Cooking, the hum of home and a word called tea.
Cooking is a joy for me. And baking. Something about turning the music up, wrapping apron ties around my waist and putting the oven on is comforting, almost meditative.
I make no claims of being a great cook. I certainly have no desire to be on MasterChef. For one thing, I really do not like sea food, I’d last all of about ten seconds. But I love to watch and be an armchair critic.
Most of the time, coming home from work and cooking tea is a way to unwind. Pouring a glass of wine, gathering whatever ingredients are needed for the nightly meal. Listening to the hum of home, computers. TV, drum and flute practice, chatting about what happened during the day.
The kitchen is the heart of our home. It’s the place of nourishment, laughter, tears, heated discussions and arguments. Most nights we sit at the table to eat. I yell to the kids that, ‘tea’s ready, can someone set the table?’ Depending on how hungry a child is, how much they like or dislike the meal, one of them usually gets the job done. Cutlery, glasses, lighting candles.
Tea is our evening meal. Not dinner. Even now the children have outgrown meals at 5pm and we’re more likely to be eating at 7. That’s what it has always been called in my family. Tea. It’s the familial word. Quite frankly I see nothing wrong with it. I have been pulled up on it sometimes. People scoffing. Jokes about class and status and ancestry. But you know, I’m more interested in the fact that we sit together, eat, talk than about whether our evening meal is semantically correct
It’s about being together. Even on those nights we wish we could all storm off to eat in separate rooms. Or when there is steely silence from the teen and tween. It’s about preparing food for those you love. Spending and sharing time with one another. It’s about gathering people from near and far to share food, drink and laughter. And that, in my books is all that counts.
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I’m so confused about what is tea and what is dinner and what is proper and what would make the Crawleys of Downton Abbey faint in their wingback chairs. I love that time of day too. It’s our harkback to gathering around the fire, whether in the forest or in the shantytown shack kitchen. But it’s where we gather. It’s what we’ve always done.
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Naomi Reply:
April 17th, 2012 at 10:38 am
I am fairly certain just having me (and Hubby) in the house would make the residents of Downton faint.
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That made me smile, and laugh at our family! I say, it’s tea if it’s an evening meal just for family, but I call it dinner if we have friends over or I cook something special. Oh, but don’t I sound all posh! The big confusion comes when here in Tassie, especially in some pockets, they call lunch, dinner, and dinner, tea. Then times become specific; as in, “come over for dinner when the sun is highest”, or, “come for dinner after the cows milked and the chooks have roosted”. Yes, it is that parochial. And if you are invited to my house for tea, I will specify if it’s a “cuppa tea” or a “dinner tea”. All that said, one of my favourite places for all tea/dinner consumption is at your table.
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Naomi Reply:
April 17th, 2012 at 10:42 am
I call it dinner if I am with friends, but have decided to own the word tea if possible. Though I do hope friends don’t expect to get cakes and cucumber sandwiches. We’re more the pulled pork and beer kind hosts.
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Here, here. We eat tea. We eat at 7pm (even with little ones) because we like to eat as a family and my hubby doesn’t get home from work until then. It’s amazing what gets solved around the table. One of lifes great pleasures.
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Naomi Reply:
April 17th, 2012 at 11:02 am
Eating a meal together as a family is such a good thing to do. I agree, one of the great pleasures of family life (well, most days)
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Tea was good enough for 99% of us growing up in the 70s and 80s. In my experience the ones that pick you up on it are often the ones that are terrified they’ll be mocked if anyone ever finds out that they haven’t always called it dinner.
Tea, dinner, grub – people should be free to call it what they want as long as everyone gets fed. Why be normal when you can be yourself?
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Naomi Reply:
April 17th, 2012 at 11:04 am
I clearly missed the memo that said tea is now dinner. I missed most of the memos. I think somedays that’s a good thing.
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Rory Reply:
April 17th, 2012 at 11:08 am
There were memos??? I must have been busy that day as well.
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I love having tea with you. Tea of pizza and wine and hot chips is gorgeous.
I love the way you describe this time of day.
xx
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Naomi Reply:
April 17th, 2012 at 10:40 pm
What a tea we had. If only distance allowed it to be done more often. X
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I am afraid I call it dinner, but then I had a posh Dad! But it really doesn’t matter what the meal is called it is the spirit of it that matters most, a family or friends getting together to enjoy an evening meal and digest the day’s happenings,
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Naomi Reply:
April 17th, 2012 at 10:41 pm
Then I have corrupted your son! But you’re right, it’s the spirit that matters.
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Granny MAT Reply:
April 18th, 2012 at 7:18 am
Am I worried about that not a bit …. but the drinking alcohol? Boy! I thought that would never happen, what an unnatural Tiller that boy was!!!! Thanks for corrupting him Naomi.
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Naomi Reply:
April 18th, 2012 at 7:51 pm
I di what I can!
I dread the cooking of dinner (growing up in Canada, we used to call it supper, don’t know when I switched to dinner, but I was always confused when someone called it tea – no matter, it’s all food) but this post has made me feel all warm and fuzzy about it. I’ll try to look at the task with new eyes the next time.
We eat together most nights too. As much as it can be a pain when the older one picks at his food and the little one devours his and asks for seconds, thirds and dessert before we’ve even finished firsts, I know that one day we will all look back on that time together with fond memories.
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Naomi Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 10:02 am
I think it’s the being together that really counts. I know that’s what it is for me, even when it can be a pain.
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I love that there are people out there that still call it “tea”. I think it’s because that’s what my grandparents call it and it reminds me of them. I also love how this post has just made me feel like I’m literally standing in your kitchen at tea time. You write so beautifully xxx
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Naomi Reply:
April 25th, 2012 at 10:45 pm
Thanks Jane. I’m sure some of the reason I still call it tea is some nostalgia.
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