Steven Rife

Prof. Miller

Eng 110 H2

10 September 2018

 

The Sunday Meal

As I was growing up my grandmother would make dinner every Sunday. I could not wait for it to be the end of the week when I was young. Every Sunday around 5 o’clock my entire family would get together at my grandma’s house for a big pasta dinner. All of my uncles, aunts, and cousins would come. It was great to have the family together every week. We would always share so many laughs. It seemed like the family used that time to unwind from the stressful week that had just passed. We would sit at my grandmas dinner table for hours and hours talking about anything that came to mind. There was nothing better than the look on my grandmothers face when the family was all around the table. This dish did way more than taste good, it taught me not to take the time you have with your family for granted.

Back when I was young we would go to my grandmas for Sunday dinner ever since I could remember. My grandma would spend the entire day making sure she had all the ingredients so the meal would taste amazing. She would make a red tomato pasta sauce that was to die for. Not to mention the homemade garlic bread and meatballs to go along with it.  She was extremely proud of her pasta sauce. Eventhough the bread and the meatballs were amazing as well she would always brag about that sauce. She would always talk about how when she was a kid her mother would make the same sauce for Sunday dinner, so its been in the family for awhile. When the meal was all propped up on the table it looked spectacular. Every Sunday it always had a little different presentation than the past week. The smell coming off the hot steam from the plate would make my mouth water uncontrollably.

My grandmother’s relationship with this dish goes back a long time to when she was a little girl. She told me how her mother would make it and her family would come over for dinner. She continued on to tell me how they would sit at the diner table for hours after the meal was done talking about anything and everything. From school to relationships, going on to college, whatever it was always got sorted through at that table. My grandmother thinks that I enjoy the dish that she makes because first of all she knows how much I enjoy the dish. She said she loved to see me laughing and having a good time with everyone. “I like to sit back and watch everyone at the table all having a great time, to me there is nothing better.” This is also my grandmothers favorite dish as well. “of course its my favorite meal. Its my favorite time of the week, to see all my kids and grandkids come together. It brings back memories to when I was young”

When she was young this dish brought her family together every Sunday. The question I asked my grandma was, why did we stop the Sunday dinners? Ive always wondered why we don’t do dinner every Sunday anymore. She told me, “we stopped having the dinners because everyone is growing up and it is so hard to find the time to get the whole family together on a Sunday night.” It does stink that we don’t do the family dinners every Sunday anymore, but when my mom makes her pasta dish at home it always brings back the memories for me.

There was nothing better than when I was a little kid getting to go to my grandmas and hanging out with my cousins. My cousins are all older than me so as I was growing up I always looked up to them. I followed in their footsteps and played the same sports as I grew up. We all played football, baseball and basketball. I ended up acceding in baseball as one of my cousins stuck with football and the other basketball. My grandmother loved coming to our sports games. She made it a point that she made it to every one. We would always play basketball out in the driveway. I was waiting for the day to come where I finally beat my cousin Brian, but sadly that day never came. We also always played baseball against the neighbors. They had a big family so it would always be my family against theirs. Those were they days, then all the cousins got a little older and went off to college and that was the end of our Sundays dinners.

I will never forget how happy my grandma was when we all arrived at her house for dinner. She would always tell us how she spent all day preparing the meal for us and how much better it was going to taste than last weeks’ dinner. There was always so much food from garlic bread to sausage, meatballs and of course the pasta. We would stuff ourselves until we could not eat anymore. I wish we still got together for the Sunday dinners. It was a great time that I will forever cherish.

Recipe

  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 onion, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 cups garden vegetables, diced
  • ¼ cup each fresh garden herbs
  • 1 bay leaf, crushed
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 lbs tomatoes
  • ½ cup water

Directions

In a large saucepan or medium soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent, 2-3 min. Add minced garlic and sauté until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add the diced vegetables, fresh herbs, bay leaf, and salt. Continue to sauté until vegetables have softened slightly, 3-4 minutes. Quarter the tomatoes and place them in the bowl of your food processor or blender. Process or blend until pureed and smooth, adding ½ cup of water if necessary. Add the tomato puree to the vegetables in the pan and increase the heat to medium high to bring the sauce to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer uncovered 1 ½ – 2 hours, until desired thickness is reached.