St. Patrick’s Day Meal

How do homeschoolers celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? With FOOD!

You need not be Irish (we aren’t) to celebrate with this St. Patrick’s Day menu (vegetarian, of course).

For a taste of Ireland:

• Irish Potato Soup
• Irish Soda Bread

and to add a touch of green to the table:

• St. Patrick’s Day milkshakes
• St. Patrick’s Day Salad

Irish Potato Soup

• 6 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup diced peeled onion
• 1 1/2 cups canned evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Place potatoes in a stockpot with enough water to cover. Boil until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add celery and onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add potatoes. Stir in evaporated milk, butter, salt and pepper. Heat until just below boiling. Serve immediately.

Makes 5 servings.

Irish Soda Bread

• 4 cups plain flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sugar (optional)
• 2 cups buttermilk or sour milk

Sieve the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Scoop up handfuls and allow to drop back into the bowl to aerate the mixture. Add enough buttermilk to make a soft dough. Now work quickly as the buttermilk and soda are already reacting. Knead the dough lightly – too much handling will toughen it, while too little means it won’t rise properly.

Form a round loaf about as thick as your fist. Place it on a lightly-floured baking sheet and cut a cross in the top with a floured knife. Put at once to bake near the top of a pre-heated oven, gas mark 8, 450°F, 230°C, for 30-45 minutes. When baked, the loaf will sound hollow when rapped on the bottom with your knuckles. Wrap immediately in a clean tea-towel to stop the crust hardening too much.

Wheaten bread or brown soda is made in exactly the same way but with wholemeal flour replacing all or some of the white flour; this mixture will probably require less buttermilk.

St. Patrick’s Day Milkshakes

• 1-2 cups of vanilla ice cream
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups of milk
• 1/2 cup of ice Green food coloring
• 2-3 drops as you prefer
• Peppermint extract- to taste

1. In a blender add vanilla ice cream, milk, food coloring and ice cubes.
2. Blend until smooth. If you are adding the extract add now, blend very briefly, taste to see if you need to add more or not.

St. Patrick’s Day Salad

• 1 small lime Jell-o
• 1/2 c. diced pineapple
• nuts, if desired
• 1 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
• 1/2 c. mayonnaise
• 1/2 pt. whipping cream

Make Jell-o. When partially cooled, add pineapple and nuts. When set, mix and add softened cream cheese and mayonnaise. Whip and fold into Jell-o mixture. Mold in Pyrex dish and cut into squares to serve. Serves 8.