Happy St. Patrick's Day!

My youngest son's patron saint is St. Patrick so we celebrate his name day today.  We read St. Patrick's Breastplate (Lorica), then we had our traditional Colcannon and green frosted cupcakes along with reading this beautiful children's book about St. Patrick.

Perfect day for enjoying some Irish music.  And my son requested to play lots of games today so that's what we're doing.  He even made up a game called "cabbage ball"!

The rules of cabbage ball seem to be somewhat similar to soccer only with a head of cabbage as a ball.  Note: be very careful when kicking a head of cabbage.  They are hard!  We found it best to roll it with the bottom of our feet.  The boys won 2 - 1.  And our chickens got the remains of the cabbage as a treat!

There are various versions of Colcannon, but here is the recipe we use:

Colcannon – An Irish & Scottish Potato & Cabbage Dish

Boil water in a large pot and add:

Peeled Potatoes

Salt & Pepper, to taste

When the potatoes are tender, drain and mash them well.

In a skillet, heat some oil or butter and fry until soft:

1 Onion, Thinly Sliced

1 Head of Cabbage, Thinly Sliced

2 Carrots, Thinly Sliced

Mix the potatoes, onion, cabbage and carrots together and mash them well. Place the mixture in an oiled or buttered casserole dish. Add margarine or butter, salt and pepper, to taste. This can be made earlier in the day and then re-heated in the oven. 

Serve topped with:

A pat of butter, Paprika and/or Fresh Parsley, Minced and/or Fresh Chives, Minced

The Colcannon is best eaten while listening to the Colcannon song.  Erin go Bragh!