Award Winning Writer and Food Blogger Sasha Martin is my first guest today. Will be talking about her blog, website and her first book “Life from Scratch – A memoir of Food, Family, and Forgiveness.”
It was a culinary journey like no other: Over the course of 195 weeks, food writer and blogger Sasha Martin set out to cook—and eat—a meal from every country in the world. As cooking unlocked the memories of her rough-and-tumble childhood and the loss and heartbreak that came with it, Martin became more determined than ever to find peace and elevate her life through the prism of food and world cultures. From the tiny, makeshift kitchen of her eccentric, creative mother to a string of foster homes to the house from which she launches her own cooking adventure, Martin’s heartfelt, brutally honest memoir reveals the power of cooking to bond, to empower, and to heal—and celebrates the simple truth that happiness is created from within. Get a copy NOW!
Sasha Martin
SASHA MARTIN is an award-winning writer and blogger who spent almost four years cooking her way around the world. She graduated from Wesleyan University and was an MFK Fisher Scholar at the Culinary Institute of America. She lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with her husband Keith and their daughter Ava.
Sasha’s work has been featured on NPR, as well as in Whole Living, Bon Appetit, The Smithsonian, The Huffington Post, and CNNgo. Her website, Global Table Adventure, is a go-to hub for foodies around the world. Her first book, LIFE FROM SCRATCH (National Geographic, 2015) chronicles her lifelong struggle to find inner-peace, including the years she spent cooking the world as a new mother. Learn more at: www.globaltableadventure.com
Chris Benziger
In the second half I’ll be talking to my good friend Chris Benziger of Benziger Family Winery in Sonoma. Learn more about Chris and Benziger winery at www.benziger.com Chris will be in town for the Midwest Winefest and hosting one of the four dinners this year. Always a welcome addition to the Winefest having been here for several wine dinners in the past, Chris will be hosting the dinner at the Wichita Country Club. Check out the menus.
Finally…I’ll tell you all about “Shaken Not Stirred” a cool event at Abode Venue Wednesday April 1st between 6:00 -10:00 p.m.
This is a Cocktail Competition and you get to be the judge for the peoples choice favorite. The competitors include some of Old Town’s finest mixologist:
- The Public at the Brickyard
- The Hyatt’s Harvest Bar
- Mort’s Cigar Bar
- The Anchor
- The Monarch
- Gianni Bacci
- larkspur
In addition to the competition there will be Dueling Pianos, DJ Carbon, Craft Beer & Wine and a cigar bar by the Humidor Cigars & Lounge. Tickets are $65
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Good Life Guy’s Wine of The Week:
Something cool from the Benziger lineup at Jacob Liquor Exchange
It’s easy to think of the meatball as three things: Italian, covered with red sauce and served with spaghetti. It’s iconic. The reality, though, is that meatballs could be considered an international phenomenon, inspiring creative dishes around the globe! Swedes love their sweet and sour meatballs. French North Africans enjoy fragrant boulettes in their tagine. Chinese hot pots often feature fish balls. Vegans even have meat-less meatballs! The possibilities are endless. Global Meatballs highlights these possibilities by introducing traditional recipes and pairing them with lots of creative variants. You will be encouraged to experiment and learn the techniques you need to perfect your own meatball recipe! Whether interested in comfort cooking, ethnic cuisine, or simply meatballs, this book is sure to make you into a meatball expert!
In the second half I’ll have a brief chat with Allen Shoup. Allen is widely recognized as one of the founding fathers of the Washington wine industry. He spent 20 years building Chateau Ste. Michelle and its affiliate wineries, serving as the company’s CEO for 17 of those years. Currently, he is managing partner of Long Shadows Vintners, a company he established in 2002, as well as managing partner of The Benches at Wallula Gap, a spectacular 650-acre vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills, purchased by Shoup and a small investor group in 2008.
Easy to digest, less likely to cause gut inflammation, tolerable for those with gluten sensitivity these are just a few reasons why the ancient grain known as einkorn is quickly becoming one of the most popular grains/flours on the market–not to mention its sweet flavor and silky texture. How does one prepare this ancient grain? Popular food bloggers, Tim and Shanna Mallon of Food Loves Writing, bring einkorn right to your table with this beautiful whole food cookbook that includes over 100 recipes, all featuring the world’s most ancient grain. Recipes are broken into sections including breakfast, appetizers, breads, main dishes, and desserts, and include such hits as: Vegetable Quiche with an Einkorn Crust, Kale Salad with Einkorn Berries, Einkorn Cranberry Walnut Bread, Einkorn Cinnamon Buns, Acorn Squash and Caramelized Onion, Einkorn Salad, and Mexican Chocolate Einkorn Cookies. Get ready to embrace einkorn, not only for its health benefits, but its wonderful taste. Once you try The Einkorn Cookbook, you’ll never go back.
93 points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate – 
It does not appear that this Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend is named after the Liam Neeson movies of the same name. However, there is no question I was ‘taken’ by this 2012 Proprietary Red Blend Taken. It exhibits a dense purple color as well as glorious aromas of blackberries, blackcurrants, licorice, incense, and a subtle hint of oak. With spectacular opulence, a voluptuous texture and phenomenal concentration as well as purity, but no over-ripeness or heaviness, this beauty should drink well for 10-15 years. This cuvée is a joint project of Carlo Trinchero (from the family of White Zinfandel fame) and Josh Phelps (I’m not sure if he’s related to the Joseph Phelps Winery), who have put together a killer red. As a wine lover, one hopes this is only the first of many more to come. (RP) 
(10/ 2014)
