Week 8: Our Favorite Foodie Movies

Week 8 of Food for Thought brought about a new twist on our themes of food, culture, and community as we focus on our favorite movies featuring food as a central motif. Richard Graves, WEHC station manager and movie buff, joins us for the first time to talk about movies, food, and the marriage of the two.

Richard will be a regular guest/co-host on Food for Thought as we diversify into explorations of other cultural themes that bring people together.

Week 7: Days of Wine and Roses

On this week's show, we explore the fascinating topic of wine in Virginia. We'll delve into the history of viticulture in Virginia, talk about the Commonwealth's growing wine industry, and learn about how to get started enjoying wine tourism. We will speak to a special guest, the vivacious Katherine Clark, who together with her husband Charlie, have started a vineyard on their cattle farm in Glade Spring. Katherine and Charlie grow several different varieties of grapes and makes some seriously delicious wine. So grab your wine glass (crystal, of course!) and join us for a delightful journey through Virginia's wine country.

Recipes for this week's show feature dishes cooked with wine and can be found on the recipe page for Week 7.

Week 6: An Afternoon Tea in Colonial America

“There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.” --Henry James

Many of our listeners asked for us to continue our exploration of the history, culture, and traditions associated with tea, so this week we will take it one step farther and have an on-air tea party with two very special guests.

Sue Payne is a 1951 graduate of the College and for many years served as historical interpreter for the Colonial Willaiamsburg Foundation and was also part if its colonial dance program--where on one occasion she actually danced with Walter Cronkite. Sue is a member of one of Emory & Henry's most prominent families: Sue's father, Rusty Young, was a longtime member of the Physics and Math faculty, and her brothers, Phil and John Young, both NASA scientists, also taught for a time at the College.

Robert Vejnar is the archivist for Emory & Henry and the Holston Methodist Conference . Robert is passionate about colonial Virginia history and teaches one of our most intriguing history courses on colonial and revolutionary America, which includes a week long trip to Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, and the great plantations of the James River.

So pop on your Sunday hat, don your lace gloves, and come join us for another delightful conversation as we explore the custom of afternoon tea and learn about food and culture in colonial America.

Week 5: Tea for Two

This week's program is all about the history and culture of tea. Our special guest is Dr. Wendy Doucette, a true tea connoisseur and creative baker of pastries as well as the College's resident expert on Portuguese culture and cuisine.

Join us as we talk about the various kinds of tea, the elegant art of hosting an afternoon tea, the finer points of cucumber sandwiches, and how to brew the perfect cup of tea.

Week 4: Just Desserts

This week Dirk and Lorraine welcome a special guest, the vivacious and talented Pam Smith. With many years as a local restauranteur and a host of dessert fans numbering in the thousands, Pam Smith is eminently qualified to discuss the culture of the dessert. Her bread pudding, carried in over 100 grocery stores in the region is the stuff of legends, but it isn't the only fantastic dessert that Pam regularly makes.

Join us to hear about Pam's favorite recipes, her inspiration for her wonderful sweets, and about how her baking has actually persuaded at least one rather famous architect to actually move to our area!

Recipes for a variety of cakes and other delightful desserts can be found in our recipe index.

What's that fabulous looking dish in the title photo?

My friend and fellow foodie, John Spaulding, wanted the recipe for the delicious looking stew in the title photo, and I realized that I should have talked about this either on the air or in the blog, and certainly should have posted the recipe.

It is Hungarian Gulyasleve, or Hungarian Goulash Soup, although it's technically a stew. Gulyas means "herdsman" and leves means "soup". This is a dish that herdsmen would make for themselves while out with their animals. It's about as traditional a Hungarian dish as it comes.

The recipe can be found under "Week 1: Austro-Hungary and Germany".

By the way, John and his friend Amity have a wonderful food blog at creativenoms.com

Week 3: Diner Food and Culture

Dirk and Lorraine take their show on the road to the Town Square Diner in Glade Spring, VA to talk to April Bare Anderson, the Diner's owner and operator. April has been serving up tasty diner food in the Square in Glade Spring for almost two years. As the owner of the Town Square Diner, the lovely and vivacious April has seen a lot of the changes in Glade Spring over the past two years, and she's met a whole lot of local characters, too.

Join in the fun when we explore the history and culture of that great American institution, the diner.