Brigid – Ireland’s red-haired saint – was one of history’s liberated women. Everyone knows that in Ireland one will encounter “forty shades of green.” Lesser realized is that another band of the spectrum also occurs in a multitude of hues: Red. While the former abounds in the lush verdant landscape, the latter crowns the heads of more than 420,000 Irish men, women and … [Read more...] about Sláinte! Forty Shades of Red
Slainte Archives
Sláinte! Irish Glass: It’s Crystal Clear
Just before midnight on December 31, 2012, hordes of people will be crunched together like so many sardines in the icy cold midwinter streets surrounding New York City’s Times Square. They will be counting down to the beginning of a New Year. Exactly one minute before midnight, a huge lighted ball will begin its slow descent down a mighty steel flagpole atop the One Times … [Read more...] about Sláinte! Irish Glass: It’s Crystal Clear
Sláinte! Where’s the Beef?
Bird or game, it’s all about carving against the grain, writes Edythe Preet, Irish Heritage Kitchen chef and Sláinte columnist. An old Irish saying has it that “A dinner is not a dinner at all but only an excuse for one if it does not contain a plate of meat.” And meals starring meat have a long history. From tales of the saints’ lives and heraldic sagas we know that wealth … [Read more...] about Sláinte! Where’s the Beef?
Sláinte! Land of a Thousand Welcomes
How the tradition of hospitality to strangers has its roots in an ancient law. ℘℘℘ For more than a thousand years Ireland was regulated by the Brehon Laws. Here are a few of my favorite examples. If a person was stung by one of a beekeeper’s bees, the injured party was owed a portion of the hive’s honey. Yum! If a woman’s husband went off wandering and stayed away too long, the … [Read more...] about Sláinte! Land of a Thousand Welcomes
Sláinte! Ireland: It’s the Berries!
If you ever visit Ireland during the month of June, it’s tempting to maximize summer’s daylight hours and ramble until the sun goes down. Not a good idea. In the island’s northern latitude, sunset is a nighttime rather than evening affair. This is especially true in mid-June when the sun doesn’t set on the Emerald Isle until almost 10:00 p.m. and by that time most kitchens are … [Read more...] about Sláinte! Ireland: It’s the Berries!