Saint Patrick’s Day?  Why do we celebrate?  What is the significance?  Why is everything green? These are all great questions.

Patrick was born in Britain to Welch parents who had been “Romanized” or accepted Christianity, in the 5th century.   His Latin name was Patricius.  When he was 16, Patrick was kidnapped and taken to Ireland as a slave.  He managed to escape the shackles of slavery, and in so doing, became the voice of the oppressed Irish people.  Patrick, or Padraig as he was known by the Irish, is known as the person who brought Christianity to the Irish, around 432 A.D.  Before his death, he was responsible for the construction of many churches, monasteries and schools all throughout the land.  Patrick was canonized as a Saint by the Catholic Church around the 17th century.  The first recorded celebration of St. Patrick was held in 1631, when the Church established a Feast Day in his honor.  This original celebration of the day is nothing at all like what it has become today.

St. Patrick’s Day, as we now know it, actually started in the United States, in areas that had large populations of Irish immigrants.  The first “modern” St. Patrick’s Day celebration was held in Boston, MA in 1737, followed by New York’s celebration in 1762, and it grew from there.  Originally, Ireland did not celebrate the day how it is celebrated now, however, they have adopted the American customs and traditions, and today celebrate as we do here, mainly for the tourists’ sake.

There are many legends associated with St. Patrick.  Two of the more widely known legends are that he drove all the snakes out of Ireland by throwing them all into the sea, and that he used the shamrock as the symbol for the Holy Trinity, because of its three leaflets on a single stem.  Today, there are still no snakes in Ireland other than those that have been imported over.   Leprechauns and all their mischief, as well as the wearing of the green, are both also famously associated with this day of revelry.   The leprechauns are fictional, magical creatures who are known for their mischievous ways.  In today’s culture, you always see them dressed in green.  Wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day is supposed to make you invisible to the leprechauns, which allows you to go about your business without being pinched by them.  But green was not always the color worn to honor St. Patrick and St. Patrick’s day.  Origianally, blue, and specifically a dark blue, was worn, to represent the blue skies of Ireland.  The green was adopted later, after Patrick become canonized by the Church, because of the green shamrock and its reference to the Holy Trinity.

People with an Irtish heritage, even if only for a day, often celebrate the day with green beer and corned beef and cabbage.  I don’t drink beer (now wine is a completely different story), so that one is out for me, and I am not a huge corned beef and cabbage fan either, so I often make something totally different.  I do have a lot of Irish blood in me, and therefore I choose to make other traditional Irish dishes to celebrate and honor the day.  This year, it was curried lamb over rice, with roasted vegetables, a roasted pepper and onion tart, cheese and onion soda bread A New Twist to the Tradition and I ended the meal with an apple custard pie.

Some of my Irish cookbooks that helped me plan my menu for the day.

I know, curried lamb is not something you would normally think of when thinking of traditional Irish food, however, it is.  Lamb and mutton dishes are very popular all throughout the UK, Ireland, Wales, Australia and New Zealand (all at one time were Bristish or British colonies).  In the days of the Raj, many Irish men, (as well as military men from these other countries) served in the British military in India, where they devloped a taste for the different curried dishes of India.  When they returned back to the UK and its provinces, they brought back the spices of India to recreate their favorite curried at home.

Curried Lamb

I love curry, and often make my own curried blends.

2 oz almond meal (I used my almond meal from Living Tree Community Foods More Treats from Living Tree Community Foods)

1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream

2 lbs lamb, cubed

2 TBSP ginger

salt to taste

1 onion, peeled and sliced in thin rings

2 tsp sugar

2 TBSP garlic

1-2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp each, cardamon, cloves, cumin, tumeric, curry, cayenne pepper – add more of each or any combination thereof if you like a stronger, more pronounced curry flavor

1 TBSP lemon juice

butter and olive oil for cooking

fried onions, optional for topping

tomatoes or tomato chutney, optional

Mix the almond meal and the heavy whipping cream together in a sauce pan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes.  Turn off the heat and let rest for at least 15 minutes.

Cut the lamb into cubes, about 2 inches in size, and marinate with the ginger and the salt.  Make sure everything is well incorporated together.  Let marinate for at least 30 minutes before cooking.

Slice the onion into thin rings and cook in a hot skillet with a combination of both butter and olive oil and the sugar, for about 7 minutes, then add the spices, and continue to cook until the onions are completely cooked.

Once the onions are cooked, remove them from the pan and set aside.  In the same pan, adding more oil/butter as needed, cook the meat until it is completely browned on all sides.

Once the meat is cooked, add the onions and the almond cream mixture and mix together well.  Reduce the heat to a simmer, and continue to cook for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

After the curry is cooked, add the lemon juice and mix thoroughly before serving over rice.

I topped my lamb curry with fried onions and tomatoes.  Because lamb is a red meat, and I had a heavier sauce, I chose to serve it with delicious, fruity red blend of malbec and mertlot to really enhance the dish and bring out all the flavors.

Get Ready …. The Great Blogger’s Bake-Off is Coming

Shrimp scampi has been a favorite dish for shrimp lovers for many decades  It is such an easy dish to prepare, but it is a true classic, loved by everyone.  The traditional way of preparing the dish is to saute the crustaceans in garlic, olive oil, butter, wine, and parsley.  That’s it.  But with any dish, there are always many variations, none of which are wrong, and all are delicious.  Some people add bread crumbs, and/or tomatoes.  I have tried and loved many of these different variations.   Shrimp scampi is almost always served with pasta, although it can also be served with rice or over bread, or even over steamed vegetables.

In the United States, we use the term “scampi” for shrimp prepared in the traditional way.  However, scampi are actually small lobster-like crustaceans with a pinkish shell, called langoustines or langostinos.  They are also known as Nephrons or Dublin Bay prawns.  In Italy and the rest of Europe, scampi is made with the langoustines.  When the Italian immigrants came to America, they adapted the recipe, using Italian cooking techniques and American ingredients.

Classic Shrimp Scampi

This is all you need to make a classic shrimp scampi.

1 1/2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined

4 TBSP butter

2-3 TBSP olive oil

2 TBSP garlic

salt & pepper to taste

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or to taste

2 TBSP lemon juice

1/4 cup Peruvian peppers, optional

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped or about 1-2 TBSP dried parsley

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet.  When the skillet is hot, add the shrimp and cook until they are pink and cooked through on all sides.

Once the shrimp is cooked, add the white wine, lemon juice, the red pepper flakes and salt & pepper.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for an additional 1-3 minutes, or until the wine reduces by about 1/2.

At the very end of the cooking process, add the parsley and Peruvian peppers (if using) and serve over your choice of pasta, rice, bread or vegetables.

I served my shrimp scampi with some stuffed mushrooms, my garlic cheese bread, and a dry white wine.  Simple and delicious!

My husband is one of those self-proclaimed “geeky guys” that loves all things related to numbers.  He is a software engineer, with a degree in aerospace engineering, so I suppose that’s why he loves numbers so much.  Anyway, he pointed out that today, 3/14, is National Pi day, or the annual celebration for the mathematical constant π.  The first three numbers represented in Pi, or π, are 3.14, and then it goes on and on to infinity and beyond.  Pi, as it is mathematically known, is 3.14159265358979323……..  .  I am NOT a mathematician and do not understand all this mathematical mumbo jumbo at all.  All I know about Pi, or π, is that it is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, and that it is an irrational number.  Pi was configured back in the days of the ancient Greeks and ancient mathematicians and is still used by mathematicians worldwide today.  To the Ancients, it was maddening and frustrating because π is an irrational number and its exact value is inherently unknowable.  They also took it as an affront to God’s omniscience, because there was no way God would create something irrational, even if it was irrational to mere mortals.

National Pi day was organized by Dr. Larry Shaw, a physicist from the San Francisco Exploratorium.  On March 12, 2009, The U.S. House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution (111. H. Res. 224) recognizing March 14, 2009 as National Pi Day.  The tradition has been growing in popularity ever since.  Today, it is celebrated in many ways, all of which are related to pie, or Pi.  Eating pies of any kind is a favorite way to “celebrate” the day.

We observed Pi Day by eating a beef pot pie.

Beef Pot Pie

I use my basic master dough for the crust. Chicken Pot Pie.  I usually only put the dough on the bottom of my baking dish and then cover the top of the pot pie with dough.  Some people like the dough and crust to go up the sides of the baking dish, but I find that makes the pot pie way to heavy and to filling.  If you like your crust around the whole inside of your baking dish, double the dough recipe.

2 lbs of beef, cut into small cubes

3-4 TBSP flour

salt & pepper to taste

4 TBSP olive oil or cooking oil

2 carrots, peeled and diced fine

1 potato, peeled and diced fine

1 cup frozen peas

4-6 mushrooms, sliced

2-3 bay leaves

1 TBSP garlic

1/2 cup dry wine

1 3/4 beef broth

1 TBSP soy or tamari sauce

1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce

2 TBSP tomato paste

1 1/2 tsp thyme

1 egg and cream for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 350* F.

Spray coking spray into your baking dish or dishes.

Coat the meat with flour and salt & pepper, dice all the vegetables, and mix all the liquids together well.  In olive oil or cooking oil, brown the meat until it is completely browned, then remove from the pan.

In the same pan and the same oil, adding more as needed, add the vegetables and the bay leaves and cook until the potatoes and carrots are tender and the onions are translucent.

Once the vegetables are cooked, add the meat back into the pan and mix everything together well.  Then add the liquid mixture and most of the thyme  Adjust the seasonings as needed.  Mix everything together and let simmer for about 5-7 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Roll out the dough and cut out  your tops and bottoms.   Place the bottom pieces into the baking dishes and then fill with the filling.  Make sure to remove all the bay leaves before filling the pie dishes.  bay leaves are great for seasoning foo, but are poisonous to eat.  Place the top pieces and press down to completely cover the top of the baking dish.  Crimp the edges.  If you have extra dough, you can add it to the rim, to help seal the pot pies.  Score the top with a sharp knife.

Make your egg wash.  There are many different ways to make it.  Feel free to play around with it to find the method that works best for you.  For me, I use 1 egg and just a dash of heavy whipping cream and whisk them together.  I like using the cream because it has a little more sugar content, which enhances the browning process.  This time, I mixed the remainder of the thyme into my egg wash as well.  Brush the egg wash onto the tops of your pies right before putting them into the oven.

Bake the pies for about 1 hour, or until the dough is golden brown.  Let cool for a few minutes, then dig in and enjoy.  It’s time for pie, or Pi when it is eaten on 3/14.

Your Shopping List For The Great Bloggers’ Bake-Off

Please join in the fun with

and special judge A Jeanne in the Kitchen

on Sunday 24th March 2019

The shopping list for

We are very excited about our fun family day for the blogging community. To participate you will need some essentials. So check your cupboards to make sure you have the following or add them to your shopping list this week:

• flour

• eggs

• sugar

• butter or oil

• baking powder

• in addition – think about fillings and decorations (there is a clue as to what our challenge is)

Of course if you want to make a vegan, or sugar free, fat free or even flour free creation then please feel free to use any alternatives!

This is not really a competition, it is more of a fun family day for our blogging community. We would love you to be involved. We would be thrilled if you can take on our baking challenge and send us photos of your creation. If you don’t think you can bake – then ask a family member or friend or workmate to help you out. HAVE FUN!! Whatever you do have lots of fun!

If your oven decides to go on strike or anything prevents you from getting your hands messy – we would love you to join in the fun by supporting the bakers and commenting on their creations.

If you will be on holiday or in hospital or have to work on Sunday 24th March 2019 – then of course you could take on the challenge in advance and send us a photo. We will make sure your creation is included in the round-up posts for THE GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE-OFF.

Look out for this Sunday’s post –

THE GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE-OFF CHALLENGE!

I am already receiving and accepting some great photos and stories.  Please, add your stories and baking adventures with your pictures too.  The stories make it so much more fun.  🙂

Guess what?  “A Jeanne in the Kitchen” just turned 1 year old.  Can you believe it?  It seems like it was just a short while ago that I ventured out into the unknown world of blogging, and here it is already one year later.  “A Jeanne in the Kitchen ” and I have come a long way and learned a lot, with still a lot more to learn and a lot more growing to do.  Thank you all for your support.  It means so much to me.  I am very grateful and appreciative of all your positive love and support.  None of this would have been possible without all of you.  So far, it has been quite the journey, and this party is only just getting started.  I’ve got lots more mouthwatering recipes, fun food facts and history, restaurant reviews, and so much more in store, not to mention our fun Great Bloggers’ Bake-Off Coming up later this month.  There are also a few more surprises in the works that I cannot discuss just yet, but I will let you know about them as soon as I can.  So, stay tuned and enjoy the ride.  We can enjoy the world of food together.

Let’s get this party started and celebrate together!!!!!

With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, everyone is becoming Irish, at least for a few hours of the day, one day out of the year.  A lot of people will be feasting on corned beef and cabbage, mashed potatoes or champ, and soda bread; and a whole lot of beer.  I will be making something completely different and just as Irish, but that is for Sunday, March 17, famously known as St. Patrick’s Day around the world.  I definitely have more than “a wee bit of Irish in me blood”, so I love to celebrate the holiday with traditional Irish foods.

Although soda bread is considered to be Irish, and is traditional Irish food, it actually originated with the Native Americans, centuries before it made it’s way to Ireland.  It got its name, soda bread, from the pearl ash or potash that was a natural soda found in the wood ash the native Americans used to make their breads rise.   When the use of bicarbonate soda was introduced to the European world in the mid 19th century, as an ingredient to use in breads instead of yeast, the use of soda in breads became very popular, particularly in Britain, Ireland, Austria and Poland.  It really became popular in Ireland in the 1800’s after the potato famine, due to the increased poverty and hunger that was rampant throughout the land.  By using soda to make their breads instead of yeast, breads could be made with only a few simple ingredients, which made it much cheaper to use, and the results were more consistent than they were with yeast.  It also became very popular in Ireland, because the soft wheat is the only suitable flour that can grow in the Irish climate, and using the soda worked better than yeast with this soft wheat.  The acidity of the buttermilk mixed with the base of the baking soda created a chemical reaction that allowed the dough to rise when baked.  When made with the Irish soft wheat, soda bread does not form the gluten that is found in making yeast breads.

Traditional soda bread is a dense bread with a slightly sour dough taste and a hard crust.  It is made in round loaves, and is always marked with a cross on top.  We all know the Irish are famous for their legends and myths and their story telling abilities, which I am sure lends a hand into the legends and myths associated with soda bread and the Cross.  Some say the soda bread was marked with the sign of the cross to ” let the devil out” while the bread is baking for good luck.  Others say it is because soda bread is used a lot to celebrate Christian holidays, so it is marked with the sign of the Cross.  And then a simple theory states that by marking it with a cross just made it real easy to separate into four quarters and serve.  Who really knows, but it is always fun to speculate and to hear the legends and the lore.

Today, variations of soda bread are found all throughout Ireland, as well as in many other parts of the world, including the United States.  You can find soda bread just about anywhere, made in many different ways.  Today, I made some with cheddar cheese and onions and baking powder rather than baking soda.  It came out soft and cake-like on the inside with a hard crust on the outside, and absolutely delicious!

Cheese and Onion Soda Bread

As you can see, I only needed a few simple, everyday items to make this delicious and easy to make bread.

Preheat the oven to 425* F

Throw some cornmeal on an ungreased baking sheet.

4 cups flour. with more for dusting

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups buttermilk (I use the powdered buttermilk mixed with milk)

2 TBSP super fine sugar

3/4 stick of butter, softened and cubed

1 TBSP baking powder

1/2-3/4 onion, finely chopped

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a food processor, mix together all the ingredients except the cheese and the onions.  Mix until the dough forms into a soft ball.

When the dough is ready and has formed into a soft ball, place it on a lightly floured surface, then cut the dough in half, to make two rounds.    Divide the cheese and the onions equally and incorporate into each of the dough rounds, making sure all the cheese and the onions are mixed thoroughly into the dough.

Form the dough into balls and pat down to make them about 2 inches thick.  Place each dough rough onto the baking sheet.  With a sharp knife, make a “T” or a Cross into the center of each loaf.  Then dust lightly with more flour and place the dough into the oven.  Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until done.  It should sound hollow if you tap on the bottom of the bread.

Serve warm with butter and enjoy the simple goodness of this delicious bread.

A Family Fun Day For The Blogging Community

We are really looking forward to next weekend

Bereavedandbeingasingleparent

and Crushed Caramel (Learner at love)

would like to invite you to join us for

with our special judge ajeanneinthekitchen

SAVE THE DATE: SUNDAY 24TH MARCH 2019

If your oven decides to go on strike or anything prevents you from getting your hands messy – we would love you to join in the fun by supporting the bakers and commenting on their creations.

If you will be on holiday, or in hospital, or have to work on Sunday 24th March 2019 – then of course you could take on the challenge in advance and send us a photo. We will make sure your creation is included in the round-up posts for THE GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE-OFF.

Our special judge A Jeanne in the Kitchen would love to see your bakes. Even if they are ghastly – please send them in – we would still really love to see them. Please have fun. It’s not so much a competition but a great day of fun for bloggers to get involved in. Baking disasters will only add to the fun! It’s all up to Jeanne to decide on our STAR BAKER!

Please feel free to get involved, whether it is with a bake, a comment or likes – we appreciate all the support. We are looking forward to meeting new bloggers too, so please come along and introduce yourself. We want to strengthen and expand the blogging community.

We love to spice up our dishes, and do so quite often.  We use salsa a lot in our house to do just that.  Salsa gives food that extra little kick.  We love salsa with eggs too, which reminds me of something very funny my aunt from Australia said last time she was here.  My aunt is one of those older ladies that is very set in her ways, and does not like or accept change at all.  The last time she was over here Stateside, in her very -upscale, Australian way, she turned up her nose and said “who would ever put salsa on their eggs” just as Larry and I were adding salsa to our eggs.  We thought she was going to have a cow, but we thoroughly enjoyed our eggs.  So, needless to say, we go through a lot of salsa in our house.  But every now and then, the salsa just doesn’t get used up as fast as it should, and turns a little vinegary.  That vinegar taste is not good when eating salsa with chips or on its own, but that doesn’t mean it is time to throw it away either.  When the salsa turns to vinegar, it is perfect for using as a cooking sauce, since often we use tomatoes and vinegar as the main ingredients for a sauce anyway.   Such was the case for last night’s dinner.  I had just a little bit of vinegary salsa that I doctored up and made a delicious sauce for my pork chops.

Pork Chops Roasted with Spicy Tomato Salsa

1 cup salsa

1 TBSP garlic

1 tsp crushed Aleppo chilies

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp Sweet & Spicy Cocoa seasoning

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped fine, stems removed

Mix everything together well and use as a marinade for your meat.  I used it for pork, but it would also be good for chicken or beef as well.  This is a real simple, easy-peasy marinade when you are either in a hurry, or have some vinegary salsa that needs to be used up, or both.  You can doctor up your vinegary salsa however you like.  This is just one of countless ways to do so.

Place the meat in a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray and let the meat marinate for at least 30 minutes to an hour, if not more, before cooking.  This lets the flavors really soak in and also acts as a meat tenderizer.  Once the meat is ready to cook, preheat the oven to 375* F and roast for about 40-45 minutes, or until the meat is completely cooked and the juices come out clear.

Serve with your favorite side dishes, and dinner is served.  I served mine with stuffing (yes, it was from a box this time.  I was pressed for time) and green beans with garlic, mushrooms and onions, topped with toasted pine nuts.  To finish the meal, I served it with a delicious red blend wine.  Quick, easy-peasy and delicious.  You can’t ask for much more.

We are most definitely a hockey house.  Our team is the Colorado Avalanche.  The season is coming to an end and there are still hopes to make it to the play-offs this year.  It’s been awhile since we have seen a lot of play-off action, so all the fans came out to support and to cheer for our boys in burgundy and blue .  Yesterday’s game was a great game.  Our boys pulled out a big win for us against the Sabres.  Our number one goaltender, Varlamov, was not playing yesterday, but his backup, Grubauer, did a great job between the pipes.  The rest of the boys also did a great job, both in the offensive and the defensive positions.  The boys pulled off a shut-out, with a 3-0 win.  We needed that.  We went to the game with a few friends.  We had fantastic seats and saw a lot of action on the ice right in front of us.  With all that excitement, we worked up quite an appetite, so we went out to one of our favorite, go-to places when we are downtown, Sam’s No. 3.

Sam’s No.3 is a family owned business that is ALWAYS hopping.  Often times there is a wait that is over an hour, but once you get seated and get your food, it is well worth the wait.  There is no Sam’s No. 1 or No. 2, only No. 3.  Sam’s started in Coney Island, New York by Sam Armatas in 1927, as the third of five diners.   Sam was known to everyone back then as Papou.  At some point the family moved westward and settled in the heart of Denver, where they now own and operate three Sam’s, all named No. 3.  Sam’s has been a family owned and operated business for over 90 years.  Today, it is still run by the family – Spero, Sam, Alex and Patrick.  What started out as a simple menu that focused on good, wholesome food has now turned into an extensive menu consisting of over 16 pages of wholesome goodness.    It’s not fancy food but it is VERY GOOD, affordable food, served in hefty portions.  There is something for everyone, no matter what your tastes.  My favorite is the Gyro, but then I have never ever had anything that was not delicious when eating at Sam’s No.3.

This Sam’s No. 3 is our favorite one.  This one is located in the heart of Downtown Denver, at 1500 Curtis Street.

Sam’s is still part diner, but is a full service restaurant and bar too.

Sam’s is a favorite to all the sports fans as well as the theatre fans, since it is centrally located, nestled between the Denver Performing Arts Center; The Pepsi Center, that is home to both the Avalanche and the Nuggets; Coors Field, which is where the Rockies play, and it is not too far from Mile High Stadium, the home of our beloved Broncos.

The victorious fans – Kelly and Jeremy, Jim and Larry and I, waiting for the feast.

In what seems like a blink of an eye, the food arrives.  Fish & Chips, A Gyro Salad, Steak Street Tacos, A Buffalo Burger and A Vegan, Gluten Free meal as well, known as the “High Maintenance Vegetarian Gluten-Diary Free Friendly Skillet”

Sam’s No. 3 has also made it’s TV appearance on The Food Network, on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, episode # 1113, named Porktastic.

Sam’s No. 3, in Downtown Denver is located at 1500 Curtis Street, and can be reached on line at downtown@samsno3.com.

The other two Sam’s No. 3’s are located in Aurora and Glendale, Colorado.  Next time you are visiting the Denver area, check out at least one of these fabulous diners.  I guarantee, you will NOT be disappointed, and you will NOT go home hungry.