a new old tradition

Tim had a hankering for a Sunday roast yesterday, and I was willing--home-cooked comfort food? That I don't have to cook? Terrific! But this was a roast with a twist--he roasted the chicken on the barbeque instead of in the oven. Wow, what a beautiful bird, and so delicious too. And the roast potatoes--roasted in the English way so they got really crispy on the outside and fluffy inside. Wish I could share the deliciousness through cyberspace, it was that good.



All the talk about the Sunday roast got us talking about traditions--what he grew up with in England and what I knew in Texas. As it turned out, we both had the Sunday roast tradition as kids but it had fallen to the wayside over the years. In my case, it was my mother making a pot roast with carrots and potatoes cooked around the beef, with my sister, her husband, and their kids filling the house with noise and activity. But over the years, the Sunday gathering fell by the wayside--my niece and nephew grew up and found their own activities, I went to college, and eventually I left Texas. And Sundays became just another day to get things done.

But I've missed those slow, lazy Sundays where we just putter around the house, with the high point of the day being the magnificent Sunday dinner. So we're talking about reinstating the tradition ourselves. Neither of us has extended family here, but we can make this a tradition for the kids. In an age where families rarely eat together--where TV stations run public service announcements urging families to have one meal a week together (one?!), I'd love the kids to grow up with the warm, cozy memory of our family meals--and the weekly Sunday roast.