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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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!  

Sharing My Excitement!!

Two exciting things  happened to me yesterday,  which I need to share!

• Firstly, I heard from Dyani, from  Little Deer Creations, that she had chosen my pendant "Purple Harmony" as a Sellers pick on Madeit this week.

• Well if that wasn't exciting enough, I received an email from Dagmar at Agrarwelt, to say that the article she had been talking to me about had been printed in their  newsletter,  /Schmucke Erdäpfel/ Page 12 .
• It's extremely exciting, but the problem is my German is non-existent, and I would really love to know what she has written.  So if anyone speaks German, please get in touch!

Anyway, I thought I would share the Purple Harmony Potato Pendant which Little Deer Creations picked for her Eco friendly recommendation on Madeit.
And here it is.

It is a slice of potato, lovingly wrapped in purple and hand printed with a sage leaf for decoration.

And though I hadn't planned on doing another recipe hot on the heels of the last one, I just had to include this potato and sage recipe from Taste.com.au

Individual potato and sage bakes

Preparation Time

Cooking Time

Ingredients (serves 10)

• 30g butter, melted

• 750g desiree potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced

• 4 garlic cloves, peeled, thinly sliced

• 125ml (1/2 cup) double cream

• 1 tbs finely chopped fresh sage

• Salt & freshly ground black pepper

• Fresh sage leaves, to garnish

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C. Drizzle melted butter evenly among ten 80ml (1/3-cup) capacity muffin pans.

Combine the potato, garlic, cream and sage in a glass bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture among muffin pans. Smooth the surface slightly.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown and tender. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Turn onto a clean chopping board.

Arrange the potato bakes on a serving platter. Sprinkle with sage and serve immediately.

Photography by Ian Wallace

Wow, it looks delicious, and the sage in me says that it must be delicious! 

Enjoy, and catch you again very soon!