TennesseeFarmTable.com

In this episode, we visit with Allyson and Chris Virden, the couple who created Olde Viden’s Tennessee Pepper Company. The brainchild of Chris Virden. While operating with his wife Allyson the Lodge on top of Mt. LeConte in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the idea came to him. Chris felt there needed to be a better pizza option than the generic red pepper flake found in almost every pizza restaurant in America.

I hope you enjoy this story of a quality, Tennessee Value-Added product and a story of a really interesting couple with a good idea, regionally sourced peppers, and hard work.

Our friend Mary Constantine (the happily retired former food writer for the Knoxville News Sentinel) shares a recipe for spicy, honey almond butter.

In Fred Sauceman’s “Pot Luck Radio Series,” he shares a story about a man who produces Waygu beef in Limestone, Tennessee.

*Olde Virden’s Tennessee Pepper Company does not advertise on this show.

In this episode, we are setting the table with “Kermit’s Striped Stick Bean”. We visit with John and Rachel Davis, owners of J & R Farms in Blount County, Tennessee. John Davis’s Great Grandmother is Lois Shuler Caughron, and her late husband was Kermit Caughron. The Caughron family has raised and saved an heirloom bean for generations that they call the “Striped Stick Bean”. This bean comes from the last remaining descendants of white settlers and residents of Cades Cove, Kermit and Lois Caughron. When the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was established, the residents of Cades Cove where made to move out of the area over a certain amount of years. These last remaining residents of Cades Cove are John and Rachel Davis’s ancestors. This family is very involved with a non profit organization called the Cades Cove Preservation Association, and a link is below to find out more about this organization and depository of artifacts and pictures of the families of white settlers who formerly lived in Cades Cove.

I (Amy) am actively gathering recordings and information on the original settlers of Cades Cove and Eastern Tennessee Mountains, Native American residents who long before white settlers came to the area of East Tennessee lived. I hope to be sharing podcasts and radio shows on the Native American perspective through the lens of food over the next months.

For his “Potluck Radio” series, Fred Sauceman recalls a Tennessee memories of the Franklin Club and of Raymond Bautista owner of the former restaurant “Raymond’s Fine Foods” along with Raymond’s recipe for Cole Slaw. Raymond’s Fine foods was inducted into the Tennessee Restaurant Hall of Fame.

Today, we are setting the table with Family Farming.In this episode we visit with Mike and Tammy Zavels of Zavels Family Farms, located in Corryton TN. This farming family is a very successful family farm in the eastern region of Tennessee. They will let us know how they got into farming and how the family has grown and the diversity of farm products that they produce. They also give some really good advice to those contemplating a life of farming for a living.

In Fred Sauceman’s Pot Luck Radio Series, he features one of Tennessee’s Oldest Restaurant in continuous operation “Sarzour’s” of Chattanooga.

We visit today with Avi Askey, Owner of Overhill Gardens in Madisonville Tennessee. Overhill Gardens is a Native plant nursery, and Eco-Friendly Landscapes, Hardscape, and design business. Amy interviews owner Avi Askey about his work for over 20 years now to improve region’s ecology through his work of saving native plants, and endangered native plant species. Overhill Gardens does not advertise on this show.

Fred Sauceman shares a story with the voice of Janette Carter (daughter of A.P. Carter) and her making of Chow Chow.

Today we are setting the table in the kitchen with my guest Bailey Foster, she is a Knoxville native and Founder of Real Good Kitchen, a food incubator in Knoxville Tennessee. Their motto is “Make Change Through Food”. In short, this new place provides the space and resources food entrepreneurs need.

A kitchen collective where everyone helps the other in creating and maintaining their food business. There are a lot of roadblocks to starting and maintaining a small food business and this place helps to offset those by working collaborativly. And in this hard time we are all going through, this place is a breath of fresh air for our community. This small business is in the midst of a crowdfunding campaign, they have almost reached their goal, and it is my hope that by sharing this story with all you all we can help them achieve their goal.

We also get to hear a segment on the happily retired former food writer for the Knoxville news sentinel - Mary Dee Dee Constantine with a soul food recipe on how to prepare Pig’s Feet and Pork Neck Bones by way of Mary Breedlove of Morristown, TN. I don’t know about your circumstances listening in here today, but, for a good long while now, I have been searching and cooking recipes that fill up my family’s bellies, give us nutritional value, are tasty and most of all, affordable. So, I thought this would be a real good segment to include here today in this ole cold month of January in this pandemic and all. Hope it helps.

On Fred Sauceman’s Pot Luck Radio series, a feature on Frederick Pal Barger - Founder of Pal’s Sudden Service award-winning regional fast-food chain. Pal Barger sadly passed away in October of 2020 at the age of 90 having opened the first Pal’s restaurant bearing his nickname in downtown Kingsport, Tennessee in 1956. If you may not be familiar with Pal’s…Pal’s is a a beloved hot dog, hamburger, fries and shake establishment in the North East portion of the State of Tennessee known for it’s colorfully painted buildings and fiberglass hamburger, hotdog and Milkshake cup sitting atop several Pals’ establishments.

Seed Saving & Stories with our ole seed saving pal John Coykendall of Knoxville, TN. John tells us how he became a seed saver, some of the varieties he has saved, where to find old time heirloom seed like the ones he saves, and shares some cute stories.

In this show we visit with Thomas Williams - a Nashville Native who is heavily involved in the business of helping his community through food. And in these times of trouble that we are all living in right now, I thought it would be good to feature this story and how together we can really help to make our communities better. Fred Sauceman features a couple from Jonesboro TN who make a well traveled egg nog with a taste of Kentucky in his Pot Luck Radio series. Thank you so much for tuning in today, I really appreciate your good company

In this episode, Amy is setting the table with “Squirrel”.

Rachel and John Davis of Blount County, TN on how to cook Squirrel Dumplings.

A story from singer, songwriter Shawn Camp on growing up in Arkansas and his Grandpa, and eating squirrel. Shawn has also given me permission to include the song he co-wrote along with Tim Mensy “The Grandpa That I Know” to include in this episode.

Fred Saucemna’s “Potluck Radio” series Fred features the Lodge Cast Iron Black Lock, lightweight, triple pre-seasoned line. (Lodge does not advertise with this show).

Today we are setting the table with Candy with several guests.

Jessi Baker co-creator and owner of Ole Smoky Moonshine, Yee-Haw Brewing, 6th & Peabody, and cookbook Author shares a short story on how her Grandparents created “The Ole Smoky Candy Kitchen” in 1952 in Gatlinburg TN.

Mary “Dee Dee” Constantine presents a short story about Shirley McMurtrie of Union County and Shirley’s way of dry canning Black Walnuts along with Shirley’s black walnut candy recipe.

Fred Sauceman presents his “Pot Luck Radio” series with a feature on Helm’s Candy of Bristol Virginia.

Tammy Smith of Savannah, GA shares 2 stories about eating a raccoon for dinner and a hog’s head story from her Marcum Grandpa, her Daddy, and her mother Lula Davenport Marcum. Her Mother Lula was cousin to Old-time fiddler and banjo player Clyde Davenport and Lula herself picked the banjo.

Today we are setting the table with 2 Christmas recipes and stories about soup beans. The happily retired former food writer for the Knoxville News Sentinel Mary “Dee Dee” Constantine will share a recipe for warm mulled cider. In Fred Sauceman’s Pot luck radio segment, he shares a story about a festive red and green pear salad. Ronni Lundy sheds light on the question “Why do we all eat pinto beans”? And seed saver John Coykendall shares a cute little story about a young man who was tired of eating beans.