I miss Sunday lunch at my mother’s house. Not just because she made one of the best roast dinners, but because there was always a game of cards afterwards, or an old black and white movie to watch together. And yes, we were the only one’s out of all the family that indulged in this particular habit.
Or maybe, it was that I just indulged my mother. Knowing as I did that she like to watch these old movies and have a trip down memory lane and enjoy a moment of nostalgia with me. It wasn’t about the movie, but about sharing her memories. I treasure those anecdotes, they’re a small thread that leads me back to those afternoons with her.
I miss that as well as the roast pork, or roast lamb, cooked to perfection. Never mind the best roast potatoes you’ve ever tasted. Which reminds me of the day my dad made the best gravy any of us have ever tasted. It happened because he mistook the jar with the icing sugar in it to be the corn starch, and not wearing his glasses spooned in a couple of tablespoons of icing sugar into the usual onion and dripping mix in the roasting pan to thicken it and …
Wow, did that gravy taste great. I had no idea icing sugar could make such a difference. And no, before you ask, it wasn’t sweet tasting as you might think, it tasted like, well, onion gravy. But with an edge. That French something, Unami maybe? That mouth feel?
It’s hard to describe. But, from that mistake onwards, whenever we were all at my parents for a Sunday roast, it was unanimous that dad make his icing sugar gravy, whatever the meat being served.
My Sunday dinner is not the same, not only can I not replicate that gravy, but my dinner is always just okay. It could be the cut of meat is too small, or the oven is too big. But mostly I think it’s because my parents aren’t here, directing traffic and organising the chaos that went on in my mother’s kitchen so that the veg, meat, gravy, potatoes, and yes, all of us arrived at the table altogether, ready to eat.
NaBloPoMo: 16/30
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What a beautiful recollection. Icing sugar gravy!!!!
I know exactly that feeling of nostalgia so strong it’s almost tangible, and yet you can never quite hold it in your hands. The closest I ever come is with smells — a certain soup or herb combination will bring the past rushing back — but it’s always temporary.
They were always noisy and somewhat chaotic affairs, so that couple of hours afterwards, with my mum, watching an old movies, was bliss.
It can be the smallest of things, like you say, a smell or a song, or a movie, that triggers a memory and that wistful feeling to capture the moment even for just a minute. They are like little treasures, bubbles of memory but yes, fleeting.
I am making note of the icing sugar trick. I’ve never heard of such a thing!
This was such a lovely, heartfelt post. I think food that Mom makes always tastes the best <3
It was a complete accident, but one that turned out to be actually edible. And yeah, moms have the advantage of years of experience.
Ooooh Sunday afternoons! I’ve been thinking more and more lately that I want a quieter Sunday afternoon. Maybe not literally quieter… maybe just calmer? Sunday afternoons should be about family – or found family – and home and memories not of events but of a feeling. I think the Sunday afternoons that you describe are just perfect.
Those Sundays even when a little chaotic as food was being cooked and served, were always fun and full of snark and back-chat. But yes, it was the quieter moments with my mum later that were the best. I hope you find your quieter Sunday moments.
Alesandra, I know this nostalgia well (although my dad never put icing sugar in the gravy- that is so funny.) No one can replace your parents. Whenever I miss mine and get sad, I remind myself how lucky I was to have them as long as I did. Some people don’t have memories like this.
Indeed, no one can ever replace parents, and I’m lucky to have so many silly and fond memories of moments like this to recall when I miss them both. It wasn’t a perfect childhood by any means, but it was, for the most part, warm, safe, and happy.
This is such a warm post. Wonderful memories of your parents.
I used to watch old James Bond movies with my dad. We had so much fun.
I am not a ver good cook and I would not attempt a roast. The only thing I can do decently is a meat loaf. And I guess I managed some sort of Turkey for my Friendsgiving but only with intensive help of my sister and setting of the fire alarm… three times.
Oh, I love that you and your dad watched James Bond movies, how much fun is that? I hope your parents are still alive and you are still making memories with them, even now.
Oh agreed about doing a roast. There’s so much that can go wrong, and setting the fire alarm of three times? Sorry but that did make me laugh so. We’re lucky to have sisters to help!
Oh the sweet memory of family dinners. Some of these “tastes” can’t be replicated because they are intrinsically connected to the time and place we tasted them.
They were always an epic in our house. Six kids. But yes, you could be right about the place and time. As in my memory that gravy was the best thing ever.
Growing up we had Sunday roast lunch most weeks and my mum’s mum who lived next door would come over with one of her amazing sponges. Later it became Sunday night dinner, still with the roast and the cake. Good times!
Sounds like you have your own series of happy memories from Sunday dinners. And sponge for dessert sounds delicious.