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Sláinte! Christmas – Winter Solstice

By Edythe Preet

November December 1993

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Christmas season is the time to eat, drink and be merry! Wherever one goes it seems, someone is slicing up a fruitcake or pouring a glass of holiday cheer. Surrounded as we are by Madison Avenue merchandising it's easy to forget that at this time of year we are participating in one of the oldest rituals known to humankind. Eons before the birth of the Child whom angels praised … [Read more...] about Sláinte! Christmas – Winter Solstice

Sláinte! Samhain: The Celtic New Year

By Edythe Preet

September October 1993

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Halloween is a night of magic, mystery and merry making. Ghosts haunt the imagination and trick-or-treaters go begging from door to door. Though the evening's colors are black and orange, they could as easily be forty shades of green because the customs of All Hallows Eve are Irish as the shamrock. The ancient Celtic year was divided by the four seasons. Samhain (November I) … [Read more...] about Sláinte! Samhain: The Celtic New Year

Sláinte! Bid Thy Guests Welcome Though They Come At Any Hour

By Edythe Preet

July/August 1997

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In the 16th century Elizabeth I was Queen of England. Spain and England were at war, and their armadas stalked each other on the open seas. Certain Irish sailing captains who swore allegiance to neither nation raided both fleets for profit. Some called them pirates. Some called them heroes. One became a legend.  Her name was Granuaile. Grace O'Malley. Pirate Queen. Many tales … [Read more...] about Sláinte! Bid Thy Guests Welcome Though They Come At Any Hour

Sláinte! Spring’s Precious Sting

By Edythe Preet
June / July 2010

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Nettles - the edible weed that is also known as the devil's leaf. Some foods don’t have a real come-hitherness about them. Who was the bold soul to first slurp a raw oyster? Artichokes have thorns and stickers growing on every surface. Rhubarb is notorious for its super sour pucker power, and, if carelessly ingested, its leaves are quite capable of killing a foolhardy … [Read more...] about Sláinte! Spring’s Precious Sting

Sláinte! Eat Your Veggies

By Edythe Preet, Columnist
August / September 2015

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While most people think of Ireland as a nation of “meat and potato” eaters, vegetables and dairy products are also a vital part of the Irish diet. One of my favorite Irish proverbs concerns Ireland’s most famous vegetable: “Be eating one potato, peeling a second, have a third in your fist, and your eye on a fourth.” For me the adage implies: Always have a back-up … [Read more...] about Sláinte! Eat Your Veggies