An 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.” It’s a good bet that America’s penchant for “meat and potatoes” was cultivated by the immigrants who flocked here from Ireland, where meals built around meat have a long history. Tracing the tradition requires journeying back to the days of the High … [Read more...] about Slainte! The Meat and Potatoes of Life
Edythe Preet
Sláinte! Love Mór
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, Edythe Preet gives us the story of Áine, the goddess of love, and star-crossed lovers – the warrior Diarmuid Ua and Gráinne, daughter of the High King Cormac mac Airt. Love. It makes the world go round, conquers all, and warps the mind. We are star-crossed by it, swept away by it, fall into it, and become fools for it. It can’t be … [Read more...] about Sláinte! Love Mór
Slainte! A Stitch in Time
Every year December swoops in with a blizzard of holiday parties. There are office parties, cookie trading parties, trim the tree parties, cocktail parties, secret Santa parties, and more. But the best I’ve heard of yet is the Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. Christmas sweaters are actually quite creative and we’ve all probably owned at least one. The problem with them is that … [Read more...] about Slainte! A Stitch in Time
Sláinte: The Mighty Salmon
While health practitioners now praise the protein and amino acids provided by salmon, it has long had its place in Irish history simply because it is such good eating. Every year more than 180,000 people visit Ireland expressly to engage in an activity that has been one of the island’s top drawing cards since the first intrepid hunter-gatherers arrived over 7,000 years ago: … [Read more...] about Sláinte: The Mighty Salmon
Sláinte: Forty Shades of Green
Back in the nineties a friend’s gorgeous garden made me 40 envious shades of green. Then in 2002, I moved into a little 1950s bungalow with a big backyard that was choked with weeds, discarded bed and bicycle frames, and a dilapidated shed housing a black widow spider colony. Full of purpose and heavily gloved, I dove into the task of creating my first garden. For four months I … [Read more...] about Sláinte: Forty Shades of Green