Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Living Well with the Carrie Connection

OTHER RECIPES AVAILABLE IN OUR PRINT EDITION. ed

St. Patrick's Day is the Irish holiday honoring the missionary Saint Patrick, who is credited with converting the Irish to Christianity around 400 A.D., though this is not what most people think of when someone mentions St. Patrick's Day.

The color green, shamrocks, leprechauns, four leaf clovers and that lucky pot 'o gold are what most people associate with this day. People all around the world celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

On March 17 it seems everyone is Irish. It is a day to wear green, have a good time and, of course, to eat. But what do you eat on this special day?

If your idea of celebrating St. Patrick's Day is to squirt some green food coloring in food, you don't know what you've been missing. This year prepare a feast that will make your family look forward to St. Patrick's Day as much as they do to Thanksgiving.

Don't let cooking a corned beef brisket scare you. It's very simple and does not require much fuss. Corned beef briskets come already cured and ready to cook. Most even come with their own little plastic bag of seasonings you can add to the cooking water.

Corned beef is simply a cut of beef that has been cured in a pickling solution, or brine. It's a tender cut of meat that is well marbled and very tender. The vegetables cooked along with the meat are usually carrots, cabbage and potatoes. The meat is simply boiled along with the vegetables, then removed, shredded and returned to the pot.

The corned beef and vegetables recipe included in this article is a little different from the rest; green beans and fresh corn are added giving it more appeal.

Leftover corned beef can be used in a variety of ways. Shred the meat and cook it with diced potatoes and cooked cabbage to make a hash. The classic Reuben sandwich combines leftover corned beef, rye bread and Swiss cheese.

If corned beef is not a family favorite, don't worry, luck's on your side.

Other dishes can easily be prepared to stay with the green theme that will compliment any main dish you would like to serve.

Mashed potatoes are wonderful with fresh or frozen spinach, collard greens or kale mixed in. Make the mashed potatoes as you normally would and simply stir the cooked greens into the potatoes. Not only are they pretty to look at, but they are much healthier as well. Serve them with grilled chicken or pork chops (you can sprinkle a little parsley on the meat prior to serving to add a touch of green).

One Irish saying goes, "Nm geal an gaite ach san amt a mbmonnan biadh!" or "Laughter is gayest where the food is best!" But the day's celebration doesn't have to include artery busting traditionally fatty foods. After all, many foods long traditional in the Irish diet  cabbage, carrots, parsnips, kale and potatoes  rank among the most nutritious. But they tend to get ruined by being doused with cream and butter, adding unneeded fat and cholesterol to otherwise healthy foods.

So keep those Irish eyes smiling and let the healthy recipes below, modified from their high-fat versions, steal your heart away. For it ain't no blarney that any lass or lad can easily eat healthy, even on this day of traditionally unhealthy fare.

IRISH SODA BREAD

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 to 1= cups buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Sift the flour, soda and salt together into a deep mixing bowl. Gradually add one cup of buttermilk, mixing with a large spoon until the dough is firm enough to be gathered into a large ball. If the dough crumbles, add some more of the buttermilk, a tablespoon at a time, until the particles adhere.

Place the dough on a lightly floured board, and pat and shape it into a flat circular loaf about eight inches in diameter and 1= to 2 inches thick. Set the loaf on a floured baking sheet. With the tip of a small knife, cut a =-inch deep cross into the dough, dividing the top of the loaf into quarters.

Bake the bread in the middle of the oven for about 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and wrap in a clean cloth and let cool on a wire rack for about 20 minutes. Makes one eight-inch round loaf.