Girls' Lunch

We're back for the chocolate-coated conclusion of our Hershey series! Picking back up at the turn of the 20th century, Nicole and Julia chronicle the Hershey Company's history through the Great Depression, two World Wars, and (spoilers) the death of its founder and beloved candy man Milton Hershey. They also ponder the ethics of extreme wealth, chocolate as patriotism, the Hershey Company's relationship with the US government, and (of course!) wacky marketing. Don't fill up on your Ration D starvation chocolate—this episode is CHOC-full (hehe) of cool cocoa trivia! Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole's website is nicolehylton.com. Have an episode suggestion or question? You can email us at [email protected] and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects. Links to Sources: The Hershey Story Museum, Hershey, PA The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars, by Joël Glenn Brenner Hershey, by Michael D'Antonio "Hershey's Kisses Chocolates," Hershey Community Archives "Ration D Bars," Hershey Community Archives Honeywell Kitchen Computer Advertisement, Neiman Marcus Catalog, scan courtesy of Wikimedia

Milton Hershey was not always a chocolate man. But he was, for most of his adult life (and his teens) a candy man. And in his journey from confectioner to chocolatier, Milton had his fair share of oopsies. (By our count, at least three failed business ventures and one mental breakdown.) But thankfully, for those of us in the present who enjoy his chocolate (and his theme park!) Milton Hershey also had some really clutch women in his corner who helped him keep going. Join Nicole and Julia in this exploration of Milton Hershey's early life and the founding of Hershey's Chocolate. We'll also take a brief step into the conching room (iykyk) to see how chocolate is made and put some respect on the names of the women that made Hershey what it is today. Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole's website is nicolehylton.com. Have an episode suggestion or question? You can email us at [email protected] and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects. Links to Sources: The Hershey Story Museum, Hershey, PA The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars, by Joël Glenn Brenner Hershey, by Michael D'Antonio "Hershey and Dandelion Media to Unwrap Founder's Story in Upcoming Major Motion Picture "HERSHEY," Set for 2026 Release" Press Release The Dispenser's Formulary, Soda Fountain Publications: New York, 1925  

Welcome back to Home Economics class! Did you keep your flour baby/egg/baby doll/real human baby alive over the last month? Maybe you'd like to teach it some deeply flawed early Child Psychology? In Part 2, you'll learn how Home Ec went from subverting to perpetuating traditional gender roles in the postwar era due to an unlikely culprit. We'll dive into the Home Ec that exists in the popular imagination, and the "Marriage Course" that now exists in Julia and Nicole's nightmares. And, finally, we will put a baked sweet potato at the top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, where it rightfully belongs. Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole's website is nicolehylton.com. Have an episode suggestion or question? You can email us at [email protected] and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects. Links to Sources: "Rethinking Home Economics: Women and the History of a Profession," ed. by Sarah J. Stage and Virginia B. Vincenti  "The Secret History of Home Economics: How Trailblazing Women Harnessed the Power of Home and Changed the Way We Live," by Danielle Dreilinger HEARTH - Home Economics Archive: Research, Tradition, History "The Bureau of Home Economics: How Women Harnessed the Power of Science and Nutrition to Help Fight WWII and Improve Life on the Home Front," by Erika Whinihan "Giant Food's First Supermarket", by Lawrence Bush "Carlisle Origin of Giant," by Ryan Burke

After a brief hiatus, Nicole and Julia are back at it again; yelling about food, feminism, and how the United States' culture is just good marketing.  In this episode, we discover how everything is Home Economics, you know, that one class your mom took in the 80's. We discuss the origins of the movement, it's rise and fall of influence in the American government, and maybe some ethically quesitonable decisions around babies. Come for the history, stay for the lava cakes, and leave after the bell rings.  Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole's website is nicolehylton.com. Have an episode suggestion or question? You can email us at [email protected] and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects. Links to Sources: "Rethinking Home Economics: Women and the History of a Profession" by by Sarah J. Stage (Editor), Virginia B. Vincenti (Editor) "The Secret History of Home Economics: How Trailblazing Women Harnessed the Power of Home and Changed the Way We Live" by Danielle Dreilinger HEARTH - Home Economics Archive: Research, Tradition, History The Bureau of Home Economics: How Women Harnessed the Power of Science and Nutrition to Help Fight WWII and Improve Life on the Home Front "DE GUSTIBUS; The Cakes That Take New York Erupt With Molten Chocolate," by Florence Fabricant for The New York Times "How the Chocolate Lava Cake, the Hottest Dessert of the '90s, Lost Its Cool," by Khushbu Shah for Thrillist

In this very special guest episode, Nicole and Julia are joined by their friend and mentor Dr. Jennifer Cognard-Black, Professor of English at St. Mary's College of Maryland. Nicole, Julia, and JCB discuss the history of the recipe and the sharing of recipes as a feminist act. We also talk, like, A LOT about Fried Green Tomatoes, and play a very Victorian version of the "Is it Nail Polish" game. Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole's website is nicolehylton.com. Have an episode suggestion or question? You can email us at [email protected] and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects. Jennifer's Work: Books That Cook: The Making of a Literary Meal, ed. by Melissa Goldthwaite and Jennifer Cognard-Black Good Eats: 32 Writers on Eating Ethically, ed. by Jennifer Cognard-Black and Melissa Goldthwaite Margaret Atwood: A Modern Mythmaker, by Jennifer Cognard-Black (audiobook) Books That Cook: Food and Fiction, by Jennifer Cognard-Black (audiobook) Additional Sources: "The Making of The Modern American Recipe," by Helen Zoe Veit Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, by Fannie Flagg Victorian Varnish Nail Polish The Victorian Cookbook, by Michelle Berriedale-Johnson The Victorian Way (Cookbook and YouTube channel)  

Would You Like to Load Your Last Save File? >Yes. In Part 2 of our video game series, Nicole and Julia resume play in the 1990s, chronicling some of the great restaurant sims of the era. We play some browser-based flash games in the school computer lab instead of doing our math homework, invoke the flaming-eyed wrath of Cooking Mama by failing to separate an egg, and win back our grandparents' bakery from Generic MegaCorp by clicking lots of buttons. Mainly, our goal is to make Papa Louie proud. This episode sponsored by your local Pizza Syndicate, a legitimate business not affiliated with any criminal dealings and/or underground. Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole's website is nicolehylton.com. Have an episode suggestion or question? You can email us at [email protected] and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects. Links to sources: "King's Candy Crush Saga Hits $20 Billion in Lifetime Revenue," by Jeffrey Rousseau "Food Culture Has Invaded Video Games, and the Results Are Mesmerizing," by Kat Thompson Papa's Pizzeria website, Flipline Studios Delicious Pixels: Food In Video Games, by Agata Waszkiewicz Casual Games Market Report (2007), by Casual Games Association Venba website, Visai Games

Let's go to the arcade! In part one of our two-part series, Nicole and Julia take you through the cooking games leaderboard and introduce you to some of the genre's "top players" in the 1970s and 1980s. We'll see the formation of a lot of popular mechanics and gameplay that persist in cooking and food-related video games today. We'll also talk about girl(y) games, representation, and the time Julia was personally victimized at a GameStop circa 2008. Don't forget your quarters! Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole's website is nicolehylton.com. Have an episode suggestion or question? You can email us at [email protected] and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects. Links to sources: "Tapper," Museum of the Game "Chili's Big Smasher BurgerTime Video Game Levels Up Fast-Food Face-Off with the Chance to Win Free Burgers for Life" Press Release Tweet by Garry Kitchen about the origin of Pressure Cooker High Score, dir. France Costrel "Short Order" review by NESFriend on YouTube "Why Doesn't The Industry Make Good Girls' Games?" by Moon Channel on Youtube Delicious Pixels: Food In Video Games, by Agata Waszkiewicz Gamer Girls: 25 Women Who Built the Video Game Industry, by Mary Kenney  

We're taking it back to where it all began with this one, and we mean that quite literally, because today we're talking about baby food! In this special episode, Nicole and Julia prepare for Baby Andreas and learn about the history of how we humans have fed our babies throughout time. We also taste test some baby food and try not to gag. Whether you were a bottle baby or breast was best, this episode has something for everyone! Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole's website is nicolehylton.com. Have an episode suggestion or question? You can email us at [email protected] and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects. Links to sources: Maternal Breastfeeding or Wet Nursing? Religion, Persecution, and Ideology in the 17th Century 'NEW' BREAST MILK AIDS THE NEWBORN: Synthetic Is Found in Test on 171 Infants to Equal or Excel Natural Product News of Food: Baby Formulas Are 'Custom Designed' and Delivered Right to Your Door A concise history of infant formula (twists and turns included) Breast-Milk and the World Protein Gap Policy Statement: Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk These New Breastfeeding Guidelines Ignore the Reality of Many American Moms Food and Cookery for the Sick and Convalescent, by Fannie Farmer Inventing Baby Food: Taste, Health, and the Industrialization of the American Diet, by Amy Bentley "Baby Food," FoodTimeline.org

Ever wondered why we have Hass avocados and Medjool dates at the grocery store? Or why there are Japanese cherry trees all around the Tidal Basin in D.C.? Well, we can thank the same man for both our grocery store produce and the nation's pinkest attraction - American botanist David Fairchild. Join Nicole and Julia as they trace grocery store produce from their local Kroger back to the Gilded Age and the heyday of food exploration. But wait, there's more! Tune in to hear about Jeanne Barat, a French botanist in the 1700's with a bit of a secret… Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole's website is nicolehylton.com. Have an episode suggestion or question? You can email us at [email protected] and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects. Links to sources: "How Thai Food Took Over America," by Francis Lam and Mark Padoongpatt "You Think You Understand Thai Culture Because You Eat at Thai Restaurants? Think Again," by Alexandra Domrongchai "Thai Food for the World? -- Government of Thailand Plans To Open 3,000 Restaurants To Promote Nation Abroad," by Robert Frank Stone, Daniel. The Food Explorer: The True Adventures of the Globe-Trotting Botanist Who Transformed What America Eats. 2019. Ridley, Glynis. The Discovery of Jeanne Baret: A Story of Science, the High Seas, and the First Woman to Circumnavigate the Globe. New York, Broadway Paperbacks, 2011.

Companion website: hotdogs.expert  Hot dog, it's a summer episode in the middle of winter! In this wien-derful successor to our hamburger episode, Nicole and Julia learn (literally) how the sausage is made and take a frank look at competitive eating. Hop aboard the Wienermobile and strap in for a journey down the Hot Dog Highway (destination: Joey Chestnut's stomach). Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole's website is nicolehylton.com. Have an episode suggestion or question? You can email us at [email protected] and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects. Links to sources: Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs, by Jamie Loftus Man Bites Dog: Hot Dog Culture in America, by Bruce Kraig and Patty Carroll "The Sun Rises on Coney Island: Japanese Competitive Eaters, Sportification, and the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest as Global Spectacle," by Zachary R. Bigalke, Journal of Sport History, 50 (3), Fall 2023  Origin of the Term "Hot Dog" by Gerald Leonard Cohen, Barry A. Popik, and David Shulman Japan, M. G. (2021, August 10). The History of Tempura. https://guide.michelin.com/hk/en/article/features/tempura_en  Encyclopedia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Tempura. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/tempura  Farley, D. (2022, February 25). The truth about Japanese tempura. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20170808-the-truth-about-japanese-tempura 

Does anyone else pronounce Tupperware as "Tubberware?" No? Just me? Well, in this episode Julia and Nicole travel back to the post-war 50s to learn about the one woman who's responsible for your plastic leftover containers piled high in your kitchen cabinet. Along the way we'll learn how to throw a Tupperware party, experience some real Sales Department shenanigans, and watch the rise and fall of the first MLM Queen — Brownie Wise.  Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole's website is nicolehylton.com. Have an episode suggestion or question? You can email us at [email protected] and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects. Links to sources: Kealing, Bob. Life of the Party. Crown Archetype, 12 July 2016. Clarke, Alison J. Tupperware: The Promise of Plastic in 1950s America. Washington, DC, Smithsonian Inst. Press, 2001. The Brownie Wise Papers, Archive Center, National Museum of American History "The History of EPCOT's Defunct Kitchen Kabaret," by Storybook Amusement "The Defunct History of Food Rocks at EPCOT," by Storybook Amusement

Step right up, step right up! Feast your ears on a true spectacle of food and amusement history! In this episode, stroll through the fairgrounds with Nicole and Julia to learn about the history of the carnival, snack on some traditional carnival foods, and discuss 20th century American dating norms. Strap on your ill-fitting, definitely-not-up-to-code safety belt and get ready for a bumpy, possibly bruise-inducing ride! Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Twitter at @girlslunch and on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole is on Twitter @nicoleh262 and her website is nicolehylton.com. Julia is smarter than all of us and not on social media. Have an episode suggestion or question? You can email us at [email protected] and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects. Links to sources: Inside the Live Reptile Tent: The Twilight World of Carnival Midway, by Jeff Brouws and Bruce Caron  "Circuses, Carnivals, and Fairs in America," by Marcello Truzzi et al, Journal of Popular Culture 6(3), 1972 "A Roundabout History of the Ferris Wheel," by Defunctland "The Sticky-Sweet Story of Cotton Candy," by Rebecca Rupp for National Geographic "Know Your Sweets: Funnel Cake," by Sarah Baird for Serious Eats "Funnel Cake" entry in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, ed. Andrew F. Smith "Chicken Charlie, The Deep Fry King," by Elina Shatkin for the Los Angeles Times "The History of Deep Frying Food at Fairs," by Rebecca Strassberg for Thrillist Cheap Amusements: Working Women and Leisure in Turn of the Century New York by Kathy Peiss How Products are Made Volume 3, Krapp & Longe, editors[Gale:Detroit] 1994 (pages 276-277). Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 481) "Why is it a thing? Sweet potato, marshmallows," by Lindsay Deutsch for USA TODAY Network "Why Do We Serve Marshmallows on Sweet Potatoes?," by Michele Debczak for Mental Floss

Julia and Nicole (and David) return for the thrilling conclusion of the history of school lunches! We'll wade through the Cold War, and then in the 60s, things really pop off for the school lunch program, feminists, and the Black civil rights movement. Like, seriously. Shit gets wild. So grab your Uncrustables and carton of milk and get ready to learn. Class is in session! Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Twitter at @girlslunch and on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole is on Twitter @nicoleh262 and her website is nicolehylton.com. Julia is smarter than all of us and not on social media. Have an episode suggestion or question? You can email us at [email protected] and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects. Links to sources: Levine, Susan. School Lunch Politics: The surprising history of America's Favorite Welfare Program. Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 2008. Weaver-Hightower, M. B. Unpacking School Lunch: Understanding the Hidden Politics of School Food. Springer Nature Switzerland, Cham, 2022. Gaddis, J. E. (2019). The labor of lunch. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvr00xpk https://www.usda.gov/

Do you recall the halcyon days of your youth? The days spent in school, anxiously awaiting the bell, going to find your friends in the lunchroom, the same table every time? Surely you also remember the tasty lunches served to you in that room. Scrumptious salads with fresh vegetables, lovingly crafted sandwiches, bowls of gooey mac and cheese. No? Not sounding familiar? Your school lunch sucked?! Wow, pizza was a vegetable?! Gritty chicken nuggets! No, that can't be right. All school lunches are delicious and nutritious! Unless… On this episode, we discuss the lengthy and opinionated history of school lunches, in all their infamy, with special guest David Cogswell (that's me). Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Twitter at @girlslunch and on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole is on Twitter @nicoleh262 and her website is nicolehylton.com. Julia is smarter than all of us and not on social media. Have an episode suggestion or question? You can email us at [email protected] and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects. Links to sources: "Eggo: The Waffle that Revolutionized the Frozen Food Industry," by Mark Haney Levine, Susan. School Lunch Politics: The surprising history of America's Favorite Welfare Program. Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 2008. Weaver-Hightower, M. B. Unpacking School Lunch: Understanding the Hidden Politics of School Food. Springer Nature Switzerland, Cham, 2022. Gaddis, J. E. (2019). The labor of lunch. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvr00xpk https://www.usda.gov/  

Alternate theme song: "Ai Like Hamburger" by The Idolm@ster Ah, the hamburger. Whether you call it a Steamed Ham, a Royale with Cheese, or a Quarter Pounder, this beefy spheroid is one of America's proudest exports. But did you know that a little more than a hundred years ago, the hamburger was regarded with intense suspicion, suggested to "fortify even Satan himself"? Join Nicole and Julia as they take a peek inside the bun to figure out just what it is that makes the hamburger so quintessentially American, and how meat-eating reinforces our notions of masculine identity. We also try to parse the insane "Hardee's Girls" ads of the mid-2000s/2010s (you know the ones). Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Twitter at @girlslunch and on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole is on Twitter @nicoleh262 and her website is nicolehylton.com. Julia is smarter than all of us and not on social media. Have an episode suggestion or question? You can email us at [email protected] and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects. Links to sources: The Hamburger: A History, by Josh Ozersky The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory (25th Anniversary Edition), by Carol J. Adams Burger, by Carol J. Adams Drive-Thru Dreams: A Journey Through the Heart of America's Fast-Food Kingdom, by Adam Chandler "Who invented the hamburger? Biting into the messy history of America's iconic sandwich," by Erik Ofgang, The Washington Post "Hamburger" entry in Encyclopedia Britannica Unwrapped, Season 1 Episode 4, "Hamburgers Unwrapped" "What Is Baby Corn? Children of the Corn: Baby Corn, Demystified" by Niki Achitoff-Gray  

Alternate theme song: "Queen of the Supermarket" by Bruce Springsteen A dream awaits for you in aisle two of this product-packed episode! Join Nicole and Julia as they grocery shop through the ages, from bartering at markets in the early 1800s to grocery delivery services in the age of Covid. Marvel at mind-blowing innovations, such as the grocery cart, chain stores, and - gasp - the Piggly Wiggly man! So grab your reusable Trader Joe's tote and come with us down to the local supermarket for a fun, food-filled adventure. Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Twitter at @girlslunch and on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole is on Twitter @nicoleh262 and her website is nicolehylton.com. Julia is smarter than all of us and not on social media. Have an episode suggestion or question? You can email us at [email protected] and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects. Links to Sources: Ruhlman, M. (2017). Grocery: The Buying and Selling of Food in America. Abrams. Deutsch, T. (2010). Building a housewife's paradise: Gender, Politics, and American Grocery Stores in the Twentieth Century. Univ of North Carolina Press. Counter. (2020, January 14). The wild story of how America almost banned chain grocery stores. The Counter. Tyrväinen, O., & Karjaluoto, H. (2022). Online grocery shopping before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A meta-analytical review. Telematics and Informatics, 71, 101839. Mothers' diets have biggest influence on children eating healthy, MSU Today "These Mail-Order Diners Helped Define Roadside Eating. Now They're Disappearing," by Kyler Alvord List of Valentine Diners by Location (outside of Kansas), Kansas Historical Society

Is a corn oyster REALLY an oyster? In their most self-indulgent and least food-related episode yet, Nicole and Julia take you inside the world of the popular historical doll series American Girl, and their much less popular series of cookbooks. In addition to learning about dolls and some specific American Girl characters, you'll also learn what it was like to cook and dine on the Minnesota frontier in the 1850s and richy-rich upstate New York in the early 1900s. And, finally, maybe, you will learn what the heck fruit soup is. (We still don't know either.) Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Twitter at @girlslunch and on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole is on Twitter @nicoleh262 and her website is nicolehylton.com. Julia is smarter than all of us and not on social media. Have an episode suggestion or question? You can email us at [email protected] and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects. Links to Sources: "Trying Meals from the American Girl Cookbooks," Darling Dollz Samantha's Cook Book: A Peek at Dining in the Past with Meals You Can Cook Today, ed. by Jodi Evert and Jeanne Thieme Kirsten's Cook Book: A Peek at Dining in the Past with Meals You Can Cook Today, ed. by Jodi Evert and Jeanne Thieme "What Pioneers ate on the Oregon Trail," Tasting History with Max Miller What Pioneers Ate, Notes From The Frontier. Dec 4, 2019 Savory Suppers and Fashionable Feasts: Dining in Victorian America, by Susan Williams "Victorian Dinner Parties," Shmanners Podcast  

We've had cooking shows as long as we've had TV (and even before that, if you count radio!) But have you ever asked yourself, "Self, why do I like watching someone ELSE roast a chicken and say "BAM"?" Well, as it often turns out on this show, many people have many hot opinions on that. Join Nicole and Julia on this channel chase from radio to public TV to cable TV to YouTube and beyond as they learn about the history and some early pioneers of cooking shows. Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Twitter at @girlslunch and on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole is on Twitter @nicoleh262 and her website is nicolehylton.com. Julia is smarter than all of us and not on social media. Have an episode suggestion or question? You can email us at [email protected] and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects. Links to Sources (including video clips featured in the episode): The Bloomsbury Handbook of Food and Popular Culture, edited by Kathleen Lebesco, and Peter Naccarato.  "TV Dinners: Culinary Television, Education, and Distinction," by Isabelle de Solier Television Cooking Shows: Defining the Genre, by Lori F. Brost (dissertation) Watching What We Eat: The Evolution of Television Cooking Shows, by Kathleen Collins As Easy as Pie: Housework, Temporality, and Postfeminist Popular Culture, by Elizabeth Nathanson (dissertation) "The Essence of Cooking Shows: How the Food Network Constructs Consumer Fantasies," by Cheri Ketchum The Taco Liberty Bell Videos we watched: Julia Child Flipping a Potato: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6s6rVAkFrE&pp=ygUbanVsaWEgY2hpbGQncyBmdW5ueSBtb21lbnRz  Joyce Chen: https://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_7E8DABA5A896477C9E230E4A4EC9F681 The Galloping Gourmet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqxw-_lCNk0&t=287s&ab_channel=LemonCooking Emeril Live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbn_kwMRCJM&ab_channel=ShaqC  Emeril and Julia Child make burgers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V9ELWibils&pp=ygUWZW1lcmlsIGFuZCBqdWxpYSBjaGlsZA%3D%3D  

Alternate episode title: I'll Farmer Your Fannie Do you look at your kitschy, 90's, chicken-themed measuring cup set and wonder why we use measuring cups at all? We can thank the "Mother of Level Measurements" for making it cool to use measuring cups, the basic recipe format, and so much more. Join Nicole and Julia as they follow Fannie Farmer from her humble beginnings to being the absolute alpha girlboss that we still know and love today. And if you love rambling tangents, then this is the episode for you. Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Twitter at @girlslunch and on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole is on Twitter @nicoleh262 and her website is nicolehylton.com. Julia is smarter than all of us and not on social media.  Links to Sources: Veit, H. Z., Knuppel, J., Railton, B., & Eyler, J. (2018, December 4). The rise of cookbooks in America. The Saturday Evening Post.  Willan, A. (2021). Women in the kitchen: Twelve essential cookbook writers who defined the way we eat, from 1661 to today. Scribner.  Fannie Farmer and the modern recipe, Tasting History with Max Miller Farmer, F. M. (1998). The original Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, 1896. H.L. Levin Associates.  Shapiro, L. (2008). Perfection Salad: Women and Cooking at the Turn of the Century.

We've had a chaotic few weeks here at Girls' Lunch Inc.--health issues (both familial and personal), work stress, mid-semester craziness--so we thought we would put together a silly minisode for you all. These are all bits and goofs from our forthcoming April episode about Fannie Farmer that have nothing to do with the episode subject. It's an episode trailer that tells you nothing about the episode. Maybe it's more like an early April Fools' joke. Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Twitter at @girlslunch and on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole is on Twitter @nicoleh262 and her website is nicolehylton.com. Julia is smarter than all of us and not on social media.

We all know them—those little, round, candy-coated, chocolate-filled rainbow chips that "melt in your mouth, not in your hand." But did you know that M&Ms are made by one of the biggest corporations in the world, originally spawned via a partnership with its biggest rival? Or that a LOT of people have weird sex things with a piece of candy? Join Nicole and Julia on this colorful caper through candy history, where they dare to ask…what IS it about the green ones? Also, we assign genders to anthropomorphized corporate mascots, as is our right and custom as Americans.  Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Twitter at @girlslunch and on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole is on Twitter @nicoleh262 and her website is nicolehylton.com. Julia is smarter than all of us and not on social media. Sources: The Encyclopedia of Junk Food and Fast Food, by Andrew F. Smith The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars, by Joël Glenn Brenner "The History of the M&M Characters", by Nostalgia Critic/Channel Awesome "Can a Green Candy Make Love Sweeter?" by Lena Williams "Chocolate as an Aphrodisiac: Are Green M&M's Randy Candy?" by Robert MacGregor "Let the Green M&M Be a Nasty Little Slut," by EJ Dickson YouTube playlist of commercials mentioned: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTvMCKU5ZqpMNsi-DNhCdGIZxzTVc26qI&si=VGlF9mIPJiSZsDui  

As one old guy once said, "The French can have their snails, and the English can have their plum pudding and goose, but I beg of you, give us the old stuffed ham." What's stuffed ham, you ask? Find out more about this secret Southern Maryland delicacy with Nicole and Julia as they discuss why Maryland is kinda like Harvey Dent and what stuffed ham even is anyway. Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Twitter at @girlslunch and on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole is on Twitter @nicoleh262 and her website is nicolehylton.com. Julia is smarter than all of us and not on social media.  Sources: "A Special Easter Feast," by Marian Burros in New York Times Magazine 300 Years of Black Cooking in St. Mary's County Maryland, by the St. Mary's County Community Affairs Committee Archaeology, Narrative, and the Politics of the Past: The View from Southern Maryland, by Julia A. King "Stuffed Ham," Dish City Podcast "Stuffed Ham: Official Food of St. Mary's County, MD," by Chesapeake Bay Magazine (video) "The Story of the Invention of the Potato Chip is a Myth," by April White "The Story of George Speck Crum and the 'Saratoga Chip'," by Alan B. Richer  

Have you ever heard the saying, "As American as apple pie"? Whoever said that clearly knew nothing about pumpkin pie, the TRUE American icon. Join Nicole and Julia as they learn about the history of this one-crust wonder, beginning in Colonial New England with the first American cookbook and leading all the way up to modern day, where canned pumpkin reigns supreme. They also play a new game about ice cream! Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Twitter at @girlslunch and on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole is on Twitter @nicoleh262 and her website is nicolehylton.com. Julia is smarter than all of us and not on social media.  Sources: "A Brief History of Pumpkin Pie in America," by Alison Kelly Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon, by Cindy Ott "How the 'Mother of Thanksgiving' Lobbied Abraham Lincoln to Proclaim the National Holiday," by Barbara Maranzani "Thanksgiving Day" poem by Lydia Maria Child + biography of Child by The Poetry Foundation New England's Rarities, by John Josselyn, courtesy of Project Gutenberg "A pumpkin pie recipe from 17th-century England," by Amanda Herbert

Choo choo! All aboard the Atchinson, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway! Destination: Fred Harvey. Today's episode takes you on a journey across the American landscape and through time as we learn about the progenitor of fast food and franchises. We'll also learn about the Harvey Girls, one of the first independent employment opportunities for women and who definitely all got married and nothing gay happened, don't even sweat it, bro.    Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Twitter at @girlslunch and on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole is on Twitter @nicoleh262 and her website is nicolehylton.com. Julia is smarter than all of us and not on social media.  Sources: Appetite for America, Stephen Fried A big thank you to Special Collections and Archives at Northern Arizona University, where I did a lot of my research for this topic "Word Portrait of a Harvey Girl," from a Harvey Girl "contest" held by Fred Harvey Company in 1948 (courtesy of NAU Special Collections) "The Harvey Girls—Increasing Opportunity," The National Park Service, Jan. 8, 2023 "The Wizard of 'Meals on Wheels,'" Magazine Digest, January 1946 (courtesy of NAU Special Collections)

Alternate episode title: "Bashing Our Husbands and the French Since 2023" Inns, taverns, and cookshops, oh my! Come along with Julia and Nicole on a journey through time following the development of the modern restaurant. From Pompeii to the French Revolution, people have always enjoyed eating out and having opinions on what women are allowed to do. We also get wiggy with the feminist restaurants of the 1970s and Julia only mispronounces "aristocracy" wrong like three times at most.   Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul    We're on Twitter at @girlslunch and on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole is on Twitter @nicoleh262 and her website is nicolehylton.com. Julia is smarter than all of us and not on social media.    Sources: The Restaurant: A 2,000-Year History of Dining Out, by William Sitwell Ingredients for Revolution: A History of American Feminist Restaurants, Cafes, and Coffeehouses, by Alex D. Ketchum "Women and Restaurants in the 19th Century United States," by Paul Freedman "How The White Establishment Waged A 'War' On Chinese Restaurants In The U.S." by Kat Chow Food in Chinese Culture: Anthropological and Historical Perspectives, K. C. Chang, editor [Yale University Press:New Haven] 1977 (p. 158-163) "The Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte just turned 20. This is how we got here," Emily Heil, The Washington Post 

Rejected episode title: "Get Your Nuts Hot, Fresh, and Cream-filled: All About Doughnuts"   We'd like to argue that the doughnut is possibly one of nature's most perfect foods. But behind that sprinkled and glazed exterior is a past filled with nostalgia, innovation, and controversy. In this episode, Julia and Nicole learn how the simple doughnut faced satirical novelists, industrial revolution, the Great Depression, and two World Wars to get to a Krispy Kreme near you. We'll also meet the Doughnut Lassies, an old sailor from Maine, and the marvelous "Christy Creams."   Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul    We're on Twitter at @girlslunch and on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole is on Twitter @nicoleh262 and her website is nicolehylton.com. Julia is smarter than all of us and not on social media.    Sources: "Glazed America: A History of the Doughnut" by Paul R. Mullins "The Superior Doughnut" by "Grandma" in a letter to The New York Times, December 15, 1913 "How Dunkin Donuts Changed the Dictionary" by Kate Taylor "A History of New-York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty" by Diedrich Knickerbocker (aka. Washington Irving) "The Women Who Fried Donuts and Dodged Bombs on the Front Lines of WWI: Even if they had to use shell casings as rolling pins, the donuts still got made" by Lorraine Boissoneault "The History of the Donut" by David A. Taylor "Bagels vs. Doughnuts" by William Saffire in a letter to The New York Times, October 25, 1999  

Welcome to the first episode of Girls' Lunch! In this episode, you'll get to know hosts Nicole and Julia, learn about our backgrounds, and our goals for the show. We'll talk about the origin of Girls' Lunch, Tumultuous Tummy Times, and what you can expect in future episodes. Have some lunch with us! Everyone is welcome. Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul  We're on Twitter at @girlslunch. Nicole is on Twitter @nicoleh262 and her website is nicolehylton.com. Julia is smarter than all of us and not on social media.  

Alternate episode title: "Primordial Childhood Cannibalism Fantasy: A History of Graham Crackers."   The graham cracker: the bread of the s'mores sandwich, a crust for your cheesecake, or something easy on your tummy when you're sick. But where did this humble wafer come from? Join Nicole and Julia on a journey to 1830s New England to meet Sylvester Graham, a Presbyterian minister obsessed with bran bread, abstinence, and "good digestion" (aka. pooping). We'll talk about this "anti-pervert pervert" and how trends like farm to table, raw foods, and clean eating aren't quite so "modern" after all. Also, Julia eats Teddy Grahams for the first time.    Our theme song is "Red Onions" by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul    We're on Twitter at @girlslunch. Nicole is on Twitter @nicoleh262 and her website is nicolehylton.com. Julia is smarter than all of us and not on social media.    Sources: "Sweet cracker legacy of Sylvester Graham's crusade for healthful living," by Catherine S. Vodrey Eating History, by Andrew F. Smith ("Chapter 4: Sylvester Graham's Reforms") Sylvester Graham, Lecturer on the Science of Human Life: The Rhetoric of a Dietary Reformer, by Edith Walters Cole "Time to Grin and Bear It Over a Snack," by Alice Kahn