My Sunday ritual

Sometimes I surprise myself with what a creature of habit I am becoming.

I do love spontaneity – the spur of the moment trip to the beach, the last minute dash to go see a movie that starts in 20 minutes, the late afternoon urge to invite someone over for dinner.

But…when it comes to Sundays, I’ve found this groove that just works for me, and I really, really like it. It starts with sleeping in a bit – sometimes until nine o’clock – because I can. Then the Arteest and I get ready for church and head out to the pub (yes, our church meets in a pub) about 9:45ish. After church, we usually round up some friends or a newcomer and have lunch together somewhere. Then we head home and spend the afternoon relaxing and doing little projects around the house.

Most of the time, my Sunday afternoons are given to cooking. Cooking is therapeutic for me when I have time to relax and get all Zen-like about chopping, stirring, even cleaning up. To complete the geek-out kitchen experience, I listen to podcasts of The Splendid Table and think about food and new recipe ideas while I’m cooking.

Sometimes I am having so much fun that I go overboard…a week or two ago I made four large main courses in one afternoon. That’s A LOT of food for me and the Arteest to try to get through in a week!

Today our afternoon was comprised of a lot of painting and home improvement projects, and then our monthly neighborhood potluck, so I didn’t get started with my cooking ritual until 7:30 or so. I’ve still managed to make a lemon herb roasted chicken with roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes, a loaf of Dutch oven herb bread, and a jar of cilantro-lime vinaigrette.

I’ve also made a list of menu ideas for the week, given the ingredients we have in the fridge and some new things I’ve been wanting to try. (On that note, does anyone have a great recipe for curried chickpeas you’d be willing to share?)

Cooking on Sundays makes me feel content, settled, grounded, thankful. It makes me feel like I’m doing something productive and even a little creative that directly benefits my family. I guess it’s really the best of what a ritual should be – something meaningful and comforting that helps us focus on what matters in life.

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