Eat, Drink and Be Merry

Ever wandered the produce aisle and asked, “Who wants to be in my soup?” Shelley Whizin, The Live & Die Happy Coach, joins producer Lisa D. Smith on this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Soul Diving Sunday" Podcast to share her Butternut Squash Ginger Carrot Instinct Soup, a cozy fall dish that would be right at home on your Thanksgiving table. 

They talk about cooking with joy and intention, cooking for one, why a smile changes everything, trusting your instincts in the kitchen, and the garlic bread grilled cheese that goes with it. Shelley’s recipes are in her book, "What Do You Bring to the Table?"

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November is a big month at The Peanut Patch in Yuma, Arizona. It’s Thanksgiving and Gratitude Month, it’s Peanut Butter Lovers Month, and the store is celebrating 29 years. In this shared episode of Big Blend Radio’s "The Peanut Patch" Podcast, Donna George talks about the little thank-you gifts that mean the most, from fudge and peanut brittle for a hospital nurse to treat bags for delivery drivers and airport workers.

Donna explains why fresh-roasted, fresh-ground peanut butter is a whole different thing from the store-bought jar. We talk peanuts and peanut butter as road trip food (dog treats too), plus Yuma’s holiday events, including the light parade and the Colorado River Crossing Balloon Festival. We also share four recipes from Donna’s digital recipe magazine: Country-Style Peanut Butter Cookies, Peanut Butter Crispy Bars, Peanut Butter Bars and a Frozen Peanut Butter Brittle Pie. Along the way you’ll get host-gift ideas, from Medjool dates to fudge to a set of three jars tied with a bow.

The Peanut Patch anniversary celebration is Saturday, November 21, with classic cars, vendors and free samples.

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Heading into the holidays with a bottle on your list and no idea what to buy? 

On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Wine Time with Peggy" Podcast, Peggy Fiandaca, co-owner of LDV Winery in Arizona, shares easy, thoughtful ways to gift wine, even if you don't drink it, and what to bring to Thanksgiving dinner. Plus: new 2019 Grenache and 2019 Signature Petite Sirah releases, why bottle glass color matters, wines for a vegan Thanksgiving, and Peggy's Sweet & Spicy Carrots.

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Wine country, waterparks, supper clubs, and yoga with alpacas: Wisconsin Dells has something for every season, and it’s not just a summer destination.

On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio’s "Food, Wine & Travel" Show with the International Food Wine Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA), host/producer Lisa D. Smith talks with Ken Leiviska of the Wisconsin Dells Visitor & Convention Bureau. He shares what to see, taste and do in the Dells all year long.

Ken explains how the Ice Age shaped Wisconsin’s wine country and why the Dells’ wineries are worth a stop. You’ll also hear about:

Pack a sweater, a swimsuit, or both. Whatever the season, the Dells is ready for you.

Piece together our Wisconsin Dells fall colors jigsaw puzzle of a Dells boat tour, and get the episode highlights:

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Come hungry! Every third Sunday, Travel Avoyelles hosts Wilbert Carmouche and Mary Guillory join Lisa D. Smith for a visit to Avoyelles Parish in Central Louisiana. This time they brought a special guest: caterer John Ed Laborde of Panaroma Foods in Marksville, the creator of Crawfish Bread®.

We talk crawfish étouffée, boudin and boucherie, cracklins, court-bouillon, sweet potato crunch, king cakes, cinnamon rolls, drive-through daiquiris and gas station plate lunches. Then each of them plans a full day of eating for first-time visitors, from breakfast to dinner. Pull up a chair for this shared episode!

LINKS

New episodes of the Travel Avoyelles Podcast air every 3rd Sunday at 6pm CST on Big Blend Radio. Listen: https://travel-avoyelles.podbean.com/ 

Why would a cruise line skip the hot seafood chowder in the Caribbean, then serve it on deck in Glacier Bay? 

On this shared episode of BIg Blend Radio's "Food, Wine & Travel" Podcast with the International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA), host Lisa D. Smith sets sail with Emma Ciciriello, Senior Manager of Food & Beverage Product Development for Holland America Line and Seabourn, for a behind-the-scenes look at destination dining at sea.

Emma explains how menus, cocktails, table settings and even a Panama hat help guests taste the place they are visiting, from Alaskan halibut and glacial ice cocktails to Caribbean rum and a global fresh fish program. We also visit Half Moon Cay, Holland America Line’s private Bahamian island, where a new beach club is bringing an all-inclusive day on the sand. Plus: Magnolia Bakery banana pudding, baked Alaska nostalgia, Marmite versus haggis, Emma’s perfect day of eating at sea, and tips for breaking into cruise food and beverage.

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Photos courtesy of Holland America. 

Celebrate Pizza Month, Italian American Heritage Month, and Family History Month with pizza, wine, and Sicilian family stories in this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Wine Time with Peggy" Podcast!

Peggy Fiandaca, co-owner of Arizona's LDV Winery, starts with a fall update from the vineyard and the tasting room in Old Town Scottsdale, including a Burgundy wine talk, Petite Sirah in November, trivia night, and two new wine releases. Then she and Lisa D. Smith dive into Peggy's Italian American heritage: growing up Sicilian in Chicago, why so many Italian immigrants came to America and the discrimination they faced, and the close-knit extended family and Sunday suppers that shaped the way she cooks.

Peggy shares the Sicilian pizza traditions of her childhood, a thick, rectangular, focaccia-style pizza baked in an olive-oil-slicked pan and made at home every Friday night. She also explains her Wine Term of the Month, Nero d'Avola, Sicily's flagship red, and what makes a ragù different from a Sunday sauce. Then it's time for pizza and wine pairings: what to pour with a cheesy slice, ham and pineapple, Margherita, and white pizza, plus why pizza for brunch with bubbles sounds like a great idea.

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It's October, and that means The Peanut Patch is open! Donna George, owner of The Peanut Patch in Yuma, Arizona, joins producer Lisa D. Smith on this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "The Peanut Patch" Podcast, to celebrate the start of the season, with fresh peanut brittle and fudge back on the counter for Yuma locals, winter visitors, and road trippers passing through.

Donna shares what it takes to get the store restocked, from making peanut brittle every day to a fudge table that can hold about forty-five flavors at once. They talk pepitas and pumpkin seeds, about twenty Peanut Patch salsas for Taco Day, apple butter and preserves, sugar-free candy, and the pickled vegetables and local products on the shelves.

You'll also get a look behind the storefront. Peanuts are roasted on site and ground into fresh peanut butter, and the kitchen makes brittle, clusters, and fudge, alongside Medjool dates grown in Yuma. Donna's grandson Matthew is busy freeze drying goodies too.

Along the way, Lisa makes the case for real candy at Halloween, Donna and Lisa swap ideas for candy corn and peanuts, and Donna shares her twenty-nine years of owning The Peanut Patch. Her store anniversary party is Saturday, November 21, and Medjool date shakes will likely start that day.

🛒 Shop year-round: https://thepeanutpatch.com/ 

Enjoy this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Wanderers Compass" Podcast! Three years after Joelle's first truffle hunt in the pouring rain with a cooking group of sixteen women, she and Ryan return to Buzet, Croatia, to sit down with Višnja Prodan Jekić of Prodan Tartufi — a family truffle business now heading into its fourth generation.

It started in the 1960s, when Višnja's grandparents didn't even know what truffles were — they thought they were smelly, inedible potatoes and fed them to the pigs, until Italian traders showed them otherwise. Today, the Prodan family hunts and trains their own truffle dogs (five of them, each with their own name and personality), collects from 50-60 local hunting families every week, and ships fresh truffles worldwide — to Michelin-star restaurants like Alchemist, Noma, and Geranium in Copenhagen, and markets as far as Japan, Singapore, and Dubai.

In this episode, Višnja walks through what makes Istria's climate uniquely suited to truffles, how a dog is trained from puppyhood to become a serious hunter, the real differences between black and white truffles (and why white truffles can sell for €2,000-€5,000 a kilo), how to actually cook with truffles at home without overcomplicating it, how to spot a real truffle product versus a chemical imitation, and the story behind the largest truffle her family has ever found. She also shares her own favorite way to eat them — simple scrambled eggs — and what it means to be building a new generation of this family tradition while opening the business to travelers from around the world.

🔗 Read the article: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/prodan-tartufi-istria-truffles  

New episodes of the Wanderers Compass Podcast air every second Monday on Big Blend Radio.

Just 30 minutes from Portland, Tualatin Valley is Oregon's underrated wine country — home to 40+ wineries, one of the state's most ethnically diverse food scenes, tax-free shopping, and a 21-mile paved trail past a giant wooden troll. 

On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Food, Wine & Travel Show," presented in partnership with the International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA), Sylke Neal-Finnegan, VP of Communications and PR at Explore Tualatin Valley, gives us a conversational tour of the Willamette Valley's northwest corner.

Beyond the vineyards, Tualatin Valley is shaped by a 50-year-old urban growth boundary that protects farmland and keeps its wine country sustainable including some dry-farming. Sylke also digs into the region's thriving arts scene — from the Broadway Rose Theatre Company to the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts — plus year-round outdoor adventure along the Tualatin River, Hagg Lake, and the fully accessible Banks-Vernonia State Trail. It's proof that this corner of the Willamette Valley offers a lot to experience.

Featured image: David Hill Vineyards & Winery, courtesy of Explore Tualatin Valley.

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