La Cena del Domingo
(The Sunday Dinner)
Todos los domingos, la familia Navarro se reunia en casa de la abuela Carmen para comer juntos.
Every Sunday, the Navarro family gathered at grandmother Carmen's house to eat together.
Era una tradición que llevaban manteniendo durante mas de veinte años.
It was a tradition they had been keeping for more than twenty years.
La abuela siempre preparaba una paella enorme, aunque cada vez le costaba mas estar de pie en la cocina.
The grandmother always prepared an enormous paella, although each time it was harder for her to stand in the kitchen.
De hecho, sus hijos le decian que deberia descansar, pero ella insistia en que la cocina era su territorio.
In fact, her children told her she should rest, but she insisted that the kitchen was her territory.
Aquel domingo, sin embargo, algo fue diferente.
That Sunday, however, something was different.
Cuando los Navarro llegaron a la casa, no habia ningun olor a comida.
When the Navarros arrived at the house, there was no smell of food.
La puerta estaba abierta, pero la cocina estaba vacia.
The door was open, but the kitchen was empty.
Encontraron a la abuela Carmen sentada en el jardín, leyendo una revista con una taza de café.
They found grandmother Carmen sitting in the garden, reading a magazine with a cup of coffee.
He decidido que hoy no cocino, anuncio con una sonrisa tranquila.
I have decided that today I am not cooking, she announced with a calm smile.
Me gustaria que cocinarais vosotros.
I would like you all to cook.
Al principio, nadie supo como reaccionar.
At first, nobody knew how to react.
El padre, Antonio, miro a su mujer, Elena, como si esperara que ella tomara el mando.
The father, Antonio, looked at his wife, Elena, as if he expected her to take charge.
No obstante, Elena tampoco sabia cocinar muy bien.
Nevertheless, Elena did not know how to cook very well either.
El hijo mayor, Diego, propuso que pidieran comida a domicilio, pero la abuela nego con la cabeza.
The eldest son, Diego, suggested they order takeaway, but the grandmother shook her head.
Quiero que lo intenteis.
I want you to try.
Hay arroz, verduras y pollo en la nevera.
There is rice, vegetables and chicken in the fridge.
Es decir, todo lo necesario.
That is to say, everything you need.
Lo que siguio fue un desastre encantador.
What followed was a charming disaster.
Antonio quemo el arroz dos veces.
Antonio burned the rice twice.
Elena corto las verduras en trozos tan grandes que parecian piedras.
Elena cut the vegetables into pieces so large they looked like rocks.
Diego, por su parte, echo tanta sal al pollo que nadie podria haberselo comido.
Diego, for his part, added so much salt to the chicken that nobody could have eaten it.
La hija pequeña, Lucia, que tenia doce años, fue la unica que hizo algo bien: preparo una ensalada sencilla con tomate y aceite de oliva.
The youngest daughter, Lucia, who was twelve years old, was the only one who did something well: she prepared a simple salad with tomato and olive oil.
La abuela lo observaba todo desde su silla del jardín, riendose en silencio.
The grandmother watched everything from her garden chair, laughing silently.
Al final, se sentaron todos a la mesa con la comida que habian preparado.
In the end, they all sat down at the table with the food they had prepared.
El arroz estaba un poco negro, las verduras estaban duras y el pollo era imposible de comer.
The rice was a little black, the vegetables were hard and the chicken was impossible to eat.
Solo la ensalada de Lucia estaba buena.
Only Lucia's salad was good.
Aun así, todos se reian y hablaban a la vez.
Even so, everyone was laughing and talking at the same time.
La abuela Carmen levanto su copa de vino y dijo: A lo mejor la comida no esta perfecta, pero esta es la mejor cena del domingo que hemos tenido en años.
Grandmother Carmen raised her glass of wine and said: Perhaps the food is not perfect, but this is the best Sunday dinner we have had in years.
Lo importante es que estemos juntos.
The important thing is that we are together.
Desde aquel día, cada miembro de la familia cocinaba un plato diferente los domingos.
From that day on, each family member cooked a different dish on Sundays.
La comida mejoro con el tiempo, aunque Antonio seguia quemando el arroz de vez en cuando.
The food improved over time, although Antonio kept burning the rice from time to time.
Key Vocabulary
reunirse to gather, to get together
costar (le cuesta) to be difficult/hard (for someone)
negar con la cabeza to shake one's head (lit. to deny with the head)
a domicilio to one's home, home delivery
de vez en cuando from time to time
la nevera the fridge
el trozo the piece, the chunk
mejorar to improve, to get better