Wearing of the Green

St. Patrick’s Day is when draft is 50% off and rivers run green, right? Not quite…although I really should leave the history lesson to our dear ZomppaKat who is from the Emerald Isle. St. Patrick’s Day has been celebrated for over 1,000 years as a religious holiday that falls during Lent.

So who was St. Patrick? Known as the patron saint of Ireland, he was actually born in Britain and was taken captive by Irish raiders. Subsequently, according to biography.com, he became a Christian missionary, but rather than try to eradicate native Irish beliefs and culture, he honored and incorporated their traditions into Christianity (i.e. the sun – an Irish symbol – onto the Christian cross, now the Celtic cross, the three-clover shamrock and the Holy Trinity).

St. Patrick recognized the uniqueness of culture, which is dynamic. A recent New York Times article raised an interesting question whether there is such a thing as an “ethnic” or “culture” diet. We’ve heard about diets by blood type, but what about by ethnicity? Author Nicholas Wade talks about certain genetic selection that have to led to differences, such as lactose tolerance in northern European as opposed to many Asians. Sarah Kagan of Epicurious also chimed into the debate. What do you think? Are the Irish genetically disposed to milk and corned beef?

While you’re considering this question, I thought I’d offer my own twist to the traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage. I went to my local Whole Foods, where master butcher Jeremy has been curing his own corned beef…yum.

How could I resist? I’m on this orzo kick and love how the salty beefiness soaks into the fleshy mushroom.

Twisted Corned Beef and Cabbage

1/2 lb. corned beef brisket
1 cabbage
6 peppercorns
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 bunch cilantro
2 bay leaves
2 cloves, whole
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup orzo
4-5 cups stock (vegetable, chicken or beef)

1. Cover corned beef with stock
2. Add cabbage, mushrooms, peppercorns, garlic, bay leaves, cloves pepper and stock
3. Bring to boil
4. Skim off foam and reduce heat. Simmer for 2 hours until meat is tender
5. During last 15 minutes, add orzo and chopped cilantro, cook until orzo is tender

Not traditional, but as St. Patrick did, incorporate, integrate, and celebrate.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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