We have some good old Irish heritage. I have the fair skin and freckles to prove it. We have tried to carry on the fun St. Patrick's Day traditions that our mom started with a few new ones of our own.
If you are busy with a corned beef and cabbage in your oven and need to simplify the other parts of your green dinner, I approve of green Koolaid. But, if you want a yummy green punch, I've got you covered.
2 (3 ounce) packages lime flavored gelatin mix
1 quart hot water
1 (46 fluid ounce) can pineapple juice
2 (12 fluid ounce) cans frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 1/2 cups white sugar
4 1/2 cups cold water
2 liters ginger ale
Disolve the jello powder in 1 quart hot water. Let cool. Pour into large punch bowl and add the rest of ingredients. Add ginger ale just before serving.
Make sure the leprechans leave footprints when they sneak in and turn the milk green.
For dinner, our mom always cooked the traditional corned beef and cabbage. I also remember that she would make her awesome french bread (recipe here), but it would be green. We have carried on the green bread tradition. You just need to add a few drops of green food coloring to the liquid right before you add the flour. Its crazy because it looks gross, but tastes sooooo good!
Another thing I have good memories of was having gummy worms as an appetizer to our St. Patrick's Day meal. But my mom referred to them as snakes and told us the legend of St. Patrick and how he drove the snakes from Ireland. Some believe this tale is a metaphor for his bringing Christianity to Ireland and driving out the pagan religions (serpents). Yes, my mom liked to throw in some learning, right before dinner! We were just excited about the snakes on our plates and we got to eat a few before dinner!
So go get your green food coloring or at least a box of Lucky Charms and you'll have your Irish mojo!Labels: St. Patrick's Day