Gadding About at the Green Chair on St. Paddy's Day

What was better for a sunny afternoon on St. Patrick's Day than to attend the Green Chair Project's Open House.  This is one of my favorite charities.  As I am downsizing I like to donate items to them as much as possible.    Here is how they describe their mission:

Working together to provide everyone the comforts of home.

We reuse donated household furnishings to renew lives of participants referred from area programs who are recovering after homelessness, crisis or disaster.

As I toured their site that is undergoing a massive renovation (yet they still manage to stay open for their clients), I saw lots of GREEN items around.  I concentrated my photos on the GREEN things I observed.

A beautiful welcome as you entered.

Families  can choose their furnishing package at a reasonable price.

Among the many sofas and chairs is this GREEN one. 

Among the linens from which to choose, this lovely GREEN one. 

Many decorative items available. 

As I toured the construction area I noticed the hard hats are even GREEN.

They even had GREEN desserts on this special day.  

I'm sporting their sticker.  You can get one too.  Just give them a visit.  

If you aren't familiar with this charity, I suggest you give them a visit.  They are truly an inspiration!!!!  You can view their website HERE.

Shamrock Cake

Shamrock Pound Cake for St. Patrick's Day.

I made this Shamrock Cake for St. Patrick's Day.  It is necessary to make two 9x5-in. loaf pound cakes.  You could use any pound cake recipe for this, but I used 2 packages of pound cake mix.

In one of the pound cakes add 10 drops of green food coloring (more or less depending upon how green you want your cake) to your batter.  Mix and bake according to package directions.  Let cake cool completely.  Cut cake into 1-in. thick slices.  With a 2 1/2 in. shamrock-shaped cookie cutter cut shamrock shaped slices. 

Green pound cake out of oven.

Cut shamrocks out of one inch slices of cake.  (Use a 2 1/2 in. cookie cutter.)

Shamrock slice.

Stand shamrock slices at an angle in a greased 9x5-in.loaf pan.

Shamrock slices in center of second pound cake.  Batter poured around and over slices.

Prepare remaining cake mix according to package directions.  Pour batter around and over shamrock slices.  Bake and cool as package directs.

Second pound cake ready for the oven.

Finished Shamrock Cake.

I used a cream cheese icing and added green sprinkles as garnish. 

When you cut slices, the green shamrock is in the center of each slice.

Yield:  1 loaf (16 slices)

This recipe is from Taste of Home.

A St. Patrick's Day Sandwich

A "green" sandwich for St. Patrick's Day.

I know it's not quite St. Patrick's Day, but I've been baking "green" desserts with a St. Patrick's Day theme and for supper I decided to make a "green" sandwich for Dan and me. 

I spread pesto on each side of the bread, followed by slices of yogurt cheese. 

Spread pesto on each slice of bread.

Add yogurt cheese to each slice of bread.

I added fresh spinach to each side of the bread.

Add spinach.

On one side I put slices of a ripe avocado.

Add sliced avocado to one side of bread.

Then I put the two slices together to make the sandwiches.  

Put the two slices together to make the sandwich.

I grilled the sandwiches in butter.

Grill in butter.

Ready to eat.  Delish!

This is a new twist on grilled cheese sandwiches that will be good not just on St. Patrick's Day but any day of the year. 

Happy Birthday Patrick

March 18, 1969, Watts Hospital, Durham, NC

Although Patrick was born just a few hours after St. Patrick's Day, that had nothing to do with our decision to name him "Patrick". But maybe that's the reason he loves everything Irish---the food, the customs, the country, the music.

Two years old.

Once a Tarheel fan, always a Tarheel fan.

Sixteen.

Patrick with his favorite "Maggie".

Happy Birthday Patrick Lane Palmer.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I'm having a traditional St. Patrick's Day meal tonight. To serve with the Boxty (see my post of March 16, 2012), I sauteed two kinds of cabbage.  I saw a recipe for cabbage gratin that prepared the cabbage this way.  And I'll have Shepherd's pie too.


Ingredients:

1/4 cup canola oil, divided use
1 1/4 cups diced yellow onions, divided use
1/2 cup chopped turkey bacon, divided use
1 tablespoon minced garlic, divided use
6 cups chopped red cabbage, about half a large head
6 cups chopped green cabbage, about half a large head
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup brown sugar, divided use 

 DIVIDE canola oil between two large pots and heat over medium heat until almost smoking. Add half of onions to each pot and saute for two minutes. Add half of turkey bacon and garlic to each pot and cook for two minutes, stirring frequently. Add the red cabbage to one pot and the green cabbage to the other and cook, stirring, for one minute. Add the balsamic vinegar to red cabbage and the champagne vinegar to the green cabbage. Add half the chicken stock and brown sugar to each pot, salt and pepper to taste, stir well, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  Serve separately or mix the two cabbages together.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/cgi-bin/nao/lifestyles/food_fitness/recipes/show_recipe.cgi?id=4720&template=template.html#storylink=cpy

Saute onions and turkey bacon in olive oil.

Two kinds of vinegar used to flavor cabbage: champagne wine vinegar and balsamic.

Green cabbage.

Red cabbage.

Cabbage and boxty for St. Paddy's Day meal.

Boxty for St. Patrick's Day

Boxty is a traditional Irish dish made of potatoes. An old Irish rhyme goes: "Boxty on the griddle, boxty on the pan; if you can't make boxty, you'll never get a man".

Well, I've got my man, and I am preparing these for him for St. Patrick's Day.   Here's the recipe from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:  1 1/2 cups grated raw potatoes
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup leftover mashed potatoes
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup olive oil

Directions:  Toss the grated potatoes with flour in a large bowl.  Stir in mashed potatoes until combined.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and the milk; mix into the potatoes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Form patties about 2 inches in diameter with the potato mixture.  Fry on both sides until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side.  Drain on a paper towel-lined platter.  Serve warm with a dollop of dill sour cream. 

With this I'm serving cabbage and a beef brisket.  

Red cabbage with onions and turkey bacon.

Lots of good Irish food for this St. Patrick's Day week.

Chocolate Guinness Cake for St. Paddy's Day

I made this cake on Monday so it will be ready for St. Patrick's Day.  I think it will be better after the flavors have a chance to blend.  It will keep easily in the fridge for a week or more.  I agree with the person who submitted the recipe to Taste of Home that the "the cream cheese frosting resembles the foamy head on a pint".

Here's the recipe:

12 ServingsPrep: 25 Bake: 45 min. + cooling

Ingredients

• 1 cup Guinness (dark beer)
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup baking cocoa
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2/3 cup sour cream (I used Greek yogurt because I didn't have sour cream, and I didn't want to go to the grocery store to get any.)
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• TOPPING:
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

• Grease a 9-in. springform pan and line the bottom with parchment
• paper; set aside.
• 
  
• In a saucepan, heat beer and butter until butter is melted.
• Remove from the heat; whisk in sugar and cocoa until blended.
• Combine the eggs, sour cream and vanilla; whisk into beer mixture.
• Combine flour and baking soda; whisk into beer mixture until smooth.
• Pour batter into prepared pan.
• 
  
• Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near
• the center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

© Taste of Home 2011

 My cake fell a bit in the center, but it was okay once it was iced.

The cake is very moist, and the icing complements the chocolate very nicely.  I must admit I couldn't taste the Guinness.  So if you are looking to have some Guinness to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, you might just want to have a pint.

Photo from Guinness website.