WHB St Pat's Day Cabbage and Quicklinks

Happy St Patrick's Day. Today I present you with a good bog Irish dish to celebrate! Last year I decided I would have loose themes for each weekday dinner. It didn't work. Mondays however have become our bangers and mash night. E can help with vegetarian sausages under the grill and preparing potatoes. I have my little burst of creativity with experimenting with vegies and flavours in the mash. Sylvia often will eat some of it. It is the genesis of some of my simpler dishes that I don't often post. Today's seemed worth capturing.

This week Monday fell on a Tuesday due to the Labour Day public holiday. I had an old quarter of cabbage. I was tempted by colcannon. But I love fried cabbage. So I threw it in the frypan, intending to serve it alongside the mash. In the end there wasn't much potato so I just tossed them together with some garlic and parmesan. Served with vegetarian sausages and steamed green broccoli, is was a success.

Cabbage and potato are so central to the traditional Irish cuisine (as I should know, coming from Anglo-Irish stock). Parmesan is not but I know the Irish love their cheese. If I had had any facon left I would have thrown that in too. Even so, I am confident this would go down well in Ireland on St Patrick's or any other day. E thought it would also make a good neofolk dish, if that is your preference!

I had hoped I might have made a nut roast for my Neb at Nut Roast II blog event for today but our kitchen is still a mess with renovations. It is still functional but less so than usual. I have lots of ideas for nut roasts to make as soon as the kitchen is back to normal. To participate in the event, go to the announcement and/or the rules. You have until 5 May to send me a nut roast.

Instead of a nut roast as an accompaniment to the cabbage and potato dish, I thought I would serve up a few quicklinks that have interested me lately:

• Say Goodbye to Vegan Junkfood - an interesting reflection by Vegan Hope on vegan diets, processed foods and health - this post could also apply to vegetarian diets!
  
• America's New Top 10 Sandwiches ... Veganised - Namely Mary asked food bloggers to come up with vegan alternatives to the top 10 sandwiches - hmmm maybe not the best link to follow the above one
• Nigella Lawson Masterclass at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival - if you didn't get to see Nigella's masterclass, reading Lorraine (aka Not Quite Nigella)'s post about it is almost as good as being there. (She also has a write up on the fascinating jellymongers.)
• Why Food Matters - nice post by Ruth Reichl about why food is still important in our disaster-ridden world
• Learn to Turn off the Internet - timely piece by Jonathan Freedland in the Guardian about how the internet has changed our way of thinking - "What the internet has done, say the dissenters, is damage our ability to concentrate for sustained periods. Being connected meant being constantly tempted to look away, to hop from the text in front of you to another, newer one."
  

I am sending the cabbage and potato dish to Chris of Mele Cotte for Weekend Herb Blogging #275, the event coordinated by Haalo and founded by Kalyn.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: Paddy’s day cabbage and smoked tofu
This time three years ago: Pie with filo roses

Cabbage and potato with parmesan
serves 2-3 as a side dish

2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cabbage (I used a drum cabbage)
2 cloves, garlic
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
seasoning

Cook chopped potatoes for about 15 minutes or until just soft. Drain and set aside. Heat oil in a large non-stick frypan over medium heat and fry onion for a few minutes until translucent. Add cabbage and garlic. Cook until cabbage is soft and starting to brown. This took me 20-30 minutes. Add potatoes and cook for a few minutes so they are heated through. Remove from heat and stir in parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

On the Stereo:
Christy Moore