Our new Sunday night tradition
A few months ago, while browsing through my Facebook newsfeed, I noticed a post from a friend of mine, Kathy Buckworth, who’s an author and family blogger in Toronto. She shared her family’s Sunday night tradition, and I thought it was such a good idea that I decided to try it at our house.
The concept
It’s pretty simple. Taking turns each Sunday, one member of the family chooses what to have for supper – and they can choose whatever they want. The rest of the family can neither protest, nor complain, nor mutter negative comments under their breath. At our house, I tweaked the rules so that everyone in the family has to take part in the preparation, so we can truly make it a family affair.
We’ve been at it for six weeks now, and it’s really been fun. Everyone has been enjoying it.
Photo Credit : Jaime Damak
Mea culpa
There are certain dishes that I made so often when my kids were younger that I never make them anymore. Think shepherd’s pie, macaroni, and the like. It so happened that when we started the project, we let the youngest go first, so it was my son who had the honour of choosing our first meal. He was SO HAPPY to tell me that he wanted his meal to be… shepherd’s pie.
Putting yourself first, without feeling guilty
This new tradition lets us each have a week to put our own desires first, without feeling guilty about the meal choice. Up to now, everyone’s been happy when their turn comes around.
Variety is the spice of life
Pierre really likes steak, so we went all out for dinner when it was his turn, and my daughter wanted to try making sweet potato fries for her first Sunday night supper. This week, it was her turn again and we made a trio of pastas: beef ravioli with tomato sauce, squash ravioli with butter and olive oil, topped with pumpkin seed crumble, and spaghetti with meat sauce. Delicious! For my son’s second meal, he decided on lasagna (another classic). I realized that it had been at least three years since I’d made one, and it was really good to taste it again.
In short, this tradition has been a wonderful addition at our house! Not only do we all get together to prepare the meal, but it has also allowed us to discover (or rediscover) dishes we love and learn more about each other’s tastes and preferences.
Jaime Damak was back on Global Montreal with an Easter themed segment.