Celebrating St. Patrick's Day

Good morning! I hope you all had a good weekend. Phillip went away on a mini business trip, so I deep cleaned the house and put out my spring decorations.


My friend, Tina Leigh was worried I was forgetting about St. Patrick's Day and wanted to see more GREEN! Along with my spring decorations, I have these little figurines...


and the shamrock napkins I made last year. The girls and Benjamin also have some mugs.


And, we can't forget our little pots of gold. A leprechaun always hides them in our backyard, but I don't know anything about that. ;0)

Here is our St. Patrick's Day menu:

-Corned Beef
-Colcannon
-Spinach Salad
-Soda Bread
-Clarice's Chocolate Mousse
-Chocolate cupcakes



Irish Soda Bread

4 cups white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400F. Sift dry ingredients together. Make a well in the center. Add buttermilk and stir together with a wooden spoon. The dough should be thick but not too wet. Turn dough onto a floured surface and form with hands into a round loaf. Place the loaf into a cast iron frying pan or heavy round casserole dish that has been greased with butter. Score the top in the form of a cross with a wet knife. Bake for 40 minutes. Bread should cool for an hour before serving.



Colcannon

1 pound new potatoes, peeled
4 leeks (or one bunch scallions), chopped
1 small cabbage, chopped
Milk (just enough to moisten potatoes)
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon ground thyme
Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook potatoes until tender. Slowly saute the chopped leeks and chopped cabbage separately until soft and limp (but not brown).
Mash the potatoes with a hand masher, then add the leeks and milk and mash together until smooth. Next mash in the cabbage, adding the heavy cream, butter, and thyme; blend well until smooth and fluffy. Season with salt and pepper. Put this mixture into an ovenproof dish and place under broiler to brown.
If the colcannon is prepared up to the point of browning ahead of time, reheat covered with foil in a 350 oven for a half hour. Uncover and brown under broiler.





Have a wonderful start to your week and if you are celebrating, a fun St Patrick's Day!

Wishing you always—
Walls for the wind
And a roof for the rain
And tea beside the fire—
Laughter to cheer you
And those you love near you—
And all that your heart might desire!