by Andree Lau, CBCNews.ca

(Courtesy Teatro)

Did you know liquor used to be considered safer to drink than water? Or that French soldiers in the First World War stayed hydrated with wine?

I was lucky enough to attend a free lecture held by my alma mater (wow, when did I get old enough to use that term?) this week on how alcohol evolved through history from being a lifesaver — because water was so unsafe — to a lifestyle choice.

by Tara Kimura, CBCNews.ca

Diners aren't likely to find on the dinner menu whore's eggs or slimehead – monikers long abandoned and replaced with the more appetizing spicy sea urchin and orange roughy.

by Kevin Yarr, CBCNews.ca

It's a strange thing we do with pumpkins.

Generally identified as a vegetable, most of the pumpkin that gets eaten in Canada is put into pies, and of course most of the pumpkins grown in Canada are not eaten at all. All this week Canadians will be hacking at the gourds with knifes and saws to decorate the fronts of their houses.

by Amber Hildebrandt, CBCNews.ca
Over the weekend, I held a grilled cheese party, an event so successful I hope to make it an annual tradition.

Friends arrived at my apartment armed with unconventional breads, exotic cheeses and other toppings, such as sliced apples and jellies, for whatever concoction they'd decided to make.

by Jessica Wong, CBCNews.ca

A Toronto-based food writer and restaurant critic I know once admitted to feeling dread whenever someone asked him to recommend a restaurant — something I thought odd at the time, since he seemed to be an ideal person to question about eating out.

In the past few years, I've come around to his way of thinking. With so much information available nowadays, I'm finding it tough to decide where to treat myself to a dinner out, let alone to advise friends and family.

by Kevin Yarr, CBCNews.ca

Sometimes a food trend sneaks up on us and is well established before anyone starts to think it might be a problem, like the proverbial frog that will jump out of boiling water if dropped in, but will sit quietly while water is heated to boiling around it.

We may have reaching the point with energy drinks where we're thinking the water is getting awfully hot.

by Tara Kimura, CBCNews.ca

Ever curious what outer space smells like? Apparently and surprisingly, it smells a lot like a fried steak and hot metal, according to a chemist hired by NASA.

by Andree Lau, CBCNews.ca

(Courtesy Jennifer Causey)

I have a confession. I eat weird things for breakfast. Today, it was two pieces of leftover pizza with pickles and prosciutto. Last week, I had a grilled brie and tomato sandwich one day and fried rice the next.

Breakfast of champions? Yeah, I know it’s debatable. But at least I make sure I eat a meal every morning.

by Tara Kimura, CBCNews.ca

From turkey trivia to the politics of feasting, we offer a roundup of holiday features on CBCNews.ca.

by Kevin Yarr, CBCNews.ca

"What's for dinner?" asked my seven-year-old daughter.

Curried eggs were for dinner, a dish she had tried before and, as we try to get her to say, "she had not cared for it." A straight answer was not in order.

by Tara Kimura, CBCNews.ca

Halloween, perhaps because of its inherent free-for-all qualities, has become a hotly political holiday with debates centering around sugar excess in the face of rising childhood obesity, the qualities of organic candy and the responsibility to teach kids about fair trade chocolate.

by Andree Lau, CBCNews.ca

There are lots of things on this Internet contraption that easily distract those of us who love food, but for me, nothing is a more enjoyable time-killer than lists.

The British bloggers behind Very Good Taste got the latest inventory craze going last month with the Omnivore’s Hundred, a list of what every good omnivore should try at least once in his or her life.