Don't Miss St Patrick's Day in Ireland!

That's right, it's Paddy's day on Sunday 17th March so I thought I would share with you some Irish goodness from five bloggers I have recently come to know.  This is the delight of the internet, connecting with interesting & inspiring people the world over.

.....

Excitement number one! Susan from Vibrant Ireland asked me to do a guest post (my first ever!) for St. Patrick's Day. Take a look here.  Susan has a lovely blog about all things Irish and we share at least one thing in common, we both live in a country other than the one we were born in! Susan came from the USA to Ireland, just as I came from the UK to Australia.

   Graiguenamanagh from Susan's blog

.....

Aoife writes the Daily Spud, so how could we potato lovers not follow that!  I thought you'd enjoy this amazing Potato Risotto ( Ristato!) recipe of hers which is pretty appropriate for St Patrick's day because of all the green, and of course the Guinness! Find the recipe here 

Irish Risotto with Potatoes,
 Mushrooms and Guinness 

And while we're on the subject of potatoes, you'll be fascinated by this post on the Daily Spud about Lumpers, the variety most widely grown in Ireland at the time of the Great Famine in 1845.

.....

Catherine writes a beautiful blog called Foxglove Lane and this recent post is a wonderfully evocative one of a Real Irish Pub that really hasn't changed at all.  The photos are fantastic and Catherine's personal recollections  bring it to life so that you can really taste that Guinness!

"Smoke from the fire and a kettle on the boil. The clock tick tocks. A lad sits at the counter. He dropped in "just for one" to his home away from home......"

Photo of Morrrissey's of Abbeyleix, County Laois from Foxglove Lane

.....

And for dessert how about this scrummy Potato Apple Tart from Caroline at bibliocook.com. A freelance journalist & broadcaster married to a Kiwi who makes beer in Ireland, Caroline has some tantalising recipes to share from both sides of the world. Potato Apple Tart I hear you say!  I know, but just take a look and you will be hooked! 

Potato Apple Tart

.....

I found Felicity, through my guest post with Susan.  Felicity lives between Bermondsey in London and rural Ireland, and writes a blog about these two disparate places.

Felicity is a professional writer whose book  "The House on an Irish Hill". looks to me like a fascinating read.

 'From the moment I crossed the mountain I fell in love. With the place, which was more beautiful than any place I'd ever seen. With the people I met there. And with a way of looking at life that was deeper, richer and wiser than any I'd known before. When I left I dreamt of clouds on the mountain. I kept going back.'

 Look out Amazon, here I come!

"When you know where you come from, you can see where you are going".

Take a look at this interview with Felicity about St. Patrick's Day for discoverireland.com.

.....

Thank you Susan, Aoife, Catherine, Caroline and Felicity for all graciously allowing me to share insights into your lives through this post.

According to the website timeanddate.com about 30 percent of Australians are believed to have some Irish ancestry today. And that is in no small way due to the Potato, and the emigration from Ireland in the mid 19th Century due to the Great Potato Famine.   So let's join hands across the oceans and say a very happy St.Patrick's Day, one and all!

How are you celebrating St. Patrick's Day?

  Here's hoping it involves a potato!  

What'll you be doing on Wattle Day?

There's a Blue Moon tonight, it's Wattle Day on Saturday, and Sunday is Father's Day! 

(Click on the above links to find out more.)

That's a whole lot of going on isn't it! 

So I thought I would make it easy on myself and just share some of the photos I took of the sky last night.  The moon was nearly full, sadly it wasn't blue, but the sky was, and the clouds were yellow, so I thought that was pretty appropriate for this weekend.

Yes you spotted that I have given these photos a bit of the
Pic Monkey treatment!  Especially this one. 
Maybe a bit over the top but I must say I like it!

It was such a beautiful evening that I wanted to share it with you.

  Have a wonderful weekend whatever you are planning. 

And all you fathers out there, have a great Father's Day on Sunday.

Please please let me know if your moon is BLUE!!

And what'll you be doing on Wattle Day?? It's a special day for all Australians.  This book by Maria Hitchcock called a Celebration of Wattle Day, looks interesting.

How about cooking this Wattleseed Gnocchi  which of course has potatoes in it,

 from bareingredients, the foodie site for foodie lovers.  

They include a wild mushroom sauce in the recipe and it all looks quite delicious!

Weekly Potato Recipe No 2 -how do you do?!

So here we are .....le deuxieme  recipe of the week. That's right, it's French, mais non, non, that doesn't mean we have two recipes in one week. It means......what does it mean? Well it is the second of our weekly recipes. Let's take a look!

Potato gratin

Photography by Oliver Ford

A French classic, this creamy potato dish is the perfect winter starter or side.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 3 medium potatoes
• 1 onion
• garlic, thinly sliced
• salt and cracked black pepper
• 1 cup cream
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan or swiss cheese

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC. Lightly grease four 1-cup capacity ramekins. Thinly slice potatoes and onion. Arrange some of the potato over the base of each ramekin and top with a little onion. Sprinkle with a few slices of garlic and season with salt and cracked black pepper. Continue layering with the remaining potato and onion, adding garlic every second or third layer. Combine cream with cheese. Pour into the ramekins then bake for 45 minutes or until potato is cooked through and top is golden. Stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Well , what do you think?  I thought, as we are just heading towards  winter in Australia, and those  of you in the northern hemisphere are well on their way out of it, , it might work for all of us.  

And hey, it looks pretty good whatever the season, doesn't it!

By popular demand ! Potato Recipe of the Week Numero Uno!!

Potato Recipe of the Week 

That's right, at Steve's suggestion I am starting to post a different potato recipe each week and here is Number One.

It is from a UK web site so the names of the vegetables, and the amounts will probably be completely double dutch to everyone else but I think it's good to challenge ourselves, mix things up a bit!  And seriously, do we really need things to be exact?  

But just to get it straight, a Courgette (in Oz at least) is a Zucchini, an Aubergine is an Egg Plant, Peppers are Capsicums.....who said we all speak the same language?! 

Mediterranean Potato Bake

Ingredients

• 800g New potatoes thickly sliced
• 1 Sliced Courgette
• 1 Sliced Aubergine
• 1 of each Red and Yellow Pepper
• 50g Chopped Pine Nuts
• 2 tbsp Pesto (from a jar)
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil

Preparation

Put the potatoes, chopped vegetables and pine nuts in a large roasting tin together
Add the oil and season.
Bake for 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees, gas mark 6 or until tender.
Add the pesto and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Tip

This quick and tasty meal can also be made with 400g of thinly sliced pork or chicken breast if you’re looking for a healthy food alternative

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And from the same website,The Many Faces of Potato,  an interesting fact:

Potatoes in Europe – a culinary discovery

Invading Spanish conquistadors, on the lookout for gold and jewels, discovered the Peruvian’s potatoes and took them back to Europe to impress royalty in 1536.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Enjoy your Mediterranean potatoes and let me know what you think. 

Perhaps we could give the recipes a rating from 

• 5 stars - delicious,yum yum
• 4 stars - pretty good 
• 3 stars - so so, 
• 2 stars - wont' be cooking this again
• 1 star  - wish I hadn't bothered!

Buon Appetito!!

How many Potatoes were on the Titanic? I can tell you!

A sad day from 100 years ago, but so interesting to look back.
According to the Nautical Resource Centre here is a list of the galley supplies on board the Titanic when they set sail
Galley Supplies:

• 57,600 crockery items (pots, pans, baking sheets)
• 29,000 pieces of glassware
• 44,000 pieces of cutlery
• 75,000 lb. fresh meat
• 11,000 lb. fresh fish
• 4,000 lb. salted and dried fish
• 7,500 lb. bacon and ham
• 25,000 lb. poultry
• 40,000 fresh eggs
• 2,500 lb. sausage
• 40 tons potatoes
• 3,500 lb. onions
• 800 bundles fresh asparagus
• 3,500 lb. tomatoes
• 2,500 lb.. green peas
• 7,000 heads lettuce
• 1,000 loaves of bread
• 2,200 lb. ground coffee
• 800 lb. tea
• 10,000 lb. rice and dried beans
• 10,000 lb. sugar
• 250 barrels flour
• 10,000 lb. cereal
• 36,000 apples
• 36,000 oranges
• 16,000 lemons
• 1,000 lb. grapes
• 13,000 grapefruit
• 1,120 lb. jam and marmalade
• 1,500 gallons fresh milk
• 1,200 quarts ice cream
• 600 gallons condensed milk
• 6,000 lb. butter
• 15,000 bottles of ale (beer)
• 1,000 bottles wine
• 850 bottles liquor
• 8,000 complimentary cigars

Third Class Menu

from the veganbloggersunite site I found this menu for the meals 

for third class passengers 

                                                     
And here is a copy of the First Class Menu for the evening meal on April 14th 1912
Which do you prefer?!!

Take a look at how to cook the Parmentier Potatoes which were part of the meal  for first class passengers, taken from the downtonabbeycooks website Parmentier Potatoes Parmentier potatoes named in honor of the man who elevated the potato in France The final vegetable dish served as part of the Fifth course in 1st Class we will prepare today is Parmentier Potatoes. Antoine-Augustin Parmentier (August 12, 1737 – December 13, 1813) is best remembered for elevating the lowly potato from the hog trough to dining table in France and around Europe.  Outside of Ireland potatoes were primarily fed to animals and were actually thought to cause leprosy and other ailments. Traditional parmentier potatoes are pan fried in a cup of butter, then finished in the oven.  My version is much healthier.  It is quick to prepare and kids love it. Serves 4 Ingredients 1 lb. baking potatoes 2 tablespoons olive oil Salt and Pepper Additional seasoning: parsley or rosemary Method Peel the potatoes, trim the sides to make a rough rectangle, then cut in to even sized, medium dices – approx 1 inch. Drizzle with the olive oil. Season and spread out on a greased baking dish. Bake in a 400° F/200° C/Gas Mark 6 for 25-35 minutes until golden brown, shaking occasionally to prevent sticking.

Easter "Eggs" (This one's fun!)

Well Easter is on it's way, and quicker than you think!  How do these Easter "Eggs" look to you?  Pretty yum and a lot of fun, I 'd say! Take a look at the recipe below from the Idaho Potato Commission

Easter Egg Idaho® Potatoes

Yield: Serves 8

Ingredients

• 8 small Idaho® potatoes (about 4 - 5 ounces)
• Shortening (optional)
• 1/2 cup light dairy sour cream or plain yogurt
• 2 ounces Gouda cheese, shredded (1/2 cup)
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives
• 2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 - 2 tablespoons milk (optional)
• 2 hard cooked eggs, peeled and coarsely chopped
• Fresh chives, cut to desired length

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.  Scrub potatoes with a brush; pat dry. Prick potatoes in 2 or 3 places with a fork. (If desired, for softer skins, rub potatoes with shortening or wrap in foil to “steam”.)   
2. Place potatoes in a shallow baking pan. Bake potatoes, uncovered, for 40 to 50 or until tender. Remove from oven; cool slightly for easier handling.
3. Cut a thin crosswise slice off both ends of each baked potato. Carefully scoop pulp from each potato leaving a 3/4 inch shell. Add pulp to bowl; set shells aside.
4. Mash the potato pulp. Stir in sour cream or yogurt, cheese, snipped chives, mustard, salt, and pepper. (If necessary, add 1 to 2 tablespoons milk to achieve desired consistency.) Stir in hard-cooked eggs. Carefully spoon potato mixture into shells. Stand the potato "eggs" upright in a 2 quart rectangular or square baking dish.
5. Bake potatoes, uncovered, in  425°F oven for about 20 minutes or until heated through and tops are set.   Garnish with fresh chives (or other fresh herbs).

Estimated Nutritional Analysis per Serving:
185 cal., 5 g total fat (2 g sat. fat), 64 mg chol., 266 mg sodium, 29 g carbo., 1 g fiber, 7 g pro. Daily Values: 5% vit. A, 29% vit. C, 7% calcium, 10% iron.


I'll certainly be giving them a go when the family are around, and if you try them, let me know what you think.    I plan to show you some more Easter Potato ideas in the coming week.  Keep checking in!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Top o'the Mornin' Dew !

I took this photo a couple of mornings ago, dew on the rose bush.  I was pretty happy with it.  Take a look at a few more things I have found to help celebrate St Patrick's Day with you today!

Well this is a fine photo of Sydney Opera House on St. Patrick's Day 2010 which I found on Wikipedia, from Mike Young

I have gone green with a few others too, from Pinterest that I would like to share with you and to wish all you Irish out there, a wonderful day! This one is from Flickr , *julia

Delightful aren't they?

These two are my own froggy friends!  The baby on the left nestled in the petals of my soft pink rose.  The big boy on the right was snoozing on the door mat one morning when I went outside to welcome the new day!

good enough to eat!


Well that one may have looked good  enough to eat...

...but this one certainly is!!

It is delicious Colcannon Chowder

from the US Potato Board.  Click on the link and give it a try.

And absolutely scrummy Irish Potato Bread!

So enjoy everyone! And have a very happy St Patrick's Day!