华盛顿-民主党总统候选人面临的最大挑战之一卡玛拉·哈里斯在竞选的最后阶段，在她的共和党对手面前向选民介绍自己，唐纳德·特朗普，有机会定义她。
直到今年夏天她突然当选为民主党候选人，哈里斯在国家政治中仍然是一个有点默默无闻的人物，部分原因是她讨厌开放和接受聚光灯。自从她成为被提名人以来，共和党人批评哈里斯没有做很多采访或对她的政策计划给出足够的细节。
但是副总统正在分享她的童年，烹饪和食物的个人细节，以展示她更私人的一面。
众所周知，哈里斯是个美食家，喜欢烹饪。事实上，在7月的一个早上，她刚刚为侄女6岁和8岁的女儿做了一份煎饼和熏肉早餐，拜登就打电话告诉她他将退出竞选。
从谈论她选择的小吃玉米片奶酪多力多滋到在浴缸里洗羽衣甘蓝，哈里斯的目标是在更私人的层面上与选民联系。虽然了解到她喜欢在小吃时间嚼玉米片可能不足以说服任何人投票给她，但这个小细节——有时很有趣——可以帮助哈里斯表明她可以与人们和他们关心的问题产生共鸣。
查塔姆大学宾夕法尼亚妇女和政治中心的执行主任达纳·布朗在一封电子邮件中说，“她试图展示她是一个完整的人，而不仅仅是她的政策提案。”。
上周在佐治亚州东南部的竞选巴士之旅中，哈里斯在萨凡纳的多蒂市场停下来，她对柜台上的东西感到兴奋。
“那是什么蛋糕?”她说。一名员工回答说，巧克力焦糖。
“我想分一杯羹。焦糖是我的最爱，”哈里斯说。“哦，巧克力和焦糖?”她在似乎消化了这个描述之后补充道。蛋糕上覆盖着一层白色的糖霜，糖霜淋在蛋糕的四周。
“太棒了，”哈里斯说。
“我像你这么大的时候也在乐队，”她在佐治亚州海因斯维尔的自由县高中参观游行乐队训练时说。她做了一个关于领导力的鼓舞人心的演讲。
“你们所做的一切，需要大量的排练，大量的练习，长时间的练习。对不对?”她说。“有时你击中了音符;有时候你不会。对吗?但所有这些练习都造就了美妙的音乐。”
哈里斯没有说她演奏的是哪种乐器。一名助手后来告诉一名记者，哈里斯会吹法国号、木琴和鼓;副总统曾透露，她“无法坚持使用一种”乐器。
哈里斯与萨凡纳市中心格雷餐厅的厨师玛莎玛·贝利分享了她的羽衣甘蓝食谱——以及不同寻常的制作方法。一个朋友过去常请哈里斯为一年一度的平安夜聚会做准备。
副总统告诉贝利:“我没有骗你，我会做太多的蔬菜，以至于我需要在浴缸里洗它们。”“我说的是实话。”
哈里斯首先从熏肉中提取脂肪，然后加入蒜片、辣椒、大量水和一些鸡汤。“在我放入绿叶蔬菜之前，我把它放了一段时间，”她说。几个小时后，她吃完了醋和塔巴斯科辣酱。
根据麦当劳的数据，八分之一的美国人在一生中的某个时候曾在麦当劳快餐店工作过。哈里斯也在其中。
“我在麦当劳做过暑期工，”她在8月拉斯维加斯的一次竞选集会上说，试图表现出对中产阶级斗争的理解。
同样在上个月，在北卡罗莱纳州的一次政策演讲中，哈里斯讨论了她的价格欺诈提案，她说她在大学时“我在麦当劳工作赚零花钱。”
她的职责今年早些时候，她在“德鲁·巴里摩尔秀”上说，我们在做炸薯条，在收银台工作。
哈里斯和她的妹妹玛雅由一位来自印度的移民单身母亲夏马拉抚养长大。哈里斯说她13岁的时候，她妈妈攒了十年的钱买了她的第一栋房子。
点心时间，哈里斯伸手去拿多力多滋。
“这是我的首选，原味的玉米片奶酪，”哈里斯说，当时她和她的竞选伙伴明尼苏达州州长蒂姆·沃尔兹(Tim Walz)以及他们的配偶在8月份宾夕法尼亚州西南部的竞选巴士之旅中，在月亮镇的一家Sheetz便利店停下来。
她喜欢的汽水?
“我喜欢根汁汽水。他喜欢健怡可乐，”她说，指的是她的丈夫道格·艾姆霍夫。
Harris turns to favorite foods in effort show more private side, connect with voters
WASHINGTON --One of the biggest challenges for Democratic presidential nomineeKamala Harrisin the final stretch of the campaign is introducing herself to voters before her Republican rival,Donald Trump, has a chance to define her.
Until her sudden 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 she's become the nominee, Republicans have criticized Harris for not doing many interviews or giving enough specifics on her policy plans.
But the vice president is sharing personal details about her childhood, cooking and food to show her more private side.
It is known that Harris is a foodie and likes to cook. In fact, she had just made a pancakes-and-bacon breakfast for her niece’s 6- and 8-year-old daughters on the July morning when Biden called with the news that he was dropping out of the race.
From talking about nacho cheese Doritos as her snack of choice to washing collard greens in the bathtub, Harris is aiming to connect with voters on a more personal level. While learning that she likes to munch tortilla chips at snack time likely isn't enough on its own to sway anyone to vote for her, the small — and sometimes amusing — details could help Harris show she can relate to people and their concerns.
“She is trying to show that she is a full person beyond just her policy proposals,” Dana Brown, executive director of the Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics at Chatham University, said in an email.
Stopping at Dottie's Market in Savannah during a campaign bus tour of southeastern Georgia last week, Harris became excited by what she saw on the counter.
“What is that cake?” she said. Chocolate caramel, an employee answered.
“I want a slice of that. Caramel is like my favorite,” Harris said. “Oh, chocolate and caramel?” she added, after appearing to digest the description. The cake was covered in a white frosting with caramel on top and drizzling down the sides.
“Fantastic," Harris said.
“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.
“All that you all are doing, it requires a whole lot of rehearsal, a whole lot of practice, long hours. Right?” she said. “Sometimes you hit the note; sometimes you don’t. Right? But all that practice makes for beautiful music.”
Harris did not say which instrument she played. An aide later told a reporter that Harris played French horn, xylophone and kettle drums; the vice president had confided that she “couldn’t stick with one” instrument.
Harris shared her collard greens recipe — and unusual preparation method — with Mashama Bailey, chef at The Grey restaurant in downtown Savannah. A friend used to ask Harris to make the greens for a yearly Christmas Eve party.
“And I am not lying to you that I would make so many greens that I'd need to wash them in the bathtub,” the vice president told Bailey. “I'm telling you the truth.”
Harris starts by rendering the fat from bacon before stirring in sliced garlic, chili peppers, a lot of water and some chicken stock. “And I let it go for a while, before I put the greens in," she said. After a couple of hours, she finishes with vinegar and Tabasco sauce.
According to McDonald's, 1 in 8 Americans have 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 middle-class struggles.
During a policy speech in North Carolina to discuss her price gouging proposal, also last month, Harris said she was in college when “I worked at McDonald's to earn spending money.”
Her dutieswere making french 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 has said she was 13 when her mother bought her first home after saving for a decade.
At snack time, Harris reaches for Doritos.
“This is my go-to, the original, nacho cheese,” Harris said while holding a red bag of Doritos when she and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and their spouses stopped at a Sheetz convenience store in Moon Township during their campaign bus tour of southwestern Pennsylvania in August.
Her soda of choice?
“I like root beer. He likes Diet Coke,” she said, referring to her husband, Doug Emhoff.
