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Cast Iron, and Cornbread, are two staples of the Appalachian table. My guest is Dr. Katie Hoffman who describes how she and her husband Brett Tiller created a business called Vintage Kitchen, Cast Iron and Collectibles, and how they rescue and rehab cast iron and resell their finds at their cast iron pop-up clinics that they conduct from time to time in Tennessee and Virginia. They call these sessions they hold “Cast Iron Clinics”. They sell cast iron and ship it all over the country and will also take in your old, sad, probably rusty, and pitted heirloom cast iron, and will rehab it for you so it can be brought back to its useful life once again. Also, Katie is going to let us know how she makes her cornbread in a cast iron skillet. In Fred Sauceman’s potluck radio series, he his subject is “Gritty Bread”.

Setting the table with Country Ham, and how through the dry-aged process, and sliced paper thin, is then called “Prosciutto. 

Our guest on the show today is Allan Benton, of Madisonville, TN - he shares his story on how he learned what the word Prosciutto meant, and how he positioned his product to the world of fine dining - and now, his prosciutto goes to toe with some of the most expensive, and well-known imported prosciuttos. And Allan Benton’s dry-aged, country hams are produced in Madisonville, Tennessee. 

I (Amy Campbell) share a recipe for an easy-to-make appetizer that I have named “Smoky Mountain Sushi” - It is not made with seafood, but rather country, ham, collard greens, and black-eyed peas.

In this episode, my featured guest is Knoxville Native, seed saver, artist, and farmer John Coykendall. John will let us know the origins, qualities,, and culinary uses of Cushaw squash.

I (Amy Campbell) share a recipe from John's book for baked cushaw, courtesy of Mrs. Cornelia Weldon, mother of Sarah Weldon Hackenburg who took many of the photos for John Coykendall and Christina Melton’s book Preserving Our Roots: My Journey to Save Seed and Stories.

Fred Sauceman, Food historian, Writer, and Professor of Appalachian Studies at ETSU shares a segment on the Native American origins of Cushaw squash.

Today, we are setting the table with loving people through food, loving on the honey bee, and news of an old-fashioned fall festival taking place Friday and Saturday, September 29, and 30th at the Townsend Visitor Center in Townsend, TN. This festival includes lots of Bluegrass music, old-fashioned southern food, vendors with honey, and a church group out of Morristown making and selling apple butter.

My guests are Jill Hepperley and her Mother Cheryl Free of Townsend, TN - Cheryl is an incredible Southern cook who opens her home every Sunday to the community for a good home-cooked meal. She and Jill reach people in dark places with biscuits and unconditional love. They will be serving up Beans and Hoe-Cakes (Pinto Beans and fried Cornbread) Fried Bologna, and Fried Apple Pies at the Townsend Fall Festival all for the greater good and I can’t wait for them to tell you about how they love on people through food.

We also visit with apiarists and owners of Smoky Ridge Apiaries, Judy and Coly O’Dell of Maryville TN. They are passionate about helping honey bees, and protecting honey bees, and freely give their time and expertise to help people set up hives and raise bees. They will also be set up at the Townsend Fall festival with their honey, Muddy Pond Sorghum, pollen, skincare, crafts, and more, and most importantly, a happy smile for everyone.

The Townsend in the Smokies Fall Festival takes place Sept. 29-30, 2023 from 10-11, both days. The festival provides an atmosphere where family and friends of all ages can partake in time-honored Appalachian traditions at a free community event. This event takes place in Townsend TN. at the Townsend Visitor’s Center. Crafts & Demonstrations: from 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Food: from 10 a.m.–6 p.m., and bluegrass Music: 11 a.m. With a play area for children, ax throwing, music pickers jamming, Fowler’s Country Ground Cornmeal, and a huge on list of vendors. Also the Bible Aires Baptist Church will be there making and selling Apple Butter, and Cheryl and Jill who you just heard from will be cooking Beans and Hoe-Cakes , Fried Bologna, and Fried Apple Pies. There is a shuttle service from multiple locations in Townsend on both days to alleviate parking congestion. More information: Smokymountains.org/townsend fall festival.

Today, we are setting the table with artisan-made pasta and sauces made with farm-raised ingredients on a family farm. Our guests are Dustin and Stacey Busby of DSB Provisions from Maryville, TN. DSB Provisions is a family farm where Dustin, Stacey, and their 3 kids grow fruits and vegetables, raise chickens and rabbits, make homemade pasta and sauces, and offer a personal chef experience.

We also hear from Mary Dee Dee Constantine on the topic of collards and her recipe for a quick meal using collard greens and angel hair pasta that she calls Asian Noodles and Greens.

Aaron Goss, Founder of the Carolina Malt House located in Cleveland North Carolina. Aaron works with local farmers within 10 miles of the Malt House who grow grains that the Carolina Malt House then makes into different styles of malted grains for breweries. Aaron also works with a Tennessee Farmer in Coffee County Tennessee who grows a specific barley for the Carolina Malt House named Tennessee 2 Row. Several award-winning Tennessee breweries use malts from the Carolina Malt House such as Blackberry Farm Brewery, TN Brew Works, Common John, Harding House, Yee Haw, and more.

We set the table in this episode with Paw Paw Fruit and Sentimentality. Sometimes called the Mountain Banana with a taste that is a cross between a mango and a banana. Paw Paw is an indigenous fruit to North America and is a real treat if you can find it. Amy's guest, Charlie Kwit, a Professor of Biology from the University of Tennessee offers a scientific perspective on the Paw Paw.
Allan Benton, Owner of Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams in Madisonville, Tennessee tells us why he is sentimental about his office furniture.
Fred Sauceman has a potluck radio segment on the Blue Cheese dressing that is served as an appetizer at Ridgewood Barbecue in Bluff City, TN.

I (Amy Campbell) share directions on how to make Paw Paw butter.

In this episode, we are setting the table with planting by the stars and the signs. My guest is Dr. Sarah Hall Associate Professor in Agriculture and Natural Resources and Chair of Division 2 at Berea College, in Berea Kentucky. Dr. Hall is the author of a new book - Sown in the Stars with Photography by Meg Wilson. Dr. Hall’s book came out of a course that she developed called Appalachian Plants and People and she interviewed several people from the state of Kentucky who used the signs, calendars, almanacs, and the stars to plant by.

Today we are setting the table with a visit with a tremendously talented 14-year-old musician who makes his home in East Tennessee, Wyatt Ellis. He sings in that high lonesome sound and plays in a style all his own, heavily influenced by the sounds of the father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe, along with Peter Rowan and Bobby Osborne.

Keep that kitchen cool; cook it outside!. How to cook juicy chicken and trout over live fire with Chef David Olsen of Live Fire Republic and Chef Joseph Lenn, owner of J.C. Holdway, Knoxville, TN.