This week Denise continues her chats with Rev. Pamela Nelson-Munson. Pamela tells us, “People are more involved, creative, happy, and take ownership when given encouragement and free rein to follow their bliss.” She also tells us how she came to have a commercial convection oven in all her parishes. Pam and Denise suggest that all of us write the timeline of our life so we can see just how much we’ve accomplished.

Pamela’s goals for retirement:

• Write my father’s biography.

PAMELA’S Links:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pamela.nelson.munson

Women Beyond a Certain Age is an award-winning weekly podcast with Denise Vivaldo. She brings her own lively, humorous, and experienced viewpoint to the topics she discusses with her guests. The podcast covers wide-ranging subjects of importance to older women.

SHOW LINKS

• Website

This week Denise chats with her old friend, Rev. Pamela Nelson-Munson. They talk about how neither one was “good in school,” and how they eventually found their places, how a pastor is like a mistress, and taking a break to go to culinary school. She says, “Thinking if I worked hard, was polite, smiled, and wore deodorant that everyone would play nice in the sandbox.” Rev. Pam shares with us some wisdom and some things she’d like to be able to do over:

Do-overs:

• Not be so quick to please as a defense mechanism.

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Wisdom/Lessons (If I had it to do all over again):

• God is love. Period. That love is broader and more encompassing and deeper and more than our feeble minds can comprehend…so don’t judge...you’re not God.

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Women Beyond a Certain Age is an award-winning weekly podcast with Denise Vivaldo. She brings her own lively, humorous, and experienced viewpoint to the topics she discusses with her guests. The podcast covers wide-ranging subjects of importance to older women.

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SHOW LINKS

• Website: https://womenbeyond.podbean.com

This week Denise shares her travel tips for making trips easier!

Women Beyond a Certain Age is an award-winning weekly podcast with Denise Vivaldo. She brings her own lively, humorous, and experienced viewpoint to the topics she discusses with her guests. The podcast covers wide-ranging subjects of importance to older women.

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SHOW LINKS

• Website: https://womenbeyond.podbean.com

Our friend Liz Pollock is back with us to talk about the wonderful world of culinary ephemera. You know, all those fantastic old pamphlets and booklets that appliance manufacturers produced to show women how to use their fancy new labor-saving appliances. Stoves and toasters! Fryers and broilers! Blenders and microwaves! Liz has a talk coming up at the Mark Taper Auditorium on May 13th on American Ingenuity and Innovation: Kitchen Appliance Instruction Manuals. Details on the Culinary Historians of Southern California website below.

Liz is the author of The Lost Restaurants of Santa Cruz County. She is the owner of The Cook’s Bookcase, an independent bookstore specializing in food, wine, and a bit of gardening. She lives in Santa Cruz, CA.

LIZ’S LINKS:

• Website: https://www.cooksbookcase.com

Women Beyond a Certain Age is an award-winning weekly podcast with Denise Vivaldo. She brings her own lively, humorous, and experienced viewpoint to the topics she discusses with her guests. The podcast covers wide-ranging subjects of importance to older women.

SHOW LINKS

• Website: https://womenbeyond.podbean.com

Our guest this week is Debra Freeman. Debra has written for outlets such as Plate Magazine, Epicurious, Garden and Gun, Pit Magazine, Gravy, Southern Grit Magazine, and Gastro Obscura, has had her work featured in Huffington Post and The New York Times, and has done cultural commentary for BBC Radio and other international outlets. Freeman writes about the intersection of race, culture, and food. Read Why Yellow Cake is so Important to Black Celebrations, along with some other pieces by Debra (links below)!

DEBRA’S LINKS:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/audiophilegirl/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/audiophilegirl

Why Yellow Cake is so Important to Black Celebrations: https://food52.com/blog/26915-boxed-yellow-cake-mix-black-celebrations

A Fruitful Journey: https://www.southernfoodways.org/a-fruitful-journey/

Here’s Looking at ‘Cue: https://www.southernfoodways.org/heres-looking-at-cue/

Women Beyond a Certain Age is an award-winning weekly podcast with Denise Vivaldo. She brings her own lively, humorous, and experienced viewpoint to the topics she discusses with her guests. The podcast covers wide-ranging subjects of importance to older women.

SHOW LINKS

• Website: https://womenbeyond.podbean.com

Michele Jones is back! This time we talk about how she believes the best restaurants are so much more than places that just sell food; they are community meeting places. We discuss the importance of making everyone who walks through the door feel like a regular, being kind, giving back by aligning your business with charities that share your values (generating valuable earned PR), Keanu Reeves, Drew Barrymore, and Molly Ringwald.

Michele is all about great people, great food, and great community. As former co-owner of Comfort, Pasture, and Bingo she learned a lot about the restaurant business and about the wonderful people in the small business community. Michele is a community mover and shaker who loves to give back and delight others. Michele is a doer who loves the people who surround her. Now with Alley/Jones Hospitality she and her partner, Jason Alley, are helping others make their restaurant and retail dreams a reality. When not working or volunteering with children’s charities or Habitat for Humanity she’s traveling to Dollywood with her best friend and her best friend’s son, hanging out with the best little dog in the world or checking out the many fun places in her hometown of Richmond, Virginia. Michele has a knack for making everyone feel special, welcomed and that they have a place in the world. She was once Diane Sawyer’s person of the week – though she’ll wholeheartedly avoid talking about the press she’s received for doing good things in Richmond and beyond. She loves to travel and find small treasures to surprise others and make them feel happy. All these are probably the reasons why she loves that quote attributed to Vince Lombardi: “The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.”Find out more about Michele on her website: https://alleyjones.com

Women Beyond a Certain Age is an award-winning weekly podcast with Denise Vivaldo. She brings her own lively, humorous, and experienced viewpoint to the topics she discusses with her guests. The podcast covers wide-ranging subjects of importance to older women.

SHOW LINKS

• Website: https://womenbeyond.podbean.com

Ramin Ganeshram is with us this week to talk about her brilliant book, The General’s Cook.

She dedicated 7 years to researching and writing this intriguing and suspenseful novel and continues to pursue leads into the elusive life of America’s first celebrity chef, Hercules Posey. The time: 1793. The place: Philadelphia. Hercules, President George Washington’s chef, is a fixture on the Philadelphia scene. He is famous for both his culinary prowess and for ruling his kitchen like a commanding general. He has his run of the city and earns twice the salary of an average American workingman. He wears beautiful clothes and attends the theater. But while valued by the Washingtons for his prowess in the kitchen and rewarded far over and above even white servants, Hercules is enslaved in a city where most black Americans are free. Even while he masterfully manages his kitchen and the lives of those in and around it, Hercules harbors secrets-- including the fact that he is learning to read and that he is involved in a dangerous affair with Thelma, a mixed-race woman, who, passing as white, works as a companion to the daughter of one of Philadelphia's most prestigious families. Eventually Hercules’ carefully crafted intrigues fall apart, and he finds himself trapped by his circumstance and the will of George Washington. Based on actual historical events and people, The General's Cook, will thrill fans of The Hamilton Affair, as they follow Hercules' precarious and terrifying bid for freedom.

Ramin is a veteran journalist with a master’s degree from Columbia University. She worked for eight years as a stringer for the New York Times, and another eight years for New York Newsday as a feature writer and food columnist. She has been honored seven times with the Society of Professional Journalist Award. Ramin is also a professionally trained chef who specializes in writing about multicultural communities from the perspective of food, history, and culture. She is the executive director of the Westport Historical Society in Connecticut and the recipient of a 2018 New England Museum Association Excellence in the field for her critically acclaimed Westport exhibit, Remembered: The History of African Americans in Westport, which also won the national American Association for State and Local History Award in 2019.

Ramin’s links:

Website: TheGeneralsCook.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nibblescribblenyc/

Buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/Generals-Cook-Novel-Ramin-Ganeshram/dp/1950691977/ref=sr_1_1

Women Beyond a Certain Age is an award-winning weekly podcast with Denise Vivaldo. She brings her own lively, humorous, and experienced viewpoint to the topics she discusses with her guests. The podcast covers wide-ranging subjects of importance to older women.

SHOW LINKS

• Website: https://womenbeyond.podbean.com

The Dragon herself, Crescent Dragonwagon, is with us this week! Our conversation jumps around like “like a cat on a june bug,” which makes it all that much more fascinating. She talks self-compassion, writing, and growing up the child of writers. Crescent has a special offer on her Self-Compassion 101 class for our listeners: https://dragonwagon.com/women-beyond-age/

CRESCENT’S LINKS:

Self-Compassion 101 video: https://fb.watch/aBHT81nmdF/

Website: https://dragonwagon.com

Books: https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/entity/author/B000APJCO0

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crescent.dragonwagon

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cdragonwagon

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cdragonwagon/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/crescent-dragonwagon-0565b47/

Email: [email protected]

Women Beyond a Certain Age is an award-winning weekly podcast with Denise Vivaldo. She brings her own lively, humorous, and experienced viewpoint to the topics she discusses with her guests. The podcast covers wide-ranging subjects of importance to older women.

SHOW LINKS:

• Website: https://womenbeyond.podbean.com

The wonderful Nancie McDermott is with us this week. We talk cakes and anti-racism.

Excerpted from Nancie’s Anti-Racism Facebook page:

“I'm Nancie McDermott, a white woman born and raised in North Carolina. I started this group as a place to look at how powerfully and stealthily racism and anti-Blackness are woven into our systems and institutions…We can move toward creating a place of justice and safety; of compassion and respect, of equity with opportunity for everyone. Knowing the truth can strengthen us to speak up, take action, examine our perspectives, and change things that seemed immovable. Silence means consent, so let's be loud and clear about where we are now, how we got here, where we want to go, and who we want to be: A nation of liberty and justice for all.”

Nancie’s links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancieMcDermott

Nancie’s Anti-Racism Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/435086244410173

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMeXbPSB2545WygzQxUOcTQ/featured

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nanciemacpix/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nanciestable/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nanciestable

Nancie’s Resources:

READ:

Cookbooks and food books (in order of publication):

BRAND NEW BOOK on Juneteenth!

Watermelon and Red Birds: A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black Celebrations, by Nicole Taylor

https://www.amazon.com/Watermelon-Red-Birds-Juneteenth-Celebrations/dp/1982176210

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Watermelon-and-Red-Birds/Nicole-A-Taylor/9781982176211

Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking, by Cheryl Day

https://www.amazon.com/Cheryl-Days-Treasury-Southern-Baking/dp/1579658415/ref=sr_1_1?crid=35TSRNNF4ZWZW&keywords=treasury+of+southern+baking&qid=1654185620&s=books&sprefix=treasury+of+southern+baking%2Cstripbooks%2C57&sr=1-1

Life Is What You Bake It: Recipes, Stories, and Inspiration for Baking Your Way to the Top, by Vallery Lomas

https://www.amazon.com/Life-What-You-Bake-Inspiration-ebook/dp/B08PY8ZTVB

Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking, by Toni Tipton-Martin

https://www.amazon.com/Jubilee-Recipes-Centuries-African-American-Cookbook/dp/1524761737/ref=pd_lpo_3?pd_rd_i=1524761737&psc=1

High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America, by Dr. Jessica B. Harris

https://www.amazon.com/High-Hog-Culinary-Journey-America/dp/1608194507/ref=asc_df_1608194507/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312068104930&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=613964457390760630&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1021225&hvtargid=pla-512300006634&psc=1

WATCH:

Available on streaming services

High on the Hog

Netflix Series

When They See Us

Directed by Ava Duvernay

Selma

Directed by Ava Duvernay

Amazon

Just Mercy

Story of Attorney Bryan Stevenson, founder and director of Equal Justice Initiative (see below)

Amazon Prime

Black Panther

Marvel hero T’Challa played by the late Chadwick Bozeman

“I Am Not Your Negro”

Documentary on James Baldwin

Reconstruction: America After the Civil War

PBS Documentary Series by Dr. Henry Louis Gates

MORE RESOURCES:

The Equal Justice Initiative

https://eji.org/

https://eji.org/about/

Visit EJI’s two locations in Montgomery AL:

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice

The Legacy Museum

Sign up for Daily emails from EJI

https://calendar.eji.org/sign-up

The 1619 Project: A New American Origin Story, by Nikole Hannah-Jones

https://www.amazon.com/1619-Project-Born-Water/dp/0593307356/ref=pd_bxgy_img_sccl_1/130-0109168-1434738?pd_rd_w=Vnpek&content-id=amzn1.sym.6b3eefea-7b16-43e9-bc45-2e332cbf99da&pf_rd_p=6b3eefea-7b16-43e9-bc45-2e332cbf99da&pf_rd_r=PNRP5942HGGKK4SDR2Z4&pd_rd_wg=crjZq&pd_rd_r=3b079be2-80eb-4c81-980e-8dd9e7d95863&pd_rd_i=0593307356&psc=1

Born on the Water (The 1619 Project), picture book by Nikole Hannah-Jones

https://www.amazon.com/1619-Project-Born-Water/dp/0593307356/ref=pd_bxgy_img_sccl_1/130-0109168-1434738?pd_rd_w=Vnpek&content-id=amzn1.sym.6b3eefea-7b16-43e9-bc45-2e332cbf99da&pf_rd_p=6b3eefea-7b16-43e9-bc45-2e332cbf99da&pf_rd_r=PNRP5942HGGKK4SDR2Z4&pd_rd_wg=crjZq&pd_rd_r=3b079be2-80eb-4c81-980e-8dd9e7d95863&pd_rd_i=0593307356&psc=1

Women Beyond a Certain Age is an award-winning weekly podcast with Denise Vivaldo. She brings her own lively, humorous, and experienced viewpoint to the topics she discusses with her guests. The podcast covers wide-ranging subjects of importance to older women.

SHOW LINKS

• Website: https://womenbeyond.podbean.com

Find us on Podbean, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen!

https://womenbeyond.podbean.com/e/more-stephanie-hersh-more-fun/ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/women-beyond-a-certain-age-podcast/id1430084217?i=1000563116865

Chef Tanya Holland is with us this week to talk about her journey to becoming Executive Chef and Owner of the internationally renowned and beloved Brown Sugar Kitchen restaurant, in Oakland, California. She is acclaimed for her inventive take on modern soul food, as well as comfort classics. Her newest book, Tanya Holland’s California Soul, features recipes influenced by the historical migration of African American families, including Tanya’s own, using key ingredients, techniques, and traditions that African Americans brought with them as they left the South for California, creating a beloved version of soul food. In addition to 80 delicious and comforting recipes, there are stories about fifteen contemporary Black Californian food artisans whose work helps define California soul food today.  

She is also the author of The Brown Sugar Kitchen Cookbook and New Soul Cooking. Holland competed on the 15th season of Top Chef on Bravo, was the host and soul food expert on Food Network’s Melting Pot, she appears on the new HBO Max show Selena + Chef featuring Selena Gomez, and is the host of “Tanya’s Kitchen Table” on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.

She is a member of the Board of Trustees, a frequent contributing writer and chef at the James Beard Foundation, and Brown Sugar Kitchen (Oakland, CA) has received multiple Michelin Bib Gourmand awards. She is an in-demand public speaker and lecturer who frequently leads the conversation on inclusion and equity in the hospitality industry.

Holland leads a critically acclaimed podcast “Tanya’s Table” produced by MuddHouse Media, interviewing many celebrity guests in Season One such as Questlove, Samin Nosrat, Alice Waters, Danny Meyer, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Bassem Youssef, and Carla Hall. Season Two of “Tanya’s Table” features special guests Ayesha Curry, Danny Glover, Bonnie Raitt, Phil Rosenthal, Lars Ulrich, Lizz Wright, Ericka Huggins, Jonny Moseley, and others.

Holland has served as the president of the prestigious Les Dames d’Escoffier San Francisco chapter. The City of Oakland declared June 5th, 2012, as Tanya Holland Day for her "Significant Role in Creating Community and Establishing Oakland as a Culinary Center".

Holland holds a Bachelor of Arts in Russian Language and Literature from the University of Virginia, as well as a Grande Diplôme from La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine in Burgundy, France.

TANYA’S LINKS:

• Website: https://www.tanyaholland.com

Women Beyond a Certain Age is an award-winning weekly podcast with Denise Vivaldo. She brings her own lively, humorous, and experienced viewpoint to the topics she discusses with her guests. The podcast covers wide-ranging subjects of importance to older women.

SHOW LINKS

• Website: https://womenbeyond.podbean.com