St. Paddy's Ireland: Fun Facts, Fanciful Finds, and Fabulous Food

Dia Duit!! (dee a gwit)  or Hi!! in Gaelic

Few places have a tourist image so inundated with clich`es as Ireland.  From the shamrocks, shellaleighs and leprechauns to all the legends and lore that surround the lovely Emerlad Isle-most of us go to Ireland with preconceived notions about what to expect.

Ireland is well worth looking beyond the tourist stuff and seeing the gem that it is.  It is a place of scenic pagentry with its lakes, mountains, sea and sky that will make your jaw drop.  From the wind-whipped Donegal to the picture perfect villages of County Cork, the cultural pleasures of Dublin to the mile high Cliff's of Moher, there are plenty of places to get out and explore the outdoors by surfing, cycling, hiking, or biking.

Dublin, Cork and Belfast will delight you with the varying experiences of culture, food, and fun.  Everything is available from top-notch restaurants, foot-stomping pubs with local traditional music, boundless historic areas through out the country, countless medieval castles and powerful political murals.

Everywhere you go you find the wonderful Irish people who thrill you with the lilt of their language and the kindness in their smile. 

Here are a few of the places and things I loved about visiting Ireland:

Dublin:  I started my journey here and fell in love with the people and the city immediately.  After spending a few days in the city I decided, "I could live here!"  Of course, my family probably wouldn't have liked that idea very much.  There were so many sights to see in the area that even with the 3 days I was in the city I barely touched the surface of what it had to offer me.  I did get to eat some great food and listen to some wonderful traditional music in the Temple Bar area and walked the ground of Trinity College.

The Ring of Kerry:  Also a must see!!  I wasn't brave enough to drive my rental car around the ring myself, but I did take a guided tour.  I have to say the tour was well worth it.  My tour operator was absolutely fabulous, funny and very informative.  It also left me with the ability to see the sights and not worry about wether I was going to run off the road, down the cliffside and into the waiting waves below.

There were several other areas that I visited that were exciting and interesting and full of all the great things I came to expect from the lovely Ireland.  These were just the two I wanted to highlight today.

While in Ireland I found plenty of wonderful things to bring back home that you just can't get here in the states. One of my favorite things were the wool products from the Aran Islands. You can find them here at the Aran Sweater Market.

Naturally Irish prodcuts are a collection of perfumes and soaps that are handmade in Ireland with the wonderful scents of Heather and Lavender and Rose among other delightful scents.

The food throughout Ireland was to die for, but probably the most loved with Irish stew with Irish Soda Bread.

Every Irish household has their own version of this famous dish-so here's mine. I like to add chunky pieces of parsnip for a little sweetness, and fresh rosemary gives it a distinct flavour and aroma. If you use a tougher cut of meat, you can leave it to simmer longer before adding the potatoes. Fantastic on a cold, blustery day!

Irish Stew Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 1 parsnip, peeled and cut into large chunks (optional)
• 4 cups water, or as needed
• 3 large potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary (optional)
• 1 cup coarsely chopped leeks
• chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large stockpot or Dutch oven. Add lamb pieces and cook, stirring gently, until evenly browned. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Add the onion, carrots, and parsnips and cook gently alongside the meat for a few minutes. Stir in the water. Cover and bring to a boil before turning the heat down to low. Simmer for 1 hour or longer, depending on the cut of meat you used and if it is tender yet.
3. Stir in potatoes, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, before adding leeks and rosemary. Continue to simmer uncovered, until potatoes are tender but still whole. Serve piping hot in bowls garnished with fresh parsley.               

Some Fun Facts that you might not know about Ireland:

Ireland is the only country where windmills turn clockwise.  (Have you ever thought about which way the windmills turn?  Until now that is!)
Ireland is a snake-free zone--there are no indigenous snakes in Ireland. Thanks to St. Patrick-St. Patrick’s Day is a day to celebrate the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick. Although St. Patrick was known to have been either a Welsh or Scottish man, he came to Ireland as a young man. Legend has it that St. Patrick drove all snakes from Ireland. (The perfect place for me!)

Dublin dyes it's river Green in honor of St. Patrick's Day.

O m'anam (oh muh anim) From My Heart!!

Heather B

Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 to 4 1/2 cups flour
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°. Whisk together 4 cups of flour, the sugar, salt, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl. Using your (clean) fingers (or two knives or a pastry cutter), work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal, then add in the raisins.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add beaten egg and buttermilk to well and mix in with a wooden spoon until dough is too stiff to stir.

Dust hands with a little flour, then gently knead dough in the bowl just long enough to form a rough ball. If the dough is too sticky to work with, add in a little more flour. Do not over-knead!

Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a round loaf. Note that the dough will be a little sticky, and quite shaggy (a little like a shortcake biscuit dough). You want to work it just enough so that the flour is just moistened and the dough just barely comes together. Shaggy is good. If you over-knead, the bread will end up tough.

Transfer dough to a large, lightly greased cast-iron skillet or a baking sheet (it will flatten out a bit in the pan or on the baking sheet). Using a serrated knife, score top of dough about an inch and a half deep in an "X" shape. The purpose of the scoring is to help heat get into the center of the dough while it cooks.

Transfer to oven and bake until bread is golden and bottom sounds hollow when tapped, about 35-45 minutes. (If you use a cast iron pan, it may take a little longer as it takes longer for the pan to heat up than a baking sheet.) Check for doneness also by inserting a long, thin skewer into the center. If it comes out clean, it's done.

Hint 1: If the top is getting too dark while baking, tent the bread with some aluminum foil.
Hint 2: If you use a cast iron skillet to cook the bread in the oven, be very careful when you take the pan out. It's easy to forget that the handle is extremely hot. Cool the handle with an ice cube, or put a pot holder over it.

Remove pan or sheet from oven, let bread sit in the pan or on the sheet for 5-10 minutes, then remove to a rack to cool briefly. Serve bread warm, at room temperature, or sliced and toasted. Best when eaten warm and just baked.