Yesterday, Today or Tomorrow, Sunday roast has been a tradition in the family since young, going back as far as memory can go, the smell of roast takes me back to childhood. Being a mother cooking a roast perhaps not always on Sunday, today a chicken is in the oven as I write!
Smell would hit you the minute you walked through the gate on your way back from Sunday school (yup not up for discussion back then), Dad would be up preparing a big fat hen, or lamb or beef or pork, mainly chicken for six of us hungry mouths to feed. Vegetables went in on arrival back from church, dished up by one o'clock, enough time for an afternoon nap by older generation!
Much like my father the roast smell will drive everyone dilly for a couple of hours, here is half time photo when vegetables are placed around the chicken where all the flavours and goodness will blend in together, leaving green veg and gravy to last, not doing a photo shoot on food it's against my constitution.
Why does the scent of the Sunday lunch trigger such fond memories, it's not only about the meal all of us packed around the round table, each had a piece known as our favourite! Brothers got the drum stick, thighs were for my sister and myself, white meat a little for each, main portion to our parents.
Vegetables, normally peas, roast carrots as I still do, roast potato and rice, not all enjoyed rice, it is served, eat it! (Rice was my Mom and Sister...) Knowing my eldest brother had a passion for roast potato, he would sit and watch like a hawk from his seat, who would give up a roast potato to him, not I nor my other brother, no Mom normally crumbled with little sister offering him some of theirs, bugger!
It was family time of jest, chatter, debate, argue over whatever came to mind at the time, only day of the week Dad never went to work in his office in Johannesburg leaving Sunday the only day we had time all together.
Scent that carries sweet memories may be smell of rain carried ahead across dry land, or perfume of flowers triggering memories, my scent selected today is the hope that one day my children enjoyed roast dinners as much as we did when young remembering the smell of coming home. Is it the scent or sixth sense inbuilt reminding us of safe places?
It's a cold day for Durban today with snow on the mountains inland, children will join us for a lovely roast dinner in an hours time, have a wonderful day wherever you are in the world.
All photography is my own using a Canon PowerShot SC730 HS, resized for easier loading, writing is my own.
Thought for Today: "That which is deadly may have a sweet scent." - African Proverbs
