"She wheeled her wheelbarrow through streets broad and narrow, crying "cockles and mussels, alive alive o." – From the song, "Mussels and Cockles" that remembers the street vendor, Molly Malone. The Irish have been eating shellfish since humans first set foot on the Emerald Isle. Huge shell piles called middens have been found at every seaside archaeological site, … [Read more...] about Cockles & Mussels, Alive, Alive-o!
Slainte Archives
Sláinte: Breakfast at Brennan’s
The most misunderstood metropolis in the United States is New Orleans. Mention the city and the mind instantly provides Francophile associations. The French Quarter is its most famous neighborhood, France's pre-Lenten Mardi Gras celebration is the biggest annual bash, and Fleurs de Lis flutter on the municipal flag. Regardless of popular thinking, New Orleans could as easily … [Read more...] about Sláinte: Breakfast at Brennan’s
A Winter’s Tale
Christmas may be over but winter isn't. You can still curl up with a good book and ginger cookies. By Edythe Preet Just because I live in Los Angeles doesn’t mean I’m an Angeleno. Natives here love that it’s sunny and quasi-summer all year long. Not me. Locals think I’m crazy. Crazy like a fox, I say. When it’s cold, you can put on a sweater. When it’s hot, you’re out … [Read more...] about A Winter’s Tale
The Fair Days of Summer
For hundreds of years, Fair Day was an integral part of Ireland's rural community, writes Margaret M. Johnson. The holding of country fairs in rural Ireland goes back so far into the past that their beginnings are delightfully entangled in myth, history and tradition. Whether originally a pagan ritual or an occasion for farmers to sell surplus crops, the country fair has … [Read more...] about The Fair Days of Summer
Sláinte: Hail to the Chef
By Edythe Preet The secret of distilling spirits was brought to Ireland by fifth-century Mediterranean missionaries, Edythe Press informs us, while Darina Allen gives us a wonderful recipe for pea soup. In an issue of a prestigious American travel magazine, a well-known author wrote about the food of Ireland. After dining at one of the Republic's most illustrious hotels, he … [Read more...] about Sláinte: Hail to the Chef





