Issue No. 6: Food, Nutrition, and Access in Our Communities
Words - Attia Taylor

Brenda Horton-Harris is a 73 year old North Philadelphia native. She’s a mother of three, sister, friend, and my aunt. We had a chat about growing up, sharing family dinners, and how our ancestors from the South influenced her cooking. 

What was dinner like when you were growing up?

I grew up with two working parents. We always had dinner as a family together. My mother cooked large meals. My dad would always be served first and he always had the largest portion. My mother did not make us eat food that we did not want to eat. But she would never replace it with anything else. So there were times you went to bed hungry. But it was your choice. 

Now if you imagine six children coming up, somebody was always hungry. We always had  peanut butter and jelly, cornflakes, shredded wheat, and bologna sandwiches as a snack. Things I will never eat again as an adult. [laughs]

And we took a lot of family trips, especially to the South. At least twice a year, my parents would drive down. My dad is from a little town called Apex, North Carolina. And my mother, a little town called Hamlet, North Carolina. I spent a lot of time in the South with my grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles. 

How do you think your cooking was influenced by your mom’s cooking? 

There’s nothing like Southern cooking. My mom was a really good cook. And I'm not just saying that because she was my mother. Because my friends who ate with us, they confirm that.

Growing up, my mother tried to teach me how to cook. And at that time, I didn't have time. So, a lot of things I didn't learn to cook until I left home. And then I was always calling her, bugging her, getting her to write our recipes down. 

My great grandmother Hattie, whom she was raised by, was also a great cook. She owned a boarding house. So I'm sure my mother lived there and picked up a lot of her traits and recipes.

What were some of your favorite recipes and lessons from Nana?

Her cabbage, chicken and dumplings, soup and potatoes, potato salad, macaroni and cheese. I mean, I could go on and on. I also learned from my mother to always have enough food for everybody. You don't necessarily need a headcount just to make a lot of food so everybody can eat.

Growing up we used to have big, giant Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners at your house. You definitely carried on the tradition. What are some of your fondest memories?

You know we always had a big smorgasbord. I enjoyed cooking but what I enjoyed more was the company. We never had just a sit down dinner. We had entertainment. We sang and danced. We had a celebration each holiday. I remember and miss that a lot.

I miss it also.