When do you serve lunch?

For anyone who has travelled around the United States, it is not uncommon to have the mid-day meal referred to by a variety of different names. Most folks in the southern states refer to the midday meal as either lunch or dinner. What is the difference?


Well both meals occur at the noon hour, so how could you tell one from the other?

I have always been a bit confused about this difference in terminology and so I went to that bastion of knowledge, the Merriam Webster dictionary (on line version).

Lunch
Etymology: probably short for luncheon
Date: 1812
1: a
usually light meal ; especially : one taken in the middle of the day

Dinner
Etymology: Middle English diner, from Anglo-French disner,
diner meal, from disner to dine
Date: 13th century
1 a: the principal
meal of the day b: a formal feast or banquet

Supper
Etymology:
Middle English soper, from Anglo-French super, from super to
sup

Date: 13th century
1 a: the evening
meal especially when dinner is taken at midday b: a social affair featuring a
supper ; especially : an evening social especially for raising funds
2:
the food served as a supper 3: a light meal served late in the evening

Well that seems to clear things up nicely now doesn’t it.

So if you drop by the clinic and catch me in the middle of the day eating a sandwich at my desk, then you have stopped by for lunch. However, if you find me at home on the weekend and we are having grilled chicken and oven vegetables then it is likely that you have come for dinner. Clearly when you come by in the evening we are having supper no matter the form or content of the meal.

This all seems perfectly clear until I went to the local Masonic lodge meeting. Lodge get’s started at 8 pm, and afterward they have a small light meal. During the meeting we talked about an upcoming event that was to take place in the evening in two weeks. We were going to have a speaker and everyone was talking about the timing of the lunch break. I must admit I was confused about the timing of the events. It was clear to me I had misunderstood when things were going to be taking place, and I was a bit sad since I clearly could attend since it would take place around lunch. It was all very confusing to me since everyone was clearly referring to an evening meeting (the lodge will open at 7:30 pm and the speaker will start at 8:15 and we will break for lunch at 8:45).

My confusion deepened when at the end of the lodge meeting they asked me to stay for some lunch. Understand the time was 9:30 pm, and I had already had supper with Nancy earlier that day, and lunch had consisted of a sandwich and some havarti cheese in the clinic around noontime. I stayed because my curiosity was high, and in very short order small sandwiches appeared as did small cookies and cakes and everyone sat down and had a social gathering over this meal with tea and coffee.

As I left that night, I figured that this was just one of the crazy local things. They referred to the morning meal as breakfast, everyone seemed to refer to the midday meal as dinner, and the evening as supper. This makes obvious the idea that the cafeteria served a hot dinner at noon (i.e. something freshly cooked and warm such as seven layer dinner), and a cold supper at 5 pm(i.e. soup, salad, wraps and such). Lunch must be when you have sandwiches. However, I have come to find out from very reliable sources that lunch has no real time and instead refers to the meal that occurs after an evening of socialization.

It does not refer to a light meal as Mr Webster implies, rather on the island it refers to the meal that happens after supper. These meals may be simple such as that of the lodge, or they may be very elaborate happenings. In fact, in the winter when folks seem to socialize more (since the weather does not permit much outside activity) people will gather for cards or some other function. Often a lunch will follow before everyone goes home. When the group convenes next, the hostess will serve something completely different, and often a bit more elaborate than the previous week. By the end of winter these lunches can take on the scope of a rather grand buffet and everyone is leaving the party feeling very full and very happy.

So there you have it, the fourth meal of the day, the meal before bedtime, or the meal when at work. Lunch it is more interesting than you could possibly imagine. Learn more about lunch, supper, and dinner at Wikipedia. You can also see the entire meal series at Wikipedia.

Seven layer what?

I have heard of seven layer cake, seven layer dip, and even seven layer salads. What I have never heard of is seven layer dinner. That’s right, seven layer dinner.

Why do I mention this?

Well, yesterday evening when I was on call at the hospital, I wandered down to the cafeteria for a little something extra to go along with my homemade sandwich. I was hoping for a little soup or something along those lines. As usual I inquired about the offerings for the evening and was told that they had barley soup, homemade pizza, and seven layer dinner. I guess my face did not hide my complete and utter ignorance, because the ladies in the kitchen all chuckled at the queer face I must have been making.

Seven layer dinner?

Yes I had heard them correctly, it was in fact seven layer dinner. What pray tell is seven layer dinner you ask? Well let me tell you friends it is nothing like seven layer cake. The seven layers of the dinner refer to the layers of ingredients with which you line the casserole dish. In the case of our hospital, the kitchen had chosen the fresh veggies that are currently available throughout the countryside at any of the many roadside stands. It begins with potato halves, then green beans followed by bell peppers, corn, peas, macaroni noodles, tomatoes, and ground beef. When it is dished up it looks a lot like any other casserole you have ever seen. Since I had never heard of such a thing, I immediately went to Google to find out more about this culinary invention, and I found several different versions of the same basic process. Like any good recipe it is easily modified, and so I found the following options for the dinners.
1 c. rice

1 c. whole kernel corn

1/2 (5 oz.) can tomato sauce

Salt and pepper

1/4 c. chopped onion

1/4 c. chopped green peppers

1/2 (5 oz.) can tomato sauce

3/4 to 1 lb. ground beef, partially cooked

4 to 6 strips of bacon on top

1 1/2 lbs. hamburger

1 c. green beans, drained

1 c. kernel corn, drained

1 c. sweet peas, drained

6 servings of instant mashed potatoes

1 c. spaghetti sauce

Salt & pepper

2 c. sliced potatoes

1 c. sliced carrots

1 c. chopped onion

1 lb. hamburger - browned

Salt and pepper to taste

1/3 c. raw rice

1 c. chopped celery

1/2 c. chopped green pepper

1 qt. tomatoes

1/2 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
3 potatoes, sliced
1 onion, sliced into rings
2 carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 (15 ounce) can green peas, with liquid
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
1 (10.75 ounce) can water
1 pound pork sausage, sliced and browned
salt and pepper to taste

As you can see, there are many options for the seven layers of deliciousness that could have come you way in the cafeteria, but I having a sandwich already opted for the barley soup in a cup.

While on the subject, I should make it very clear that life in a small town hospital is infinitely more fun than you would possibly expect. For instance, the cafeteria is run by the same ladies who have been there for ages, and all the meals are made from scratch using as much local produce, meat etc as possible. The meals, while different from the fare of Texas, are none the less satisfying and very good. The next nice thing is that in very short order you know absolutely everyone in the place, and there are no longer any strangers. You see these folks whenever you are out and about in town, and when you are out for a walk on the trail. Each and every one of them is ready and willing to help you with anything in which you might be interested.

As an example, I am very interested in getting some wool sweaters made prior to the arrival of winter. The woolen mill where we had gone came across two sweaters that they thought might fit me, and so when Nancy ran into the manager in the grocery, she mentioned this to her. She had put them back and was preparing to call me at the clinic to let me know that she had them and I should come try them on. During their conversation, they realized that with my schedule I would not be by the mill for some time, so they gave the sweaters to Nancy to bring to me for fitting. Understand that these are fantastic sweaters that are probably worth $300 or more in the states, and they just handed them over and said give them a try. We did in fact try them on and I am keeping one of them, a pullover that is very nice. We have looked at some other places for sweaters, but they are all marked up far too much for my taste, so I put the word out that I would be interested in “commissioning” some sweaters from any of the knitters in town. I have several names which I will be going through this week to see who has the time and inclination to knit some sweaters for me this year. I can assure you they will be very warm, very pretty and a whole lot less than the ones in the store.

Very soon I will post some photos of the hospital on the blog so you can get a better feel for my life north of the 40th parallel.