25. Milton's Chocolate Corner: Hershey, Part 1
Girls' Lunch
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...
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24. Domestic (Science) Partners: Home Economics, Part 2
Girls' Lunch
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...
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23. It's all Coming Up Home Economics: Part 1
Girls' Lunch
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...
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22. Recipes and Recollections with Jennifer Cognard-Black
Girls' Lunch
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...
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21. Hungry for High Scores: Video Games, Part 2
Girls' Lunch
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...
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20. Hungry for High Scores: Video Games, Part 1
Girls' Lunch
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:...
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19. Boobs, Bottles, and Baby Food
Girls' Lunch
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...
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18. Botany: The Study of Plants and How to Steal Them
Girls' Lunch
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...
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17. Unless You Got Buns, Hun: Hot Dogs
Girls' Lunch
Companion website: 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...
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16. RIP Brownie Wise, You Would Have Loved MLMs
Girls' Lunch
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...
info_outlineIs 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 girlslunchpodcast@gmail.com and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects.
Links to Sources:
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“Trying Meals from the American Girl Cookbooks,” Darling Dollz
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Samantha’s Cook Book: A Peek at Dining in the Past with Meals You Can Cook Today, ed. by Jodi Evert and Jeanne Thieme
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Kirsten’s Cook Book: A Peek at Dining in the Past with Meals You Can Cook Today, ed. by Jodi Evert and Jeanne Thieme
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“What Pioneers ate on the Oregon Trail,” Tasting History with Max Miller
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What Pioneers Ate, Notes From The Frontier. Dec 4, 2019
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Savory Suppers and Fashionable Feasts: Dining in Victorian America, by Susan Williams
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“Victorian Dinner Parties,” Shmanners Podcast