Do you still have a traditional Sunday Lunch?
By oldchem1
@oldchem1 (8132)
September 5, 2010 7:53am CST
At one time (not so many years ago) there is no way that I can have imagined a Sunday without cooking a big roast and all the trimmings.
I was brought up in the 50's and we never EVER had a Sunday without the traditionalroast.
When I married in the early 70's I carried on this tradition - over the years I had parents, relatives, children and their families etc all turning up to join us in the lunch.
There were always Yorkshire pudds with beef (as the kids got older I had to make them with any type of meat), sage and onion stuffing with pork, chicken or turkey, apple sauce with pork, mint sauce with lamb, cranvbrry sauce with turkey and horseradish and mustard with beef.
I cooked roast potatoes, parsnips, onions and sweet potatoes, we hade 3 or 4 different choices of vehgetables, creamy mashed potatoes and lashings of gravy.
But for the last year or so these liunches have become a rarity - only about every 6 weeks - today I have a roast pork and all the trimmings lunch on the way.
I found that with the children being more involved in sports and the loike on a Sunday the lunch just sort of fizzled away.
I think that in a way this isa shame, but at least I am not chained to the oven and sink for most of every Sunday now!!
How about you - do you still have the traditional Sunday Roast?
3 people like this
14 responses
@lovinangelsinstead21 (36847)
• Pamplona, Spain
6 Sep 10
Hiya chem,
No way chem. I have not had one of those Dinners for ages about ten years ago was the last time I ate one a proper one that is.
I made them for my Mom because she was not well and at the same time I did them for everyone else but not with a willing heart as it was my two ex-brothers that were around the kitchen all the time and they are so lazy.
I would make one for you if you wanted (just kidding as I have not got an oven in good condition to make it possible).
We have equally good Dinners but I do miss the Roast Beef and all that I really do.
@lovinangelsinstead21 (36847)
• Pamplona, Spain
6 Sep 10
Hiya chem,
Well I can tell you something I would not mind being "your Daughter" just for two hours and have some Sunday Dinner.
Miss it you bet and how.
I would not complain I would not waste time doing that I would eat it all and ask for seconds thank you very much. Of course I would help with the Washing Up I am good at doing all that kind of thing. Because I had to do it then and I still have to do it now.
I´ve just done them a decent Dinner today and all I have heard is I am too full guess what they are full of those coffees and tidbits they eat in the Bars here.
Why don´t I just give up?
@macdingolinger (10385)
• United States
5 Sep 10
When I was a kid that was our big meal of the week. It was like on Sunday morning after church we went all out! It was roast and potatoes and veggies and even dessert! Grandparents came and it was a great family time. You're right it just sort of fizzled away didn't it? Sad if you ask me... we're too busy now.
@oldchem1 (8132)
•
6 Sep 10
I think it is just another sign of a faster more modern society where old traditions get pushed away.
Sad, but something we'll probably never get back.
I remember the days before the supermarket ousted most of the traditional butcher's and took over the main supply of our beef -0 a very sad day! Every friday all the women in the queue would be chosing their joint for the weekend, the butchers counter had mainly pieces of por and pief or legs and shoulders of lamb and chickens rather than the mince and stewing beef.
Dear me, I am showing my age!!
1 person likes this
@macdingolinger (10385)
• United States
6 Sep 10
And boy was the meat better back then! Back when quality not quantity reigned! Yep, we are indeed getting old, talking about the good ole days! But I miss the butcher. For most of my married life we raised our own meat. So there are a few butchers still out there but they are getting harder to find!
But I miss the butcher. For most of my married life we raised our own meat. So there are a few butchers still out there but they are getting harder to find!
@gdesjardin (1918)
• United States
6 Sep 10
I used to cook the traditional Sunday roast when the kids were little, but not much anymore. Of course, your traditional Sunday roast sounds more like my Thanksgiving Dinner. I guess I don't get as extravagent as you. My oldest boy usually works on Sunday so he is never home. Plus my daughter is usually gone on Sunday afternoons. We usually cook our roast on Saturday's these days and the kids eat the leftovers on Sunday.
@epicure35 (2814)
• United States
6 Sep 10
Yum! The joy of commensalism (sharing meals with companions) has all but disappeared along with the fractured, fragmented, and frazzled families and TRADITION.
As you mention, it has "frizzled" away, or vaporized. The joy of family and feasting has become a thing of the past for so many, and it's a sad sign of the times. A roast, or a "joint", as many say, signifies the abundance in life, and the sharing in that abundance.
In America there is sometimes a "Sunday brunch" gathering, but not the shared labor and feast which you describe.
I'm afraid that's been relegated to only Thanksgiving, maybe Christmas for some, or the Jewish High Holy Day of Rosh Hashanah, or the Passover celebration, maybe other types of holidays as well.
But, back to the food: Your menu sounds yummy. I love a good roast along with root vegetables, mashed or roasted potatoes, brussels sprouts and a selection of greens as well. And rivers of gravy. Many Itlian families do a Sunday lunch/dinner, which I have heard called "manzo di pranzo":a big pot of tomato sauce (called gravy) with several different meats, sausages, chicken, pork, beef,braciole, etc. included. It is meant for several meals during the week as well.
As to the cleanup: if it's not shared, it's definitely not fun!
@Kumar1232009 (1215)
• Spain
5 Sep 10
Yes, in Spain lunch to the max (where it all started and even in India where we settled) with my family and even here in Saudi Arabia where I currently live. We used to have a big lunch with my friends every friday which is equivalent to Sunday there in Europe.
@Kumar1232009 (1215)
• Spain
5 Sep 10
but back 50 years, what are those extracurriculars you are fond to doing off?
@nicococo (134)
•
6 Sep 10
Oh my gosh! That sounds really good! I'm afraid that my family never really had a "traditional sunday roast". But we always had a nice sunday brunch. Lots of fruit, pancakes, eggs and bacon... It's really fun for everyone and I hope to continue this kind of "tradition" with my family.
@GardenGerty (169534)
• United States
6 Sep 10
I grew up that way, but I did not carry it on. For a while we frequently ate out on Sunday, but you know, that is expensive and it is a fools rush to try to beat all the people getting out of church at the same time. We have been having Sunday breakfast for lunch. Eggs, meats, hash browns or country fries. Pancakes or French toast or muffins. Might be a breakfast casserole. We all LOVE breakfast food and this is easy and inexpensive to prepare. Sunday should be a day of rest.
@oldchem1 (8132)
•
6 Sep 10
I have to admit that now I don't do as many roast lunches we tend to opt for a later.larger breakfast ( I guess what you in the US refer to as a brunch!)
The only reason I did a roast this Sunday to be honest was that the pork shoulder was on half price offer at our localsupermarket and Imanaged to get a joint for £2.50 that fed the three of us yesterady with enough left to make into a meal of some type today!!
@joey_matthews (8354)
•
24 Oct 10
Not every Sunday I don't.
My wife makes a wonderful traditional Sunday dinner and my father used too aswell, he no longer does it but at one point my mums parents would go to ours for lunch and it felt very special. Just like sitting down at the table with everyone around, it's sad how things change and how the way we do things slowly alters.
Thanks for posting.
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
5 Sep 10
No we never did this in my family. Though I was hoping as the kids got older we could do this like say once a month & even as adults. You know we are so busy with our lives and with work/businesses running on Sundays traditions like this have fizzled out. It's a dirty shame! I'd like to see Sunday as a day when everything is closed or is closed by noon. We can spend one day a week doing something other than working & shopping KWIM?
@oldchem1 (8132)
•
5 Sep 10
Yes Sunday is now a day just like any other, as you say, a real shame.
I remember as a young child going to my grandmother's for the weekend, we were not even allowed to play out on a Sunday, we had a big Sunday lunch and then read, played the piano or played card games.
Hard to believe that it is only 50 years ago!
I remember as a young child going to my grandmother's for the weekend, we were not even allowed to play out on a Sunday, we had a big Sunday lunch and then read, played the piano or played card games.
Hard to believe that it is only 50 years ago!
@SomeCowgirl (32189)
• United States
5 Sep 10
Ours was on Friday. I forget when exactly it started but we started getting together as a family every friday to eat, at first I think it was food made and then it turned into Pizza then later chinese. Now we've not had that for years and years.
My husband's parents try to cook on Sunday even if it's not much, or we will atleast get something out as that is like the one day of the week to sit down as a family and eat.
Traditional "Sit down and Catch up's" have gone out the window I'm afraid.
@oldchem1 (8132)
•
6 Sep 10
It is strange how even 'pub lunches'have changed.
Years ago most pubs only did lunches on a Sunday and they were always the traditional roast.
Now the majority of our British pubs serve food from 12.00 - 9.00 every day, but few offer a special roast on a SAunday , and those that do this meal is not the most popular.
@Humbug25 (12540)
•
7 Sep 10
Hi there oldchem1
When I was a kid we would always have a roast but as we got older and drifted off and went our seperate ways it all stopped. My own kids are not big meat eaters, they find it hard to eat meats in large quantities, even mince!! I occassionally do a roast but it's not the same, I have to be careful not to buy too much meat.
@jahernandezrivas (11287)
• United States
5 Sep 10
My mother always cooks on Sundays, I have not for a while she likes to fry Chicken on Sundays with mashed potatoes and green beans, and sometimes corn bread, It seems like she has done this for years. I miss her cooking she has gone to my grandmothers for a while. I don't like to cook on Sundays but here lately I have found myself doing it more often,
I don't like to cook on Sundays but here lately I have found myself doing it more often,
@atv818 (1980)
• United Arab Emirates
5 Sep 10
Since my family is under extreme financial crisis, we can't afford to have a good Sunday lunch. We used to have one wherein we get to eat sumptuous food with family members like suckling pig or Peking duck and other delicacies we only eat during special occasions. Now, we just barely have what our budget can provide us. I'm working on ways to earn more money online and looking forward to better times ahead.
