The Kitchen Table . . .

I read somewhere recently, and was amazed to learn, that most families today don’t even own a kitchen table. In these present-day times it would seem that the table has outworn it’s usefulness and many families just don’t see the need for one anymore. Our homes are smaller so space is tight and at a premium. With mother and father both working, and kids involved in many outside activities, families are so busy that most don’t even eat a meal together nowadays and if they do, more often than not, it’s eaten from their laps in front of the telly.



For as long as I can remember the kitchen table has been an integral and important part of my life. Back, where I come from, the kitchen table is the first place people sit down at when they come a-visitin and the most common place used for entertaining guests. Anyone who comes to the home is made welcome, sat down at the table and the tea cups and cakes are brought out pronto. It would be a sacrilege for someone to come to call and tea and cakes or some other form of refreshment not to be offered!



The kitchen table has long been a symbol of welcome and comfort to me, and I’ve sat around many a kitchen table in my day chatting with friends, playing card games, eating meals, planning things, having meetings, writing in my journal, painting, sewing, mending, etc. I just don’t know what I’d do without one and I cannot imagine a family without one!



Covered in oilcloth, my table has always been a handy extra countertop . . . a place where I can roll out my pie dough, cookie dough or knead the bread that all too often turns out like a doorstop for me! My ex-husband always used to make our bread for the family. With five growing hungry kids that meant plenty of bread, and he used to make our kitchen table fair dance out the door with all his kneading and pummelling of the dough . . . it was the best bread around.



I have fond childhood memories of standing next to my grandmother’s kitchen table and watching her as she worked . . . humming songs under her breath, her busy and capable hands tending to the business at hand, with always the treat of a scrap of potato, or dough or a gentle look and smile coming my way from time to time, the air full of flour and the sound of her crisp crackling apron . . . feeling surrounded with love and purpose.



My kitchen table has always been “the” meeting place at the end of the day where my family gathered together to break bread and share our day's experiences with each other. Suppertime together was a rule and nobody daren’t miss it, with very few excuses accepted. We would all sit around the table and, hands held, share a prayer together before the meal would be dug into and happy voices would begin to chatter and share tales and adventures of the day just experienced. Joy and laughter abounded and sometimes even a few tears, the feeling of love surrounding us with a thick and tangible presence that you could almost touch.

Most evenings, as I washed the dishes after supper, I could count on looking over at the table and seeing heads bent over books and paper as my kids did their homework together, under my watchful eye, with only the odd reminder and admonition from me to get at it and leave their brother/sister alone.

The table was where we played games together . . . monopoly, risk, checkers, dominos; cards . . . are only a few. What wonderful days those were when the air rang with the sound of laughter and playful teasing . . . and once again, abundant love.



I just don’t know how any family could get along without a kitchen table. The very idea seems foreign and almost sacrilegious to me, almost as if an integral part of family life is missing. Although there are only two of us, Todd and I still gather together at the kitchen table at least once a day, and hold hands and pray before we share a meal together. Because of the hours I work, it might not always be in the evening, but rare is the day where we don’t sit together at it at least once during the day and spend some time together, being a family, as small as it is . . . Jess often laying at our feet. I could live without my sofa . . . but I could never live without my table!



I got this recipe many moons ago from an old cookbook of mine called “Food that Schmecks” written by Edna Staebler. The recipes coming from many of her friends in Mennonite country in Canada, probably most of which were handwritten on scraps of paper at the kitchen table. I have made this so many times through the years and it has been adapted and changed to suit our tastes that it is no longer her recipe anymore, it’s now become mine . . . family food . . . the glue that sticks us all together, along with the kitchen table . . .



*Frankfurter Cheese Bake*

Serves 2 to 3 depending on how hungry you are

Printable Recipe

This is comfort food, pure and simple. It’s full of lovely flavour and is a real family pleaser. The amounts given here are for two or three but it is very easily doubled or even tripled. It’s something you can just throw together at the end of a busy day and it makes good use of things most of us have in our larders at any given time, or at least I do anyways. Perfect for when someone just drops by and you say to them “Won’t you stay and set a spell? I’ll put something good on for us to eat.” You need nothing more than a salad and some good crusty bread to go with it.

¼ pound egg noodles, cooked and drained (Over here I use mafalda pasta)
3/4 to 1 cup of grated medium to strong cheddar cheese (I always use the full amount, but then, I am a glutton)
1 heaping TBS plain flour
Pinch salt
½ cup milk
2 TBS melted butter
1 package smoked frankfurters, sliced
2 TBS soft dark brown sugar
2 TBS mayonnaise
1 tsp good mustard, more often than not I use Dijon

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/375*F. Butter a small shallow casserole dish and set aside.

Combine the cheese, flour, and salt in a medium sized bowl. Stir in the milk and melted butter. Add the noodles, mixing well. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish.

Mix together the sliced frankfurters, sugar, mayonnaise and mustard. Mix together well and then spoon evenly on top of the noodle mixture. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 20 to25 minutes, until the frankfurters are starting to crisp up some and the whole mixture is bubbly and lightly browned.

For a kicked up version of egg and chips, or a nice light supper or breakfast, pop on over to my Kitchen to see what I cooked up there!