Cooking Thyme with Aunt Bet!

In January of this year, I lost two of my very dear aunts within days. This blog is dedicated to the memory of my Aunt Elizabeth Lelia, or as everyone affectionately called her “Aunt Bet.” I am fortunate to have had some of the best cooks in the South as my early role models when it comes to food. Whenever people ask me “how did you learn how to cook so well?” I always give a shout out to my dad’s sisters, my Aunt Bet in particular. I remember as a little girl always following her around the kitchen and asking “What is that?” and “What’s in there?” My aunt would always show you how to make whatever it was she was cooking. As I got older, I even remember calling her and asking her for some of her recipes. This didn’t always go so well because she would give you a recipe that called for a pinch of this, a sliver of this, or a dash of that. I would always have to pay a visit when my recipe didn’t turn out exactly like hers. After many visits, I too could figure out all of those somewhat obscure measurements.

At my aunt’s funeral, there were several people that stood up and gave stories of how she was such a great person, but most of all, that she was a great cook. They talked about how she always fed people. If anyone in the neighborhood needed food, she would feed them. She would always have food for you when you came. It was amazing to me how even when you dropped by unannounced, she would ask if you were hungry. She would then say that she hadn’t cooked anything but that she would throw a little something together. Now how someone could throw fried chicken, baked pork chops, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, and cornbread together in 15 minutes was just amazing to me! These are skills that I will forever cherish, because I too can throw something together in no time flat.

The thing that touched me most at my aunt’s funeral was when one young lady stated how she had so much respect for Aunt Bet. She said that for almost a year, my aunt would share her lunch with her whenever she didn’t have any lunch to bring to work. Oftentimes when she asked what the dish was, my aunt would simply state “Da Ha.” When she asked what Da Ha was, Aunt Bet simply stated that “you add a little of that and a little of this here, and this is what you call Da Ha.” It was amazing how much I was like my aunt. My brother was sitting next to me at the funeral and he said, “Is that what you cooked that time I visited you?” I had this really big smile on my face, and I said I guess so, except that I had just learned what it was called.

It is so amazing how we live and we have all of these unique characteristics about us. Many times we don’t know where we get them from. I am happy that I traveled home to attend my aunt’s funeral, because for me, that was a very profound moment in my life. I learned that I am so much like my Aunt Bet and it makes me proud. I, myself, enjoy feeding people, I love to entertain, and most of all, I love cooking up a good helping of “Da Ha” for the ones I love and for those in need of a good meal.