St. Patrick's Day Foods and Radio Show

Happy late St. Patrick's Day to everyone!  Kevin and I spent our weekend running errands around town and celebrating just the two of us.  It was a nice change of pace from usually hanging out with friends.  We are currently preparing for our move on Wednesday, but our apartment leases overlap by a little over a week, so (thankfully) we can take our time for the most part.  First things first, we are moving in our couch (which was the reason we were moving in the first place), and I am so excited to get to relax on it!

In other fun news: I was on a local radio station in Spokane last Friday, and was inducted as listener #1914.  I have been listening to this same talk show on and off since I was in junior high, so to be able to be on it was so much fun!   I tried to download my audio clip onto this post for you guys to hear, but Blogger was not havin' it.  For the segment I discussed with them a little about me, which included what I do for a living, what I do for fun (watch movies), and my claim to fame, this blog.  For the claim to fame I explained that I blog about the Nutritarian lifestyle, which is recommended by Dr. Fuhrman, who was on the Dr. Oz show last week.  Here is the new listener poem that Molly made me (think Irish accent):

"Top of the Mornin' and good day to ye,

We welcome a young Amy.

Married to Kevin you be,

And makin' your way through movies you must see.

You're a Project Assistant diddly-di,

And a graduate of U-High.

Your fame claim includes Dr. Oz and a blog too,

It wouldn't be right if I didn't mention poo.

There you go, of the poem there's no more,

But I have a number for you, it's 1-9-1-4."

This was definitely the highlight of my week, and I even won some tickets to go see the new Oz movie that is out.  Hopefully Kevin and I will get to use it sometime this week.  Thanks again to Dave, Ken, and Molly for having me on!  It was such a blast!

Now onto my recipe for the week.... I attempted to make Corned Lentils and Cabbage on Saturday in honor of the holiday, and ended up with a pretty tasty cabbage stew.  My pictures were a bit rushed since Kevin and I were busy this weekend, but just know that this recipe is yummier than it looks.... and it uses beer, and if that isn't sticking to the Irish holiday, I don't know what is!

Ingredients:

• 3-5 medium red potatoes, washed and cut into large chunks
• 2 celery stalks, halved and sliced
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 1 +1/2 cups lentils, rinsed
• 1 small head of green cabbage, chopped into smaller wedges
• 1 packet of corned beef spices (a combo of pickling spices including coriander, cloves, cinnamon, red pepper, black pepper, bay leaves, mustard seeds, etc.)
• 1- 12oz. bottle of dark beer (brown or porter)
• 2 Tbsp yellow mustard
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1+ cup water

Directions:

1. To a crockpot, add the prepped potatoes, celery, onion, and carrots.
2. On top of the various veggies, layer the lentils.
3. Sprinkle the corned beef spices over the lentils.
4. Pour the beer evenly over the pot.
5. Add in the mustard and gently mix.
6. Add the 1/4 cup brown sugar to 1 cup water and mix until mostly dissolved.  Pour over the crockpot contents and mix until combined.
7. Cover and let cook on low for 5 hours, stirring occasionally if possible, and add more water if the pot is getting too dry.
8. After 5 hours, add the chopped cabbage up to the brim of the crockpot.  Cover and let cook on high for 1-2 hours (or low for 3-4), or until the cabbage is well wilted, but not mushy.  Make sure to stir occasionally (this will get easier nearing the end of cooking).
9. Serve hot with bread, over barley, or plain.  Some like traditional corned beef and cabbage served with with mustard.

Amy's Notes:

• If you don't have a packet of corned beef spices handy, feel free to improvise with what sounds good in the example above.
• This makes quite a lot, so be prepared for leftovers!  I made much of my leftovers into corned lentil and cabbage bundle bread rolls, but it could also be great in a casserole.
• I enjoyed my corned lentils and cabbage with dejon mustard, and thought it tasted great!

What Irish foods did you try over the weekend?