Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Had I really been on my game I would have planned some fun stuff for us to do in honor of St. Patrick's Day. However, with the whole idea of simplifying our school routine, instead of cutting out a bunch of shamrocks & pots of gold to glue together, I stuck with our regularly scheduled program.

Every Wednesday we read a short bio from Trial and Triumph. We had read about St. Patrick a few months ago, so in order to elaborate more on him, I downloaded and printed off a free biography of him from Living Books Curriculum through the currclick site and read that to the kiddos. It was very interesting. Did you know that St. Patrick wasn't Irish? I didn't! Did you know he used a 3-leaf clover to demonstrate the tie between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? I didn't! When you were in school were you taught the Christian background behind St. Patrick's Day? I wasn't! Who says you're too old to learn something new! I had the kids follow up with some sharing & narrating at dinner tonight with Dad and Grandma. They did not know these little tid-bits either.

I also took the plunge & made (for the very first time) Corned Beef & Cabbage for dinner. As I was scrolling through the net this morning I came upon a recipe that was linked from an email I received to this site. Here's the recipe:

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Corned beef is brisket, topside or silverside which has been pickled in brine. It is especially popular around Dublin. It is best to soak a
joint overnight to remove excess salt.

5 lb/ 2 kg joint of corned beef
1 large cabbage
bay leaf
2 large
onions
cold water to cover
2 large carrots
ground black pepper
4 potatoes (I used red)

(serves four to six)

Quarter the cabbage and put aside. Peel and slice the other vegetables. Cover the meat with the water and bring to the boil.
Skim the surface, add the vegetables (except the cabbage), the bay leaf and the pepper and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook for a further 30 minutes. Serve the meat surrounded by the vegetables with additional mashed potatoes.

I'm going to admit I did not eat it. It smelled really good, but I've never cared for the look of corned beef. My family seemed to enjoy it, and they said it tasted delicious. I'll just have to take their word for it!