Irish America

Irish America

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Sláinte! A Drop o’ the Crature

By Edythe Preet

April / May 2000

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As all those who read this column know, my Da loved being Irish. He sang all the songs, craved potatoes and strawberries, and cooked huge breakfasts every Saturday morning. He loved words, mesmerized people with his seanachie storytelling and had merry blue eyes that always seemed to be twinkling over some private joke. He was fiercely patriotic and prone to religious debating. … [Read more...] about Sláinte! A Drop o’ the Crature

Sláinte! Milk: The Other White Meat

By Edythe Preet

August / September 1999

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Recently, I wandered into a used bookstore and was stopped in my tracks by a volume sitting on a table by the door -- a copy of the first cookbook I ever owned. It wasn't a fancy collection of gourmet recipes, just a child's Golden Book. The publishing date read 1950; I had been 3 years old. A price of $45.00 wits penciled on the flyleaf (about 20 times more than its original … [Read more...] about Sláinte! Milk: The Other White Meat

Sláinte! New Wave Greens: Ireland’s Sea Weeds

By Edythe Preet

January / February 1998

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Seawater and seaweed baths, known as thalassotherapy, are famous for their therapeutic benefits, and have long been popular in Ireland. Greek and Roman records from the first century BC mention herbal medicines and cosmetic preparations made with seaweed. Modern preparations include soaps, lotions, shampoos, conditioners, shower gels and even packets of powdered seaweed that … [Read more...] about Sláinte! New Wave Greens: Ireland’s Sea Weeds

Sláinte! Magic Mushrooms!

By Edythe Preet

June / July 1999

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Of all the world's foods, those musky things known as mushrooms are the strangest. Some can be had free for the taking while others are delicacies that are worth their weight in gold. Of the 4,000 known species, most are inedible, some are tasty morsels, and a few are lethal poisons. Supermarkets stock mushrooms in the produce section, but they're not vegetables. And since they … [Read more...] about Sláinte! Magic Mushrooms!

Sláinte!: The World Is My (Irish) Oyster

By Edythe Preet

September/October 1995

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Though Jonathan Swift is believed by many to have said, "He was a brave man who first dared to eat oysters," the quote predates Dublin's good doctor by about one hundred years, and was most likely first uttered by James I of England (1566-1625) at a royally excessive sixteenth century banquet. But the Irish had discovered the pleasure of eating oysters long before his majesty … [Read more...] about Sláinte!: The World Is My (Irish) Oyster