Corn, Corn Relish, and Corn Cob Jelly recipes with Rachel Abbott Davis of J and R Farms

S11:E28. 07/13/2024

Corn, Corn Relish, and Corn Cob Jelly recipes with Rachel Abbott Davis of J and R Farms, plus a beautiful audio essay on corn from author and gardener Kelly Smith Trimble.

Links: Kelly Smith Trimble: https://www.kellysmithtrimble.com/ J & R Farms: https://www.jandrfarmstn.com/ Rachel’s Canning Corse: https://rachel-davis-s-school.teachable.com/p/canning-course Rachel’s instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/jandrfarms_mama/ USDA complete guide to home canning: https://www.nifa.usda.gov/about-nifa/blogs/usdas-complete-guide-home-canning

Recipe: This recipe came from a notebook of Rachel’s Great Grandmother Minnie Grindstaff’s canning recipes. Rachel and John had a truckload of corn they needed to do something with, so she decided to try this corn relish recipe out and loved it. They use it on everything as a side, and it is perfect on pinto beans with cornbread. The recipe calls for cabbage, but Rachel leaves that out.

Ingredient list:

* 12 ears fresh corn
* 1 large cabbage head, shredded
* 6 small garden onions, or 1 or 2 large onions
* 6 bell peppers
* 2 red sweet peppers
* 2 - 4 Jalapeno peppers
* 2 cups sugar
* 1 quart vinegar
* 1 T Salt
* 1 T Ground mustard

Instructions: Cook corn and vinegar together for 20 minutes, add the rest and cook for 30 minutes.

Ladle hot mixture into hot, sterilized jars leaving 1/2 inch head space.

Clean jar lids with clean, damp cloth, apply lids and bands and finger tighten bands.

Process jars according to approved waterbacth canning instructions, or better yet, Rachel also has posted the complete recipe on her blog. https://www.jandrfarmstn.com/

Rachel also hosts an online canning corse that she calls a can along with details on her instagram page at: https://www.instagram.com/jandrfarms_mama/

Photo: Rachel Abbott Davis of Maryville Tennessee is a young mother of 5, a homesteader, Instagram influencer, offers a course on home canning, she and her husband John own and operate J & R Farm. Rachel is pictured holding one of her jars of corn relish. Rachel shares her Great Grandmother’s recipe for this corn relish on this episode. Find Rachel’s blog from this link: https://www.jandrfarmstn.com/ Photo: Amy Campbell 2022.

Rachel Abbott Davis of Maryville Tennessee is a young mother of 5, a homesteader, Instagram influencer, offers a course on home canning, she and her husband John own and operate J & R Farm. Rachel is pictured holding one of her jars of corn relish. Rachel shares her Great Grandmother’s recipe for this corn relish on this episode. Find Rachel’s blog from this link: https://www.jandrfarmstn.com/  Photo: Amy Campbell 2022.

East TN Homestead Alliance and ETHA Festival July 12-13, 2024, Townsend TN

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S11:E23. East TN Homestead Alliance and ETHA Festival July 12-13, 2024, Townsend TN.

Today, we are setting the table with homesteading. Our guest is Sandy Eplett. She and her family are residents of Louden TN, they are homesteaders, she knows old-time homesteading ways and wants to equip others to learn these skills and connect. She has also created the ET Homestead Alliance as a hub for homesteaders to connect. She also has created 2024 ETHA Homestead Festival that will take place in Townsend TN at the Townsend Visitor’s Center July 12th and 13th. In this episode, we will hear about both.

Links:

ETHA Homestead Festival, Townsend, TN July 12-13th. https://www.eventeny.com/events/easttennesseehomesteadalliancefestival-11463/

ETHA Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/people/East-Tennessee-Homestead-Alliance/61552488827119/

ETHA website under the Wild Body School website name: https://www.wildbodyschool.com/

Jay Tipton Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkpAxBzMNsc Length: 00:25:40

Sandy Eplett, Founder of the East Tennessee Homestead Alliance, Founder of the 2024 ETHA Homestead Festival, July 12-13, Townsend TN.

Special Growers, Maryville TN, and Chattanooga Bakery's Moonpie

S11:E14. 04.06.2024

Special Growers, Maryville, TN, offers workforce development training and employment for people with learning differences who age out of high school and special education classes. Their story and Chattanooga Bakery’s Moonpie on my latest podcast and radio broadcast. Hope to have the honor of your good company! Thanks! At Special Growers, they grow culinary herbs and cut flowers and are supported by area restaurants, corporate donors, and community members. Kent Davis is our guest, a founding member of Special Growers, and a parent of a child who benefitted from Special Growers. In Fred Sauceman’s Pot-Luck Radio Series, he features the Moonpie, which has been made for over 100 years by the Chattanooga Bakery in Chattanooga, TN.

Links:

Special Growers: https://www.specialgrowers.com/

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

Chattanooga Bakery, makers of the Moon Pie for over 100 years: https://moonpie.com/about

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

Legendary University of Tennessee Football Coach Phillip Fulmer on the importance of honey bees.

S10:E31. 8/5/2023

Legendary University of Tennessee Football Coach Phillip Fulmer raises bees and is my guest on this episode. Coach Fulmer is passionate about raising awareness for honey bees and was generous with his time to record this story in order to advocate for the importance of these bees. He does NOT sell his honey. This is a fun hobby for him. The main message of this show is awareness of pollinators to our survival.

Links: Coach Phillip Fulmer: https://www.phillipfulmer.com/

Blount County Beekeepers Association: https://blountbees.wordpress.com/

Emi sunshine (sing our theme song when she was 9 years old!): https://theemisunshine.com/

Resources of honey, beekeeping, and how to become a beekeeper: https://www.tennesseefarmtable.com/bee-keeping-local-honey

Coach Phillip Fulmer with a jar of his honey. Photo: Amy Campbell 2023.

Allan Benton’s Tennessee Prosciutto, made in Madisonville, Tennessee.

S10:E23. 06/10/2023

Allan Benton’s Tennessee Prosciutto, made in Madisonville, Tennessee.

On the show today, we are setting the table with Tennessee-made Country Ham or "Tennessee prosciutto." Our featured guest on the show today is Allan Benton of Madisonville, TN. Allan shares his story on how he learned what the word prosciutto meant and how he positioned his product to the world of fine dining. Allan's prosciutto goes toe to toe with some of the most expensive, well-known prosciuttos from all over the world.

From Radio Bristol's Farm and Fun Time show, recorded live from the Birthplace of Country Music, storyteller Tony Marr's heirloom recipe segment on Leftovers.

Links: Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams: https://bentonscountryhams2.com

Dancing Bear Appalachian Homecoming Event: https://dancingbearlodge.com/store/appalachian-homecoming/

Radio Bristol’s Farm and Fun Time Program: https://birthplaceofcountrymusic.org/radio/programs/farm-and-fun-time/

Emi Sunshine sings our theme song: http://theemisunshine.com/

Cornbread and Cornbread Salad with Josh Lowans

S9:E19. 05/21/2022

Cornbread, Cornbread, Cornbread, and Cornbread Salad with Josh Lowans.

We are setting the table today with cornbread. I've assembled an all-star lineup of guests today to talk about this soul-satisfying staple.

• Karen Shankles has twice won first place at the annual National Cornbread Festival cook-off. Today, she shares her recipe for Festive Good Luck Corn Bread Skillet with us.
• James Beard Award-winning food writer Ronni Lundy lets us know how she makes her skillet cornbread that goes with a pot of soup beans. And she also shares with us what she calls her tao of cornbread.
• Food preservationist with deep family ties to the East TN mountains and mountain cooking Shannon Walker lets us know how he makes his cornbread and his thoughts on cast iron cookware and old ways.
• And “Mountain Man”, Josh Lowans of Salubrious Farms, Walland, Knoxville, describes a Cornbread salad recipe that his better half Meagan makes and is his family's go-to recipe.

Links:

Karen Shankles: She co-owns an accounting firm in Knoxville. Here is her Linkedin link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-shankles-45095054

Ronni Lundy: http://www.ronnilundy.com/

Adrian Miller: https://adrianemiller.com/about/meet-adrian/

Josh Lowans: On Instagram @joshlowans

Shannon Walker: On Instagram @newchilhoweevisions

National cornbread Festival: https://nationalcornbread.com/

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

Recipes:

Festive Good Luck Corn Bread Skillet. Karen Shankles shared this recipe that won the grand prize at the National Corn Bread Festival in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, in 2015. Link to Karen Shankle's prize-winning Festive Good Luck Cornbread Skillet recipe: https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/festive-good-luck-cornbread-skillet

Corn Bread Salad: This recipe is one that Josh Lowans shared with Amy. His wife Meagan makes this dish often for their family, and the recipe comes from her.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pan day-old cornbread (Josh recommends using Benton's bacon lard rendered from an entire pound of Benton's bacon. Megan prefers to use Three Rivers Cornmeal)
• 2 - 3 really ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1 can of pinto beans drained, not rinsed
• Fresh corn cut off of the cob
• Shredded cheese of your choice
• Ranch dip (make your own with herbs of your choice, sour cream, and mayonnaise)

To assemble, layer in this order:

• Crumble cornbread and place in the bottom of the serving container
• Layer pinto beans on top of the cornbread
• Layer cut corn over the beans
• Layer the diced tomatoes over the corn
• Layer ranch dressing (homemade)
• Layer of bacon (use Benton's bacon if you can get it)
• Layer Cheese on the top

Tips:

• Chill for 2 hours before serving.
• Don't use pre-made ranch dressing; it is too runny. Instead, Josh Lowans recommends using ranch dip and making your own. He suggests making it thick so the cornbread won't become soggy.
• This salad looks pretty in a clear glass serving container.

Homemade Ranch Dressing - There are countless recipes for homemade ranch dressing. Ingredients are Mayonnaise, Buttermilk, Sour Cream, Black Pepper, Salt, Garlic, and Onion; options include parsley, chives, and dill.

Mother’s Day Stories and Old Fashioned Recipes

S9:E17. 05/07/2022

Today, we set the table with some good food and memories in honor of Mother’s Day. First, we’ll visit Mary Lynn Snyder, who shares memories of growing up in the R.C. Tway coal mining camp outside Harlan, KY. Then, she’ll share her Mother Ruby’s cooking ways and a recipe for “Mama Ruby’s Creamy Lemon Pie.” Also on the program - Fred’s Sauceman shares a lovely audio essay in memory of his late mother-in-law, Elsie Maddux Derting. And I share a story and recipe about my late mother, Edwena Janie Clayton, Mississippi, and kilt salad for supper.

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

Recipes:

“Mama Ruby’s Creamy Lemon Pie” from Mary Lynn Snyder

Ingredients:

• 8-9 inch baked pastry shell, can use grab cracker crust
• Three egg yolks (reserve the egg whites if making meringue)
• 14 oz can of Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk (Ruby used Pet brand)
• 1/2 c. real lemon juice from concentrate
• a dab of yellow food coloring
• 2 cups of whipped topping (Ruby used meringue)

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
• In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks with milk and lemon juice, and add a little food coloring
• Pour into the pastry shell
• Bake for 30 minutes, cool, and top with whipped topping *If using meringue, top with meringue before placing it in the oven to cook. Refrigerate before serving, and refrigerate leftovers.

Kilt Salad:

Ingredients:

• A “mess” of Fresh greens. The term “mess” refers to the amount you would use for your family. A family of 4 with a hearty appetite would need about a 1/2 a paper bag full of fresh greens. These cook down to roughly a 6th of their size, so it takes a good amount. These greens can be any greens you can find. Dandelion, lambs quarters, spinach, kale, young poke, collards, etc. Most watery lettuces are too soggy, so I use a more hearty green. Do not use frozen. Triple wash the fresh greens. If you use collard greens or kale, remove the large spines from the leaves. Chop the greens. Try to get the water off of them as well as you can with a salad spinner or a colander. If you still have some water on them, it is ok; they do not need to be super dry. But, if you have standing water in your pot of greens, pour that off.
• 1 pack of bacon fried crisp, drained, and crumbled. Reserve the grease in the pan, and keep the grease hot.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Hard boil six eggs, peel, and slice.

Directions:

• In a large bowl, place the chopped greens.
• Pour the hot bacon grease all over the greens (about 1/2 cup)
• Toss the greens and bacon fat very quickly to cover all of the greens and to “kill” the greens.
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Top with crumbled bacon.
• Serve with hot cornbread, vinegar, and sliced boiled eggs.

This recipe comes from watching my Grandmother (Mildred May of Jackson, Mississippi) prepare this in her kitchen.

The late Elsie Maddux Derting. Photo: Fred Sauceman.

Mary Lynn Snyder. Photo: Mary Lynn Snyder Facebook page.