Kamala Harris shares a bizarre cooking secret during the campaign

Until her surprise election to the top of the Democratic ticket this summer, Harris was still a somewhat unknown figure in national politics, driven in part by her aversion to opening up and embracing the spotlight. And since becoming the nominee, Republicans have criticized Harris for not doing many interviews or providing enough details about her policy plans.

But the vice president shares personal details about her childhood, cooking and food to show her more private side.

Harris is known to be a foodie and loves to cook. In fact, she had just made a pancake-and-bacon breakfast for her granddaughter’s 6- and 8-year-old daughters that July morning when Biden called with the news that she was dropping out of the race.

From talking about Doritos nacho cheese as a snack of choice to washing greens in the bathtub, Harris aims to connect with voters on a more personal level. While learning that she likes to eat tortilla chips at snack time probably isn’t enough on its own to sway anyone to vote for her, the small — and sometimes funny — details could help Harris show that she’s can relate to people and their concerns.

“She’s trying to show that she’s a full person beyond her policy proposals,” Dana Brown, executive director of Chatham University’s Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics, said in an email.

Caramel is a favorite

Stopping at Dottie’s Market in Savannah during a campaign bus tour of southeast Georgia last week, Harris became excited by what she saw on the counter.

“What is that cake?” she said. Chocolate fudge, an employee replied.

“I want a slice of that. Caramel is like my favorite,” Harris said. “Oh chocolate and caramel?” she added, after seeming to digest the description. The cake was covered with a white caramel glaze on top and sprinkled on the edges.

“Fantastic,” Harris said.

Beautiful music

“I was in band when I was your age,” she said while visiting marching band practice at Liberty County High School in Hinesville, Georgia. She gave a pep talk about leadership.

“Everything you all do, it takes a lot of rehearsal, a lot of practice, long hours. Right?” she said. “Sometimes you hit the note; sometimes you don’t. Right? But all that practice makes beautiful music.”

Harris did not say what instrument he played. An aide later told a reporter that Harris played French horn, xylophone and kettle drums; the vice president had confessed that he “couldn’t stay with just one” instrument.

Greens in the tub

Harris shared her greens recipe—and the unusual preparation method—with Mashama Bailey, chef at The Gray restaurant in downtown Savannah. A friend used to ask Harris to make the greens for an annual Christmas party.

“And I’m not going to lie to you, I’d make so many greens that I’d have to wash them in the tub,” Bailey’s VP said. “I’m telling you the truth.”

Harris starts by rendering the bacon fat before mixing in sliced ​​garlic, hot peppers, lots of water and some chicken stock. “And I let it run for a while, before I put the greens in,” she said. After a few hours, finish with vinegar and Tabasco sauce.

The Golden Arches

According to McDonald’s, 1 in 8 Americans has worked at its fast food restaurants at some point in their lives. Harris is among them.

“I had a summer job at McDonald’s,” she said at an August campaign rally in Las Vegas, trying to show an understanding of the struggles of the middle class.

During a policy speech in North Carolina to discuss her price hike proposal also last month, Harris said she was in college when “I worked at McDonald’s to earn spending money.”

Her duties were making fries and working the cash register, she said on “The Drew Barrymore Show” earlier this year.

Harris and her sister, Maya, were raised by a single mother, Shyamala, an immigrant from India. Harris said she was 13 when her mother bought her first home after saving for a decade.

Delicious as a favorite snack

At snack time, Harris reaches for Doritos.

“This is original nacho cheese,” Harris said while holding a red bag of Doritos as she and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and their spouses stopped at a Sheetz store in Moon Township in during their campaign bus tour of southwestern Pennsylvania in August.

Her favorite soda?

“I love root beer. He likes Diet Coke,” she said, referring to her husband, Doug Emhoff.

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