Morel Mushroom hunt, cook, and Asparagus with Chris Burger, Chef Robert Allen, and Kelly Smith Trimble

by Amy Campbell

S10:E16. 4/22/2023

Morel Mushroom hunt, cook, and Asparagus with Chris Burger, Chef Robert Allen, Kelly Smith Trimble.

Searching for that fifth taste of “Umami” with a morel mushroom hunt, cook, and asparagus. My guests are Chris Burger and Chef Robert Allen of Bluestem Hollow. Plus, Author and Gardener Kelly Smith Trimble. ⁣ ⁣ Kelly is also presenting an Author talk and book signing Saturday, April 22, from 2-4 at the Blount County Public Library in Downtown Maryville, Tennessee.

Plus news of the Tuckaleechee garden club plant sale, Special Growers plant sale April 22nd, 2023.

⁣Pictured Are: Chris Burger and Chef Robert Allen of BluestemHollow, Greenback, TN. Derek Trimble and Kelly Smith Trimble. Kelly wrote the book The Creative Vegetable Gardener, and Derek was the Photographer for this book. Illustration of asparagus from Kelly Smith Trimble’s first book Vegetable Gardening Wisdom: Harriet Popham Photos: Amy Campbell.⁣

Links: Blount County Public Library: https://www.blounttn.org/Calendar.aspx?EID=18183

Kelly Smith Trimble: https://www.kellysmithtrimble.com/

Bluestem Hollow: https://www.bluestemhollow.com/

Blount County Master Gardeners: https://bcmgtn.wildapricot.org/

Tuckaleechee Garden Club Plant Sale: https://www.facebook.com/TuckaleecheeGardenClub/

Special Growers plant sale, April 22nd, at the Maryville Farmers’ Market: https://www.instagram.com/specialgrowers/?hl=en

Derek Trimble and Kelly Smith Trimble. Kelly wrote the book The Creative Vegetable Gardener https://www.kellysmithtrimble.com/ , and Derek was the Photographer for this book https://www.derektrimble.com/ .

Illustration of asparagus from Kelly Smith Trimble’s first book Vegetable Gardening Wisdom: Harriet Popham. https://www.kellysmithtrimble.com/books

Chris Burger hunter of morel mushrooms of BluestemHollow, Greenback, TN. Photo: Amy Campbell 2021. https://www.bluestemhollow.com/

Chef Robert Allen of BluestemHollow, Greenback, TN. https://www.bluestemhollow.com/ Photo: Amy Campbell 2021.

Morel Mushrooms foraged from Bluestem Hollow. https://www.bluestemhollow.com/ Photo: Amy Campbell 2021.

Tennessee Morel Hunt with Chris Burger

by Amy Campbell

S6:E11. 03/26/2022

Tennessee Morel Hunt with Chris Burger

Today we are setting the table with a good ole fashioned morel mushroom foraging in search of a wild food that delivers the umami taste. My guests are Chris Burger Farmer, Creative Director and Co-Founder of Century Harvest Farms Foundation in Greenback, TN. Chris was kind enough to invite me on a morel hunt for this mushroom that only appears from late March through the first few weeks of April annually in Tennessee. We also will be joined in the kitchen at Century Harvest Farms Foundation by Chef Robert Allen. He will share how he cooks morel mushrooms and what he pairs them with.

Chris Burger, Century Harvest Farms Foundation: https://centuryharvest.org/

Chef Robert Allen: https://www.robertallenculinary.com/a-destination

Chris Burger holding a morel mushroom the day we went on a Tennessee Morel hunt at Century Harvest Farms Foundation. Photo: Amy Campbell.

Lost Creek Farm, Harrison County, West Virginia

by Amy Campbell

S9:E8. 03/05/2022

Amy Dawson and Mike Costello are farmers, chefs, owners of Lost Creek Farm, a historic family farmstead located in Harrison County, West Virginia. They describe their cuisine as Story-Rich, Heritage-inspired - Mountain Cuisine. They have been nominated for a 2022 James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef, Southeast!. We recorded this together in 2016, and I am so happy that they have turned their vision for revitalizing this family farm into a reality. Also, Fred Sauceman with a story and recipe from the late Raymond Bautista, Elizabethton, TN.

Links:

Lost Creek Farm: http://www.lostcreekfarmwv.com/

Lost Creek Farm Podcast: Pickle Shelf Radio Hour: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pickle-shelf-radio-hour/id1499208247

James Beard Foundation nomination information: https://www.jamesbeard.org/blog/the-2022-james-beard-award-semfinalists

Fred Sauceman: https://www.facebook.com/fred.sauceman

Emi Sunshine (sings our theme song): https://theemisunshine.com/

Mike Costello and Amy Dawson, Lost Creek Farm, Harrison County, WV. Photo: LostCreekFarmWV.com.