Tell Me Over Tea: A Childhood Meal That Feels Like Comfort
These are your precious stories.
Last week I shared a story about baked beans and cheese jaffles cooked on the open fire and how thinking about that simple meal brings me so many feelings of comfort.
I also mentioned the new story sharing project: Tell Me Over Tea, was going to start and that I’d be sharing some of the stories here (and also over on Instagram).
Well, here are some snippets of those stories that some of you kindly shared. I enjoyed reading each one and I hope you do too.
The question was:
What childhood meal brings you comfort?
Mashed potatoes and veggies on a volcano with butter and Vegemite on top.
Rice with milk and sugar.
Hot chocolate.
Hot Aniseed.
The cups used. Our kitchen lined with pine boards The red enamel kettle on the wood stove. Dad putting an extra spoon of sugar on his rice. Feeling warm and satisfied and safe.
*** I asked about the hot aniseed and discovered that it was a Dutch drink (my friend’s dad is Dutch) called Anijsmelk. It’s made with hot milk, a little honey or sugar and anise which was bought in ‘blocks’ that dissolved in the milk.
Marianna shared a link with me and we both read that the blocks are now a thing of the past and in their place are sachets of anise powder. The article said that the blocks stopped because the machine they were manufactured on broke! That made us giggle. Ummm, fix the machine!
This was her response after reading that article:
Oh my gosh! No more blocks! Only sachets? Would you believe I actually have some of the blocks here #hoarder. They were in a jar I got from mum recently. The smell takes me right back to our kitchen, at that table, sipping hot aniseed, all cosy and content.
Marianna
Dad’s chicken pasta bake and potato and leek soup.
Every time we went on a holiday to Aunty Kim’s you’d always let me help cook and bake. My favourites were the bacon and olive oil pasta, Italian chocolate cake, lemon tart and chocolate self saucing pudding. I can still smell the kitchen every time I think of it.
Katie
Large super thin pancakes sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar rolled up while warm so the sugar melts and drips all over your hands when you bite into them. Growing up in South Africa it is a common treat but my mum would sometimes make a whole pile so it became the meal. My kids also prefer the big thin pancakes, although they grew up in Australia.
Maria
Mum's spaghetti bolognese (still is my favourite meal). Sitting around the table with a glass of milk for all us 5 kids. Adding lots of parmesan cheese. Laughing at Gerard separating the mince and pasta as he would never eat the pasta.
Mariclare
I too absolutely loved easy weekend meals over the fire - toasted crumpets on a Sunday afternoon on the open fire in the living room. My dad made a toasting fork in his down time at work. I now have the toasting fork and it's still a favourite now I have children - we pull out piles of plates, butter and jam on the coffee table with a pot of tea and take it in turns to toast crumpets using dad's toasting fork on our fire.
Michaela
Spaghetti bolognese with nana’s apple crumble. One particular memory was when we lived down the coast. Dad and mum sometimes left Josh and I at Nana’s and she would make us spaghetti bolognese and apple crumble and then we’d watch the Wizard of Oz. The house felt warm and happy.
Jess
Pancakes with lemon and sugar, cooked on the BBQ. Soft boiled eggs with toast fingers (especially in bed when I was sick). Savoury rice. Sukiyaki!
From about 14 or so, I started cooking, ratatouille, veggie bake, cauliflower mornay. Most of my childhood memories are not very positive. The eggs in bed was about getting some special attention and feeling cared for. With 3 children within 2.5 years (and the youngest disabled), there wasn't much attention. BBQs were for visitors, often extended family. So that was nice. And the teenage dishes were about autonomy; learning how to cook, and making things that I really liked, experimenting. We'd had mostly ordinary food (meat and 4 veg) during childhood, per that era. It was exciting learning how to read recipes, and how to use the "novel" veggies we sold in the shop where we lived when I was 12-13. (The recipe books were also from the shop!).
Jen
If you have a story to add to this lovely collection around childhood comfort meals and the memories around them, please hit reply. I’d love to share yours too.
Next week we’ll have another question for Tell Me Over Tea!
Have a lovely week!
PS If you’d like make a start with writing your own personal life stories and don’t feel sure where to begin, please know you are very welcome to grab my free Beginner’s Guide to Turn One Memory into a Written Treasure:
If you do happen to be new here, hi there! I'm Kim, and I love to share stories of home and childhood, and the moments that connect me with the people and places I love so much. I have a passion for encouraging you to write your own life stories down too and I have a new offering to help women do just that: Little Life Stories. I also have a free Beginner’s Guide to Turn One Memory into a Written Treasure: grab the guide here.
I also love the good old-fashioned art of letter writing, in particular, and of course, all things stationery. I have a gorgeous letter writing group for women, called: The Lovely Letters Project.
I write about the connection between my precious Nan and I, in a letter bundle here: Dear Nan.
I share all of these things over on Instagram, Pinterest and my website.
It’s really lovely to meet you!
Already part of the club? Welcome back! Love you long time! Hit that reply button to let me know you’re here. ◡̈ xox
