Mead from Flora De Mel Meadery, Rossville Georgia.

S10:E11. 03/18/2023

Flora De Mel. Meadery, Rossville Georgia.

Today, we are setting the table with Mead. My guest is Jay Martin, Co-Owner of Flora De Mel, a Meadery and full-service restaurant located in Rossville, GA, just over the state line of TN from downtown Chattanooga. Jay is a proponent of urban beekeeping. This business sprang out of his and his business partner and wife Stephanie’s beekeeping. And in this show, Jay will answer the question of …What a demijohn is. In Fred Sauceman’s Potluck Radio Series, he features the last surviving Blue Circle restaurant in Bristol, Tennessee.

Flora De Mel, Meadery https://www.florademel.com/

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

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

Jay Martin photographed inside Flora De Mel with dimijohns fermenting with mead. Photo: Amy Campbell, 2021.

Flora De Mel, Rossville, Georgia. Photo: Amy Campbell, 2021.

Jay Martin sits at the bar in Flora De Mel. Bar stools in Flora De Mel made by chair maker Tyler Rogers, Chattanooga, Tennessee. Photo: Amy Campbell, 2021.

Helping the Honey Bees with D and Jim Brown of Honey Rock Herb Farm, Louisville, TN

S10:E10. 3/11/2023

Helping the Honey Bees with D and Jim Brown of Honey Rock Herb Farm, Louisville, TN

Helping the Honeybee with D & Jim Brown, Honey Rock Herb Farm owners, Louisville, Tennessee. This is their 36th year of growing the good life at Honey Rock Herb Farm, and they have raised bees for over 40 years. They share with us how important bees and pollinators are to all of us, how to attract them, and steps we can take to protect them. Also, in Fred Sauceman’s Pot Luck Radio series, he features Hot Slaw from Polk County, TN.

Honey Rock Herb Farm http://www.honeyrockherbfarm.com/

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

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

D and Jim sit at their farm table in the Herb House at their Honey Rock Herb Farm, Louisville, TN. Photo: Amy Campbell 2014.

The Creative Vegetable Gardener by Tennessee Author, Kelly Smith Trimble

S10:E7. 2/18/2023

The Creative Vegetable Gardener by Tennessee Author, Kelly Smith Trimble

Tennessee Author Kelly Smith Trimble's brand new book, The Creative Vegetable Gardener, 60 ways to Cultivate Joy, Playfulness, and Beauty, along with a bounty of food. Kelly is my guest on my latest radio show and podcast. And Kelly does not pay me to promote this book. Kelly also shares a recipe for carrot top pesto.

This book offers a different take on backyard gardening, encouraging us to rethink the rules of vegetable gardening. Breaking out of perfectly straight rows or boxy raised beds, Kelly suggests planting in circles, spirals, or labyrinths and encourages us to grow herbs with our flowers and vegetables - mixing perennials with annuals and creating a meditative sanctuary and pollinator paradise. ⁣ ⁣ Kelly Smith Trimble is the author of Vegetable Gardening Wisdom. A lifestyle editor for over 20 years, she has worked with HGTV, Southern Living, Lowe's, Bonnie Plants, and the National Park Foundation. A Master Gardener with degrees in English and environmental studies, she grows vegetables, herbs, and flowers in her backyard in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Kelly also has a book launch on February 28th on the release date of this new book at Union Avenue Books in downtown Knoxville at 5:30 P.M. I'll be there interviewing Kelly live about her book that evening. This ticketed event is free with registration from the Union Avenue Bookstore website.⁣

Blue Stem Hollow is now in full swing of their CSA signup for full or 1/2 shares, delivered weekly or bi-weekly. Blue Stem Hollow offers catering, pasture-raised beef, eggs, charcuterie, and sustainably raised fruits and vegetables. These fruits and vegetables are sustainably grown right on the farm. Each week's CSA Box includes an email of what's in the box and a video from Chef Robert Allen (formerly of Citico's) with seasonal cooking tips for what's in the box. They also offer weekly add-ons such as honey, desserts, eggs, charcuterie, and pasture-raised beef. Weekly delivery locations include Greenback, Maryville, and Knoxville. To sign up directly from the website and for more information, Bluestemhollow.com or by email Brenna@Bluestemhollow.com

Links:

To sign up for Blue Stem Hollow CSA: Blue Stem Hollow: https://www.bluestemhollow.com/csa

Author, Kelly Smith Trimble website: https://www.kellysmithtrimble.com/

Union Avenue Books: https://www.unionavebooks.com/event/0228-launch-party-kelly-smith-trimble Register to attend book launch event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-launch-party-for-kelly-smith-trimble-tickets-475641054197

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

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

Kelly Smith Trimble’s latest title. Photography: Dereck Trimble.  https://www.kellysmithtrimble.com/

Little Mountain Flower Farm, Maryville, Tennessee

S9:E18. 05/14/2022

Little Mountain Flower Farm, Maryville, Tennessee.

In this episode, we are setting the table with pretty flowers. Or, as many of us here in Tennessee pronounce it, purty flares. No, it’s not about the eating. It’s about the joy and beauty flowers add to this life. That little touch of grace to the table, the home, or that person in need or celebrating a special event. 

Amy’s guest is Susie Kawar, owner and operator of Little Mountain Flower Farm, located in Maryville, TN. A design-centered floral farm and studio. Susie grows her flowers and puts together farm-fresh floral arrangements by hand in her floral studio right on her family’s farm. 

She, her husband, and her children grow these flowers with sustainable, regenerative growing practices. In addition, they have a sweet yellow dog named Paris that found them when they lived in Paris, Tennessee. This is an inspirational story of a person who has teamed her creative skills with a firm knowledge base in agriculture and has made a living for herself and her family doing something that she loves to do that brings joy to others. She will also share one of her go-to recipes for a refreshing tabouli salad.

Also, in Fred Sauceman’s Pot Luck Radio series, he features one of Tennessee’s oldest restaurants, Nicks of Kingsport, Tennessee. 

Links:
Little Mountain Flower Farm: https://www.littlemountainflowerfarm.com/
Fred Sauceman: https://www.facebook.com/fred.sauceman
Nick’s, Kingsport, TN: https://nicksrestaurantandcatering.com/

Susie Kawar, Owner of Little Mountian Flower Farm, Maryville TN https://www.littlemountainflowerfarm.com/ . Photo: Amy Campbell. 2022.

This is Susie and her family’s dog, Paris. Paris found them when they lived in Paris, Tennessee. She was in horrible condition when they first found her, and Susie and Michael gave her the medical attention she needed and a good home.

Susie in her hoop house with some of her flowers.

Susie holding one of the little yellow flowers she grew.

Broasted chicken from Nick’s of Kingsport, Tennessee. Photo: Fred Sauceman. https://nicksrestaurantandcatering.com/