Happy St. Patrick's Day

Be sure you enjoy your Corned Beef and Cabbage tomorrow in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Remember to wear your green. St. Patrick's Day is a big day in the United States. It isn't one in Ireland! And, the Irish don't usually serve corned beef, this delicious treat comes to us from Middle Eastern origins! The British used Irish beef preserved this way for export!

Be sure to serve your corned beef and cabbage with yellow mustard and horseradish! You can substitute a good rye bread alongside. Our family would enjoy Beefsteak Rye or a Jewish Rye. Remember that St. Pat's is an American holiday and reflects the melting pot that is our society! If you have leftovers, you can make Ruben sandwiches (a grilled sandwich made with corned beef, sauerkraut, swiss cheese, thousand island dressing).


1 Package of Corned Beef (you can find it at all the grocery stores in the meat section for a limited time)
Put the corned beef in a pot along with the spice package that comes with it. Cover with water (and a bottle of beer, if you wish). Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours. This is where your crock pot comes in handy.

Add to the pot two hours into the cooking (unless you are using the crock pot, then throw it all in together):
1 cabbage washed and quartered (be sure to cut along the stem to hold the leaves together)
1 onion cut in eighth
a hand full of baby carrots, or one big carrot (not too many because the color orange reminds the Irish Catholics of the Orangemen (the Protestant order in Northern Ireland, not to be confused with the Syracuse basketball team) and we wouldn't want to do that! We are talking about a saint's day, here.

Serve with Irish Soda Bread:

Heat oven to 375
Cut together (I use my food processor for this) until the mixture resembles fine crumbs
3T butter softened
2 1/2 C all purpose flour
2T sugar
1t baking soda
1t baking powder
1/2 t salt

Stir in until the dough leaves the side of the bowl:
1/3 C raisins (optional)
3/4 C buttermilk (or one cup milk with a tablespoon of vinegar or substitute yogurt watered down with milk)

Knead 1-2 minutes or until smooth. Shape into a round loaf and cut an "X" in the top. Bake 35-40 minutes.

And a delicious, green accompaniment: Taiwanese Avocado Milk

Blend together:
1/2 gallon milk
4T Honey
4T Maple Syrup
1 Avocado peeled and seeded

your green: to show that you are Irish, everyone is Irish in America on St. Patrick's Day
melting pot: a saying from the 1780s meaning a fusion of nationalities, cultures and ethnicities that become a new society
for a limited time: not available always, this is a seasonal item so be sure to buy a few for your freezer for when you get the crave
comes with it: is included
comes in handy: is convenient
quartered: cut into four pieces
Protestant: Christians who aren't Catholic
order: a society (like a club) who take a vow
here: now
accompaniment: something that goes well with
watered down: diluted, thinned