Girls' Lunch

Welcome to our club, welcome to our club! In the first installment of what we expect to be a recurring segment called Girls' Club (or Girls' Lunch Book Club, or Girls' Book Club, or some other to-be-determined combination of these words), Nicole and Julia review the book Yesteryear , by Caro Claire Burke. Nicole also provides some history and context about the phenomenon of tradwives, which featur...

As Marie Antoinette definitely once said: Let them serve 💅🏼 cake. In our first standalone episode in literal months, Julia and Nicole talk about what this episode is NOT about, the historical layers of cake, and the popcorn crimes of Mary Hamilton Talbott. Join us from our flying kitchen as we answer two of life's greatest questions: what is cake, and is it gay? Our theme song is "Red Onions" by...

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 relati...

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...

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 imag...

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 quesitona...

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. O...

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' bak...

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 Juli...

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 epis...

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...

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 Onion...

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...

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, possibl...

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 O...

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?!...

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 the...

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...

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 fronti...

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 lea...

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...

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 episo...

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 cand...

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...

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...