Hi, I’m Dawn. Otherwise known as “Mama Harris”.I once went to a blogging conference, and I shared my blog name with a fellow blogger. Her response? “So, you’re pretending to be old?” Well, let me explain…Once upon a time I was a single mom to two beautiful kids. I was a young mother of two by the age of 22 years old and I spent many years as a single mom. I worked often (sometimes two jobs) and even went back to college for a few years. Those years were hectic. Somewhere along the way I met my now-husband. We combined our children to create a beautiful blended family of various ethnic backgrounds. After we wed, we added two more kids to the mix. We’re like a modern day Brady Bunch. Or maybe like that movie, His, Mine, and Ours.Back in my single mama days I didn’t cook much. Working so much, raising two kids and trying to have some sort of a life didn’t leave much time for trivial things like cooking – at least that was what I thought at the time. Although, often on the weekends, I would whip up a huge feast for brunch that would satisfy our appetites. Oh yes, breakfast is my first love.
Once I became Mrs. Harris a lot happened. The economy turned upside down and I was laid off. We discovered we were expecting our first baby together and I was put on bed-rest so I couldn’t look for work. Our comfortable two income family was under an unexpected strain and this affected our food budget greatly. Eating out and easy boxed meals just wouldn’t cut it anymore. I had to get creative. I had to cook!
Discovering new ways to get creative in the kitchen with a growing family and a shrinking budget is how I developed a passion for cooking and baking. I began sharing my personal photos and recipes with my personal and online friends, and it was then that I was encouraged to create a blog to showcase my recipes, food photos, and personal cooking style. I decided to create this blog, and name it Mama Harris’ Kitchen. The name “Mama Harris” was coined by a dear friend based on my cooking style and recipes. She would often ask me for recipes, and it turned into a text saying, “Hey Mama Harris, do you have a recipe for…” My dear friend said that my recipes give her that comfortable, at home feel. Just like her own Mama used to make. The name stuck so much that even my husband began to use it. This is how Mama Harris came to be.
Why Mama Harris’ Kitchen?
Well, now that we have this big family there’s often a lot of events. From birthdays to graduations, holidays, barbecues or just getting out of town family together – it often ends up in the kitchen. It just never fails. Even in our day to day lives, I’ll be cooking dinner while the kids do homework at the table. I’ll be washing dishes while my eldest gets home from work to tell me about his day. A friend will stop by and we’ll end up sitting at our bar area sipping on some coffee or tea.
In this space, on this blog, I’m sharing that special space with you – from my kitchen to yours.We talk mostly about food, but sometimes it’s more. It’s family stories, funny pictures, favorite products and loving memories. Typically over food, dessert, coffee or a cocktail.
Welcome to my kitchen – let’s talk.
In addition to this space, you can also find me sharing my kitchen stories on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, Foodgawker, SavvyFork, and contributing on Recipe4Living.
For inquiries, you can email me at Dawn@MamaHarrisKitchen.com. To see where I’ve been featured, you can check out my Press tab.
