The Local Farey Tale of Coffee Milk

Photo provided by Christopher Martin, Quahog.org

Woohoo! An ice-cold caffeinated beverage cheers to the arrival of Season 2, Episode 2! I had to pivot along the way and unfortunately, that meant a delay. But I’m so happy to share that the season has (finally) continued with “The Local Farey Tale of Coffee Milk”!

This episode marks the first time I’ve formally acknowledged my “independent podcast” status in an ask for support. It feels weird but I know it’s a necessary step that I needed to embrace to keep the podcast going.

One of the many things on my wishlist to bring Local Farey Tales to the next level is to take a course on sound editing. I’m self-taught so far. I know a class would likely help me improve more quickly and also give you, the listener, an improved listening experience, too! There’s one particularly troublesome edit in this episode that makes me cringe. You may notice it and you may not. (We are our own harshest critics after all.) But I’m hopeful more editing knowledge will reduce cringing, too! 🙂

Back to Coffee Milk, this is the first local fare I have featured that I haven’t experienced myself. But you will learn in the episode that the majority of us have experienced a version of it without realizing it. (How’s that for a tease?) As always, I was extremely grateful to all of the Coffee Milk Tale-Tellers for participating but I felt especially lucky to get to speak with Richard Field and John Barr. Two people who played pivotal roles in helping Coffee Milk become the Rhode Island State Beverage. (What a story!)

You can listen to the episode here or anywhere you stream podcasts.

Note: Since I haven’t experienced Coffee Milk firsthand, this was the first time I didn’t have a reference photo, too. Thankfully, Coffee Milk Tale-Teller, Christopher Martin helped me out with that.

Knoephla Soup Tale-Teller: Mark Heidrich

Photos provided by Mark Heidrich

The Local Farey Tale of Knoephla Soup

Knoephla Soup at Kroll’s Diner in Fargo, ND

One year ago I launched Local Farey Tales. And it’s been an incredible labor of love. I’ve loved getting to “meet” all the Tale-Tellers over Zoom or phone and then sharing their tales with people far and wide.

While I took a break to regroup for Season 2, I’m happy to announce that the new season has officially begun with the release of “The Local Farey Tale of Knoephla Soup”.

When I first spoke to the artist, Jonathan Reich, about creating the Local Farey Tales logo, he revealed he was from North Dakota. I remembered trying “lumpy yellow soup” when in Fargo but couldn’t remember the official name. Jonathan was quick to inform me about it and the soup was put on the list for a future episode. When the time finally came to start interviews, I knew I had to include Jonathan and I’m happy to say he agreed to contribute to this episode.

This episode is the shortest one yet but no less filled with lots of info & anecdotes!

You can listen to the episode here or anywhere you stream podcasts.

Note: The photo is from the first time I had Knoephla Soup. It was at Kroll’s Diner in Fargo, ND where it’s also known as “Lumpy Yellow Soup”. 🙂

Pasty Tale-Teller: Lynn Spurling

Pasty Tale-Teller: Mike Kiernan

The Local Farey Tale of the Pasty

Pasty from UP North Sandwich & Pasty Co, Richland, MI

Phew! This episode marks the end of Season One!

And what an episode it is! It is the longest episode to date and I must admit, it could have been much longer! As always, my Tale-Tellers provided me with an abundance of wonderful content. Take your time with this one. Lots of potential rabbit holes of info to go down. 🙂

This episode features the Pasty. A local fare I first heard about when visiting Michigan. I had zero clue at the time of how far-reaching yet still distinctly regional this fare was at the time. But when I started research for this episode it soon became clear. While I’ve kept my previous episode interviews within the U.S., this time the tale couldn’t be told without international voices and I’m delighted that so many agreed to contribute!

You can listen to the episode here (or anywhere you stream podcasts). BUT if you stream elsewhere, be sure to check out the supplemental content via that same link.

Note: The pasty photo is from the only time I’ve had a pasty so far. However, thanks to a recommendation from David Oates, I’ll be headed to Grass Valley, CA for their Cornish Christmas and trying another one soon!