Food
By Lil Nickelson
Cooking great meals and sharing fine dining experiences are an integral part of my family’s traditions and practices. They sparked my passion for cooking and fine dining, and led me to begin writing this column for Harlem World. Reminisce with me for a moment. My late grandmother, Mrs. Lola Mae Jackson, migrated to Harlem from Durham, North Carolina in the mid 1930s (great, great grandmother pictured above). She made a living as a live in cook for over 20 years for well to do Jewish families. Her two older sisters helped her raise her two daughters.
Through shared experiences my grandmother passed on her skills to my Mom, and to me and my two sisters. I can remember at age 5 toasting the bread in the oven for the dressing for our Thanksgiving turkey. We didn’t start calling it “stuffing” until we started buying it in supermarkets out of boxes and bags.
We only ate fresh vegetables, with the exception of a can of cream style corn every now and then. Potatoes or Mac and cheese “out of a box” or pasta “out of a can” never happened. My oldest sister Lena (pictured above on Harlem street) unsuccessfully tried to introduce my Mom to Kraft Macroni and Cheese. “Who ever saw real cheese that yellow,” and “the taste lacked any soul,” were a few of the comments my Mom uttered when she sampled it.
Most of the health issues we face today can be traced back to when we began to move away from our rich, ancestral traditional of making our own food. We worked the land, and then fed every body. In addition to building colonial America, our ancestors also fed her too. Many of our forefathers, male and female, were America’s first chefs. Cook books really didn’t come into existence in this country until after we were free.
Older brother Chucky.
We did get to eat TV dinners when my Dad was on the road driving a load to Florida or on his way heading home. My mother would never serve that to my Dad and call it a meal. And yes, I know the industry has changed dramatically since the late 60s. Today, great chefs have developed healthy frozen food fare.
But the reason you dine out in those same great chef’s restaurants is because they are preparing and serving you fresh food made from quality ingredients, prepared with love. Just like the families of everybody over 40 years old was daily preparing for each other at home. It is time we go back home to our roots.
So I want to challenge you and your being set in “your ways.” I want you to put the disposable plates, plastic cutlery and cups away. I want you to wash your stemware, silverware, stoneware and the china you registered for, but don’t ever use. Start creating some priceless moments at home with your families as we eat healthy, and share our day’s activities with one another. Let’s teach the next generation how to plan a meal, shop, cook, dine and socialize the right way.
We look forward to her ongoing column Dinning with Lil in the coming months.
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I loved the pictures of your family and your warm historical description of the relationship between our good times with family and mealtime.
Thanks for this.
Brenda
p.s.
they are smiling on you
Hi Lil,
Really nice article, please keep writing. The pictures are fantastic, they take you way back into the past.
Herve
Everything u said was right on point; I would just add that back everyone ate before or @ sun down.
This fast food generation eats too many late night meals and are unable to burn off the food before sleep.
Luv
Mo
Everything u said was right on point; I would just add that back everyone ate before or @ sun down.
This fast food generation eats too many late night meals and are unable to burn off the food before sleep.
Hello Lil,
I am just returning from our North Atlantic Regional Conference and catching up on my email. I love your column. Please keep it going. Your family pictures and comments are wonderful. Your comments are right on target. We must get back to our roots and eating fresh foods prepared at home!
Good luck with this venture.
Terrecita
Hi Lil,
Your family pictures and memories of family meals are wonderful. Please keep up the good work. I wish you the best in this venture.
Terrecita
thank you for taking the time to remind us all of where we came from, helped me/us look at where we are and hopefully where were going. Love you and keep it up
Good job Cuz!!!!
Hi Lil
It was great seeing those pictures of your family. I know U were talking about me with the paper plates
! I look forward to reading many more helpful articles. I might use real plates tonight.
Later
Cher
Of course I think it’s great. It’s just missing one thing…a picture of me(LOL). How are you going to forget the baby of the family?
Hi Lil
I love your column. It speaks to what is much needed within our immediate households, families sitting together at the dinner table as a family and actually having conversations with one another.
Anxiously awaiting your next article.
Love
Yvonne
does anybody know anything about two shootings that took place last night on Morningside, one at 118th and one at 123?
This is great! It would be good to go back to the way cooking used to be with your Mother(my Aunt) and (our ) Grandma. The pictures are good, but you are missing the baby of the family!!!!(smile) Love Ya Cuz!!
This was a WONDERFUL piece. My family has been living in/visiting Harlem and other parts of NYC since the ’60s and have all moved back down South in the 90s and recently. I’ve since moved back to the city in my 20s to begin my career so it’s all come back full circle.
This just brought back so many memories. Please keep these coming! Do you have any recipes?
Good work sister, Keep me healthy
Healthly eating, was the ORDER of the day,
Cuz
hi lil your article is great chuck picture is great.talking about food from when we were younger wow! cornbread mac cheese collard greens chittlerings oh so much more it was good then and now.my mom use to make collard greens with white corn meal dumplins wow!mince meat pie I do no hear much about that> please keep your article coming. It was good seeing you again. love betty
Hey lill how are you doing? hope every thing is fine and good. I loved ur article it was so good to see the pictures of the family.The article was amazing to the fulliest.every thing u said is true we need to get back to the old days and get our health y eating and fresh living back on track. teach our children to eat good and healthy.
Perfect lil, proud of you, the pictures made me cry, love you for that of my best friend. the colume is perfect, wait to you get to the cornbread, sugar water. wow, love you, wishing you all the luck,keep it up.