Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Hey all! Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Here is a little blog post dedicated to all things Irish. I kissed the blarney stone and I’m ready to gab about Ireland!

First off, I was all decked out in my Irish garb today… “Everyone Loves an Irish Girl”, quite fitting, yes? (No pun intended.)

I wanted to make some Cheddar Potato Chowder (Irish style) but ran out of time to prepare dinner in a timely manner, so I will try that tomorrow. If anyone is interested in making a belated Irish soup, here is the recipe! This is from the Idaho Potato Commission.

3 tablespoons margarine or butter
2 medium-size carrots, pealed and diced
2 medium-size ribs celery, thinly sliced
1 small onion, chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups water
4 medium-size Idaho Potatoes (about 1 3/4 pounds), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 chicken-flavor bouillon cubes or envelopes
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)

In 3-quart saucepan over medium heat, melt margarine. Add carrots, celery and onion, cook until tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour, dry mustard, paprika and pepper; cook 1 minute.
Gradually add milk, water, potatoes and bouillon. Bring to a boil over high heart, reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Remove saucepan from heat; add cheese and stir just until melted. Top each serving with crumbled bacon and chopped chives, if desired.

And hopefully it’ll turn out deliciously tomorrow! Let me know if you make this too. Post photos, let me know how it tasted, all that good stuff. 😉

St. Patrick’s Day always instills a bit of pride in me because of my Irish last name – Nagle! Most people assume it is German, but no, my friends, it is of Irish descent. My great great great great great errr… Yeah, my great-something-grandfather from about the 1700s was a true Irish rebel! Forgive me, I may be messing up a few details of my family heritage, but here is the main story… My great great (something) grandfather, his name was Richard Nagle and he was from County Cork, Ireland. He was a Catholic who rebelled against the Protestants, and he was considered a governmental terrorist and was smuggled into Canada by the help of Edmund Burke. He went on to move to central Pennsylvania, fought in the Revolutionary war, set up a homestead, escaped attacks by Indians and was considered a local hero in Cambria County. Oh, he is also a relative of Nano Nagle, who set up the very first Catholic school! And there is a tidbit of Irish history for you.

How about some Irish sayings and quotes?! I just love sayings!

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

A closed mouth–a wise head.

A fool and his money are easily parted.

A hut is a palace to a poor man.

A little of anything isn’t worth a pin; but a wee bit of sense is worth a lot.

Don’t rest your eyes beyond what is your own.

Don’t tell your secret even to a fence.

Never put off tomorrow what you can do today.

No-one is ever poor who has the sight of his eyes and the use of his feet.

Wisdom is what makes a poor man a king, a weak person powerful, a good generation of a bad one, a foolish man reasonable.

The best looking-glass is the eyes of a friend

Heres one more Irish saying! “Poor is the church without music.” The same goes for a blog entry! So here are two Irish songs for your listening pleasure: “Be Thou My Vision” and “Peg O’ My Heart” (A personal favorite of my Grandma Peggy… Who was not Irish, but still, part of her name was in there!)

I think I yammered on enough about all things Irish… That’s all for me for now. But remember, “All happy endings are beginnings as well!”

I seriously think we need a day honoring Sicilians. When is that? Hmm……..