However, I always get kind of excited about St. Patrick's Day, because I like culture study, and St. Patrick's Day is kind of a celebration of a culture that is not our own. Yes, I know, it's devolved into a booze fest, a green spree, and a green booze monstrosity, but despite the full-blooded Italian-Americans wearing "Kiss Me, I'm Irish" T-shirts, the root of the holiday is still acknowledging a foreign culture. That's what I get excited about.
So, today, while pretending to "Describe the status of private property under Mao [and] identify and explain TWO [2] policies undertaken by the Chinese government since 1976 that contradict Mao's policy," I looked up Irish food, because if I made some Irish dish and froze it, I could still feel like I was celebrating St. Patrick's Day in the spirit it should be celebrated (as opposed to wearing a wee spot of green, to avoid being pinched).
Oh my goodness.
First of all, let's talk about recipes. "HOW TO MAKE GREEN BEER" is not a recipe.
Secondly, let's talk about what Irish is. Irish is Irish, not British, and not Scottish. Irish is definitely not Indian. Haggis is a prime example of a not-Irish dish. Muligatawny is an ideal example of a not-Irish soup/stew. Scones may be Irish, but only if you don't dump nearly equal parts of sugar and flour into them.
Of course, I'm Scottish, not Irish, and I'm a generation away from Scotland, so I'm much better at calling the internet's bluff when someone pulls something out of their ears when talking about England than Ireland (or Scotland, though I'm loathe to admit it). However, I do know that only Americans would consider making what really looks like a Christmas Pudding for their "genuine Irish desert" on St. Patrick's Day.
On a more positive note, though, I am considering making "Traditional Irish Stew", not because I think it's any more genuine than anything else out there, but because layering the vegetables sounds fun, and it seems meant for the slow cooker.
Additionally, and I'll have to consult my family on this one, but I think perhaps trying to eat a meat in a stew like this, where the juices matter as much as the meat itself, might be more successful than our previous attempts... then again, I might just ruin a whole pot of stew for us if we put meat in it.
I just would really like to be able to eat meat, and it's so difficult because I genuinely don't like it. If you google search, "from vegetarian to meat," you'll find a zillion and two methods for becoming vegetarian. You'll find three or four about how if you offer free-range meat to a vegetarian, they'll instantly leave their meatless days behind. You won't find anything about the texture of chicken is just awful, or the fact that the strange protein makes said vegetarians sick. You really won't find anything about how to conquer such issues, so that if you travel anywhere, you can have local dishes, or even just eat at a friend's house, without putting them in a dither, trying to find something other than a plate of boiled broccoli to put in front of you. (Heck, something most omnivores don't realize is how often we veggies have to eat fettucine alfredo at restaurants. When I was a kid, I really didn't mind... a plate full of garlicky carbs and fat sounded great to me, any day! Now that I'm [somewhat] out of that picky-eater stage, though...)
On another rather unrelated note, my mother and I decided what she's doing about her wedding dress. We went shopping today at our fabulous 1.5-hour's-drive-away-mall, and she said that she compared everything to the dress she has at home -- it's "The Dress." Therefore, we'll be getting it tailored. I'm so excited, she's going to be gorgeous!
My dress, on the other hand, was heavily inspired by this gorgeous
little fey. I found her on Elfwood, by Stephanie N. Payne. Originally, I liked the playful, fantasy-but-reminiscent-of-anime style of this picture, and made it my desktop for a while. I kept coming back to it because I thought that the dress she's wearing would be a lot of fun! So... I'll be wearing it to the upcoming nuptials! However, I thought the colors were too similar to my prom dress, so my wingless, leafless version will be pink, with an overdress of darker red. Don't worry, I'll post pictures of my dress and my mother's dress, once the wedding rolls around. Wouldn't want anyone to accidentally see someone's dress early, you know.
