It is Good to Be Irish on Saint Patrick’s Day

I am quietly proud of my Irish heritage… my Father’s grandparents came to Canada from Ireland and started a large and raucous family and I love to hear the stories, and look at the old family photos.  I recall that there was always plenty of fighting and drinking, music for dancing, and lots of laughter and love.  My own paternal Grandpa smoked a pipe and talked with a brogue, and he was hearty and rough, and I was always a bit in awe of him.

We have always celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day, of course. And it is the one day of the year I know I can count on hearing from my younger brother… even though our parents are gone, and the family is scattered so we are not together often, it connects us to each other. 

I love to celebrate in our home, by preparing a simple Irish meal for The Captain.  Sometimes, it is an Irish Stew with a nice soda bread and a pint of dark red beer (no Guinness for me) and sometimes it might be a more American “Irish” dish… a corned beef brisket with cabbage, and a potato bread.

This year, it will be a cottage pie and a wee drop of Irish Whiskey.  Ah… to be Irish on Saint Paddy’s Day… don’t you know there is nothing quite like it?

Here is are some Irish Recipes you might enjoy:

Irish Beef Stew in the Crock Pot

Irish Wheat-Free Potato Bread

Irish Brown Soda Bread

Shamrock Soft Serve

And here is another little something for you foodies to think about…

"Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and fat."

By Alex Levine

 

A wee bit of whiskey, a little more coffee, with sweetened whipped cream on the top.

How are you celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day?

Shamrock Soft Serve

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day

 

This is the only day of the year where the world turns green and everyone claims some ties to being Irish…. well, I have always been proud of  my Irish heritage.  My paternal grandfather was an Orangeman and we have always celebrated our Celtish roots.

 

But no Shamrock Shake or even dark red beer for me this year… so I decided to celebrate with a Shamrock Soft Serve instead.

 

It was so easy....  I just put a handful (about 1 cup) of fresh spinach into the bowl of my food processor with a splash (about 2 Tbs) of unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze and set it to whizz until the spinach was cut up into small bits… then I tossed in a cu-tup frozen banana and pureed the works for a couple of minutes.
 
It is delicious!  Sweet from the banana but no banana flavor at all… or spinach either.
 
Weight Watchers P+ = 3.
Calories 120; Protein 2g; Carbohydrate 29g; Fat 1g; Fibre 4g.

Just look at that awesome color!

 

How are you celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day?

A Wee Taste of Ireland

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Somehow having the 17th land on a Saturday, makes the whole idea of Saint Paddy's Day much more festive!

Last year I made a traditional brown Irish soda bread instead of  white, raisin-filled soda bread. And we liked it so much, and it was so easy, that we are having it again this year.  It tastes much like a whole wheat yeast bread and rises up so nicely... I like to slice it in wedges though to make it more traditional, and serve it buttered.

Irish Brown Soda Bread

And I made up an Irish beef stew and let it simmer in the crock pot all day while we went for our 6 mile run and took part in some other activities.  Normally when I make a beef stew I use crushed tomatoes, but I didn't have any on hand so I used diced tomatoes instead, and pureed them in the blender before putting them in the crock pot.  Either way, the P+ values are going to be the same.

To assemble the meal, I steamed some fresh green beans to serve alongside the stew and the bread.  Wonderful!

Irish Beef Stew in the Crock Pot
Makes 4 servings

• 1 pound stewing beef, cubed
• 1/2 envelope dry onion soup mix 
• 1-1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes,  pureed in blender
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1-1/2 cups carrots, cut in 1/2" lengths
• 2 cups potatoes,  cut in chunks
• 1 cup onion, sliced vertically 

1. Layer carrots, potatoes, onions, beef cubes, onion soup mix, tomatoes, water, salt and pepper in slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours.
3. Ladle into 4 bowls to serve.

Per serving.
Weight Watchers P+ = 8.
Calories 339; Protein 36g; Carbohydrate 30g; Fat 7g; Fibre 5g.

All stew ingredients in the slow cooker and ready to start.

8 hours later, ready to serve.

Cut and butter some bread wedges, steam some fresh green beans.

Happy Meal!

Printable Recipe

Have a wonderful, Happy and Green Day!