st. patrick's day

Before I begin, allow me to offer a wee disclaimer: I’m not Irish. Not even a little bit. But I did go to Notre Dame, have never met an Irishman I haven’t liked, and love drinking holidays, which, when you think about it, is basically any holiday if you want it to be.

I also like holiday foods and the fact that my kids are still young enough to get swept up in my concocted celebrations and thereby more likely to try new things to eat. This past Mardi Gras, I made a lovely jambalaya for my family and since it was food for a fest, my kids gobbled it up. Had I made jambalaya on a random Tuesday night, you’d better believe I would still be eating the leftovers.

photo credit: Zazzle.com"May you have the hindsight to know where you've been, the foresight to know where you are going, and the insight to know when you have gone too far.”

Leave it to an Irish blessing to anticipate overindulgence! Though my Morgan roots came originally from Scotland, my maternal grandmother and great-grandmother – O’Keefe and Brennan respectively – handed down some definite ideas about how an Irish lass such as myself might honor St. Patrick.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, a post about buying food that's local to Ireland. Found a great post from the Value Ireland website, quoting Irish Minister for State Tony Killeen. Here's a quote from Value Ireland:

“I would ask consumers to purchase local this year in solidarity with domestic producers who like everyone else have felt the effects of the economic recession,” stated the Minister of State.