Back in first grade my See Spot Run primer told how Dick and Jane grew potatoes in their backyard and roasted them in an autumn leaf bonfire. If those kids can do that, I thought, so can I. Mom supplied a few spuds that had begun to sprout ‘eyes,’ and we buried them in a skimpy strip of dirt edging our row-house driveway. Impatiently, as summer dragged on, I watched my precious … [Read more...] about Sláinte!: All Hail the Humble Spud!
Slainte: Irish Recipes
Sláinte!: Dancing at Lughnasa
Of all the months of the year, only August has no "official" holiday. That’s poor marketing if you ask me. Holidays generate more "stimulus" to the economic calendar than any paltry government "rebate" could ever engender. Granted, there’s a flurry of back-to-school buys but academic purchasing doesn’t hit full momentum until September. To fill the void, I suggest adding … [Read more...] about Sláinte!: Dancing at Lughnasa
Sláinte!: Holy Wells
The sacred nature of water was revered by our ancestors for its healing powers. It always amuses me when a phone call with someone on the East Coast includes the question: “How’s the weather in LA today?” Answer: “We don’t have weather. We have sun.” Precipitation is so rare in bone-dry Southern California that rainfall measured in quarter-inches is cause for rapture among … [Read more...] about Sláinte!: Holy Wells
Sláinte!: A Charmed Life
My friend Michael says he has a charming mother. He hastens to add: “I know you think we all do, but my mother has charms other than the ones on her gold bracelet. She has the ability to stop bleeding and cure burns and headaches and sprains and styes in the eyes just by laying on her gentle hands and reciting words handed down through the centuries.” The concept doesn’t … [Read more...] about Sláinte!: A Charmed Life
Sláinte! Ireland Conquers The World
Pining for a pint of stout, an earful of blarney, and a toe-tapping fiddle tune but find yourself far removed from the Emerald Isle? Fret not. Edythe Preet has the answer. Be ye in an off-island bulwark of Hibernian society such as Boston, New York, Philadelphia or Chicago, or the more unlikely locales of Milan, Hamburg, Oslo, Paris, Johannesburg, Beijing, Dubai or Kabul, … [Read more...] about Sláinte! Ireland Conquers The World