I love the saying that on St. Patrick's Day everyone is Irish. I think celebrating holidays are a great way to bring family and friends together and is a fun way to pass traditions on to children. I tell the wee ones stories of Shamrocks and St. Patrick, fairies galloping about the night on the golden blossoms of Fairies Horses, and leprechauns searching for the pot of gold.
I always make corned beef and cabbage, parsley potatoes and Irish Soda Bread. Even though it's hard to believe some people don't like corned beef and cabbage, so I usually add Irish Stew or Ham and Green Beans. Everyone loves Irish Soda Bread and every year I make more and every year I run out. Find my recipe at http://.www.associatedcontent.com/article/2621629/st_patricks_day_tradtion.html?cat=22
I don't put caraway seeds in my Irish Soda Bread, but I have a friend who became interested in herbs, so she could grow her own caraway seeds. Caraway is easily grown and is a biennial started in the early spring or fall. Allow to self seed it will start new plants. To harvest seeds allow to ripen about a month after the flowers appear, and clip the seed heads before they turn brown. Place the seed heads upside down in a brown paper bag and hang the bag in a warm dry place. When the seeds are dry, shake loose, and store in an air tight container to use to flavor rye bread, cheese, apple pie, sauerkraut, pickles and goulash and Irish Soda Bread.
Someone always brings a gift of Shamrocks, the national flower of Ireland. According to legend, St. Patrick planted it because the three small leaves represented the Holy Trinity.
Shamrock is the name given to a number of plants, but a small clover or the wood sorrel is debated among experts to be the true shamrock.
Another herb of Ireland is ragwort, or ragweed and known by the Irish as Fairies Horse. Irish legend tells that fairies gallop about at night on the plants golden blossoms. I find the legends of Ireland wonderful with leprechauns sleeping under shamrocks and fairies galloping off of herbal blossoms.
Sweet gale is an herb found growing in Irish bogs. The herb is one of the myrtles and is used to flavor beer. The leaves of sweet gale have been used as a substitute for tea and they smell so sweet they are often used in sachets and potpourri.
