioned in a British novel, it brought back so many memories of Mom and me sharing the recipe and struggling to make our cookies as pretty as the pictures we'd seen.

I'm not sure if women cook much anymore or, if they do, if they have recipe files. When Mom died, I kept hers. Someday, an executor will have to get rid of them, and mine, as well.