This week on Hot Grease, Nicole speaks with Aki and Ronald Baker about School food reform, specifically in the form of the "Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act", and the absurdity of kids that can't get water but have a mountain of soda at arm's reach. Aki also spoke about his FarmBox project--an attempt to jump start your potential roof / backyard garden. Plus Robicelli's Cupcakes stop by for a Hot Five segment on their must stunning cupcake creations (Irish Car Comb cupcakes!). This episode was sponsored by Whole Foods.

Norman King, Test Kitchen Professional for Southern Living Magazine, joins Nicole Taylor on this week's Hot Grease to teach her listeners how to fry. Tune into this episode to hear Norman and Nicole talk about Southern Living's place in Southern food culture. Listen in to learn about Birmingham as a growing food destination in the South. What's a typical day like for a test kitchen professional? Listen in to hear about Norman's new book, The Way to Fry, and how it combines Southern heritage with foods for new Southern lifestyles. How does Norman re-envision traditional Southern foods like soft-shell crabs and okra in his book? Tune into this episode to hear Norman's top frying tools on The Hot Five! This program has been sponsored by The International Culinary Center, and thanks to Blind Benny for today's music!

"As your evolve into your own in the test kitchen, you start to learn the way to explain what your'e doing to people in a simple way." [10:25]

"There's so much heritage and legacy in fried food and the South. It's raised generations of people; it can't be that bad." [13:00]

-- Norman King on Hot Grease

National Ice Cream Month continues on this week's Hot Grease! Nicole Taylor shares some food headlines from the past two weeks, including some information about the Farm Bill and New York Magazine's Cheap Eats of 2012. Next, Nicholas Morgenstern and Gerardo Gonzalez of Goat Town talk about the evolution of Alphabet City, the cuisine at Goat Town, and the bounty of their vegetable garden this season. Later, Nicholas goes on to explain his history in the the kitchen, how he got started in pastry, and the intricacies of Philadelphia-style ice cream. Nicole, Nicholas, and Gerardo share some of their cherished ice cream memories, and later talk about their favorite ice cream tomes on this week's Hot Five. This episode has been brought to you by The Heritage Meat Shop.

"[It's important] to go back to the basics and understand what ice cream is chemically, and work from there to create something that's your own or something different."

"I think that American-style ice cream developed much later on. The industrial revolution had started, and there was much more dairy product readily available. Whereas in Europe- when ice cream making became more commonplace- the best dairy product, the cream, would be separated and used for cheesemaking."

-- Nicholas Morgenstern on Hot Grease