's St. 's Day motd March 17, 2011

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MORNING TO YA'!

Thursday, 17 March 2011

My father was one-third Irish so St.

's Day was always a big day in our home back in

New Orleans. My dad told us the story of how St.

drove all of the snakes out of Ireland which

has lead to this holiday. Hmmm, I wonder what all of

those snakes were doing in Ireland, anyway. Wait,

I know. They must have really liked the taste

of those four-leaf clovers. LOL.

At our house, of course it was important that

we wear green on St. 's Day. One St. Paddy's

Day, my brother, Lenny and I wore green ties to school

instead of our usual khaki-colored ones. On another

St. 's Day, we wore these cute little green

vests adorned with four-leaf clovers. My father had a

green St. 's Day hat with a couple of orange

and brown feathers tucked in the side. He was so

dapper and reminded me of a grown-up Pan when he

wore it. LOL.

And our St. 's Day fun was not complete without

a traditional Irish dinner. It would include my dad's

delicious corned beef & cabbage, white potatoes

and for dessert, we'd have a bright green lime

sherbert with a few cookies on the side.

My father's extensive record collection included a

number of Irish songs like Danny Boy and When

Irish Eyes Are Smiling. He'd play those songs

and even speak in an Irish brogue for us on St.

's Day. Oh, my father was such a fun and

fascinating man.

Now I don't know if you're going to be

wearing green but what you should do today

is...eat green. I know I will! So let's

see, what do I have in the kitchen to fit my need to

eat green? I've got it. I'll start with a

tasty green salad and I have plenty of salad fixings

in the fridge to make it.

I'll begin with some romaine lettuce then add

cucumbers, spinach, watercress and avocado. By the

way, have you ever tried watercress? It's like

parsley with a little bit of a horseradish bite so you

get a spicy kick with each bite. In England, they

even make watercress sandwiches.

Oh yeah, I have some string beans in the kitchen,

too. Hmmm, I'll steam them and when they're done,

squeeze some lemon juice over them then add some olive

oil and black pepper. Have you ever had string beans

cooked this way? They're delicious!

I also have some pencil-thin asparagus in the fridge.

I like to lay them out on a cookie sheet, drizzle on a

little olive oil, add some parmesan cheese and bake

them for just a few minutes. Then I turn the broiler

on them for barely a minute, time enough for the

cheese to bubble and out of the oven they come. I'm

telling you, even if you don't like asparagus, you'll

love them cooked using my little recipe.

So today I'll be thinking about St.

and all of those snakes he drove out of Ireland. I'll

be thinking about my father and his green Pan

hat with the feathers. And oh yes, I'll definitely

wear green but...I'll be eating some green

today, too. So should you.

Happy St. 's Day, everybody!

Love,