St. Patrick's Day

Our week had a wee bit of Irish added to it as we read about St. Patrick.

Books:
St. Patrick’s Day by Gail Gibbons
Patrick Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie dePaola
St. Patrick’s Day Alphabet by Beverly Barrs Vidrine
Saint Patrick by Ann Tompert
Mary McLean and the St. Patrick’s Day Parade by Steven Kroll
St. Patrick’s Day in the Morning by Even Bunting
Favorite Fairy Tales Told in Ireland by Virginia Haviland

CDs:
Irish Folk Tales for Children by Sharon Kennedy

Food:
Irish Stew

3 pounds small Yukon gold potatoes, peeled
2 medium onions, halved lengthwise and cut into thin half-moons
2 ½ pounds lamb shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 ½ teaspoons coarse salt
freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons coarsely chopped fresh thyme
3 cups homemade lamb stock or chicken stock
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut 1 pound of the potatoes into ¼ -inch-thick rounds: spread them out in a large (5-6 quart) heavy-bottom pot or Dutch oven. Layer half the onions on top of the potatoes.

Place lamb cubes on top of onions. Sprinkle with 1 ½ teaspoons salt; season with pepper. Add the thyme. Place remaining onions on top of lamb. Add the stock and 1 cup water.

Place whole potatoes on top of onions. Sprinkle with remaining teaspoon salt; season with pepper. Cover with a tight-fitting lid; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Transfer to over; cook, without stirring, 2 hours. Sprinkle with parsley.

Soda Bread with Orange and Dark Chocolate

1 ½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
½ cup sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter
zest from 2 oranges
¼ cup chopped dark chocolate (or chips)
1 ¼ cups buttermilk
1 large egg

Preheat to 350 degrees. Grease baking sheet. Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl to blend. Add butter, rub in with fingertips or mix in a food processor until butter is the size of small peas. Stir in chocolate and orange zest. Add buttermilk and egg in medium bowl until just incorporated. Do not over mix.

Scoop the dough onto a cookie sheet. Form dough into about 6-inch-diameter round, about 2 inches high. Using a sharp knife cut 1 inch-deep X on top of bread.

Bake bread about 50-65 minutes until center comes clean when inserted with a skewer. Transfer bread to rack.

Blessing:
And a beautiful Irish Blessing to listen to.